Timeline Two thousand years of iconic moms

By Los Angeles Times Staff

May 4, 2011 midnight

From Mary to the “Octomom,” here’s a look at good, bad and infamous mothers.

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Jan. 1, 1

Mary. She not only birthed a man-god, but Mary also did it while remaining a virgin, establishing a precedent that no woman has been able to live up to since.

Jan. 1, 950

Grendel's mom from "Beowolf." We never learn her name, but in the epic story, she attacks Beowolf's army to avenge the death of her son. Modern mothers may not understand the poem's antiquated language, but we totally get where Grendel's mom is coming from.

Jan. 1, 1600

Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. She's loving and well-meaning but rather dense. Of course your son is going to be miserable if you remarry just weeks after your first husband's death.

Jan. 1, 1755

Marie Antoinette. The Austrian-born queen of France did her duty to the French people and provided them with an heir (and three other children). Unfortunately for Marie and her family, her subjects (or at least some of them) seemed to lose interest in an heir.

Jan. 1, 1794

The old woman who lived in a shoe. The traditional nursery rhyme was first printed in this year. Classic case of too many kids, too little time.

Jan. 1, 1813

Mrs. Bennet from "Pride and Prejudice." Jane Austen's caricature of the social climbing mother suggests moms have been embarrassing their daughters with tactless comments and transparent hopes for a long time now.

Jan. 1, 1860

Grandma Moses. Proof that there is life after childrearing, Grandma Moses began her strikingly successful painting career at age 70, long after her four children had grown.

Jan. 1, 1864

Anna Jarvis. The woman responsible for the creation of Mother's Day was not a mother but instead a devoted daughter. However, she was disgusted by how quickly it became commercialized and spent the rest of her life campaigning against it.

Jan. 1, 1873

Ma Barker. The mother of four members of the infamous Barker-Karpis gang captured the American imagination in the 1930s for her role in criminal life. Her boys swore she didn't mastermind the robberies and kidnappings for which the gang was notorious. Instead, they sent her to the movies when they were up to no good — or so they said.

Jan. 1, 1890

Rose Kennedy. The mother of President Kennedy gave birth to nine children between 1915 and 1932. The quintessential Catholic mother stoically ignored her husband's many dalliances (including an affair with Gloria Swanson) and was recognized for her charitable work.

Jan. 1, 1905

Joan Crawford. Thanks to her daughter's 1978 tell-all book "Mommie Dearest" (and of course the 1981film starring Faye Dunaway), actress Joan Crawford will go down in the annals of history as one of the worst mothers of the century. No wire hangers!

Jan. 1, 1905

Maria von Trapp. Not all stepmothers are evil. The real-life inspiration for the character played by Julie Andrews in "The Sound of Music," Von Trapp was a nun-in-training who fell in love with a widower who had seven children. After her husband lost all his money, Maria and her adopted family toured as a singing group called the Trapp Family Singers.

Jan. 1, 1957

June Cleaver. The mother in "Leave It to Beaver" (played by Barbara Billingsley) has long been heralded as the quintessential 1950s housewife. Favorite activities included needlepointing, flipping through women's magazines and cake decorating.

Jan. 1, 1975

Mia Farrow. The originator of the mother-of-many brand of celebrity welcomed several children into her home in the 1970s and '80s, four biological, the rest adopted. Perhaps Madonna and Angelina Jolie (a wee girl at the time) were taking notes. (She adopted several more children in the '90s.)

Jan. 1, 1984

Clair Huxtable. Played by Phylicia Rashad, the matriarch of "The Cosby Show" was part of a brigade of high-powered professional moms that took television by storm in the 1980s. Other members include Angela Bower (played by Judith Light) from "Who's the Boss?" and "Murphy Brown" (played by Candice Bergen).

Jan. 1, 1988

Roseanne Conner. In her hit series "Roseanne," Roseanne Barr played Roseanne Conner, the iconic anti-hero mom. She was overweight, underpaid and just barely able to control her rambunctious children — making her the most realistic mom ever portrayed on television.

Jan. 1, 2004

The "Desperate Housewives." Competitive suburban mothering at its campiest.

Jan. 1, 2005

Angelina Jolie. Following in Farrow's footsteps, Jolie has transformed herself from Hollywood wild child to sainted mother, adopting and birthing children in rapid succession throughout the mid-2000s.

Jan. 1, 2009

Nadya Suleman. Christened "Octomom" by the media, Suleman made headlines in January 2009 after successfully giving birth to eight children at once. (That's in addition to the six she already had.) If there were a contest for most extreme mother, we think she'd take it.

Sources: Times research

Credits: Jenn Harris, Jason La, Deborah Netburn, Ben Welsh, TimelineSetter