Entertainment
The Best Mother-Daughter Movies Ever Made
Good movies that mothers can watch with their daughters can be important for bonding time. The best mother-daughter movies come in many forms. Some mother daughter relationship movies are about struggle while other movies about mothers and daughters are comedies. A few of the greatest movies about mothers and daughters are even a bit on the creepy side. Some mother-daughter movies are even great movies to watch on Mother's day.
What films will you find on this best mother-daughter movie list? Grab the tissues before putting on the great mother daughter film, Terms of Endearment. Shirley MacLaine took home an Oscar for her role as a mother whose love for her daughter is eternal. Stepmom, starring Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon, is another one of the greatest mother-daughter movies.
Cher captivated audiences as a single mother raising two girls in the 1990 movie, Mermaids. Other good films that appear on this top mother-daughter movie list include Mommy Dearest, Freaky Friday, and The Joy Luck Club.
Do you have a favorite films about moms and daughters? Give the best mom-daughter films a thumbs up and share some of your favorite scenes in the comments section.
Ranked by
- 1
Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Mark Waters
Single mother Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her teenage daughter Anna (Lindsay Lohan) couldn't be more different, and it is driving them both insane. After receiving cryptic fortunes at a ...more - 2Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris
- Released: 1998
- Directed by: Chris Columbus
Three years after divorcing Jackie (Susan Sarandon), the mother of his children, Luke Harrison (Ed Harris) decides to take the next step with his significantly younger girlfriend, fashion ...more - 3Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Phyllida Lloyd
Donna (Meryl Streep), an independent hotelier in the Greek islands, is preparing for her daughter's wedding with the help of two old friends. Meanwhile Sophie, the spirited bride, has a plan. She ...more - 4Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson
- Released: 1983
- Directed by: James L. Brooks
Widow Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter, Emma (Debra Winger), have a strong bond, but Emma marries teacher Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels) against her mother's wishes. When the marriage ...more - 5Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman, Eileen Ryan
- Released: 1999
- Directed by: Wayne Wang
In this adaptation of the Mona Simpson novel, single mother Adele August (Susan Sarandon) is bad with money, and even worse when it comes to making decisions. Her straight-laced daughter, Ann ...more - 6Cher, Winona Ryder, Bob Hoskins
- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Richard Benjamin
Fifteen-year-old Charlotte Flax (Winona Ryder) is tired of her wacky mom (Cher) moving their family to a different town any time she feels it is necessary. When they move to a small Massachusetts ...more - 7Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
The Hoover family -- a man (Greg Kinnear), his wife (Toni Collette), an uncle (Steve Carell), a brother (Paul Dano) and a grandfather (Alan Arkin) -- puts the fun back in dysfunctional by piling into ...more - 8Barbara Harris, Jodie Foster, John Astin
- Released: 1976
- Directed by: Gary Nelson
Annabel Andrews (Jodie Foster) and her mother, Ellen (Barbara Harris), don't always see eye to eye. After a particularly frustrating argument on Friday the 13th, the two simultaneously wish they ...more - 9Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin
- Released: 2009
- Directed by: Nick Cassavetes
Conceived as a marrow donor for her gravely ill sister, Anna Fitzgerald (Abigail Breslin) has undergone countless surgeries and medical procedures in her short life. Though their older daughter's ...more - 10Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan
- Released: 2022
- Directed by: Domee Shi
A 13-year-old girl suddenly turns into a giant red panda whenever she gets too excited. - 11Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: David Fincher
Trapped in their New York brownstone's panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) and her young daughter Sarah (Kristen ...more - 12Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Lauren Graham
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Michael Lehmann
Daphne Wilder (Diane Keaton) is the proud mother of three women: Milly (Mandy Moore), Maggie (Lauren Graham) and Mae (Piper Perabo), and her love for her offspring knows no bounds. Because her ...more - 13Holly Hunter, Evan Rachel Wood, Nikki Reed
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Catherine Hardwicke
Honor student Tracy Freeland (Evan Rachel Wood) has a troubling home life, but she is close to her mother, Melanie (Holly Hunter). While trying to conceal her inner turmoil by excelling academically, ...more - 14Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Ang Lee
When Elinor Dashwood's (Emma Thompson) father dies, her family's finances are crippled. After the Dashwoods move to a cottage in Devonshire, Elinor's sister Marianne (Kate Winslet) is torn between ...more - 15Rosalind Chao, Tamlyn Tomita, France Nuyen
- Released: 1993
- Directed by: Wayne Wang
In San Francisco, a group of aging Chinese women (Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin, France Nuyen, Lisa Lu) meet regularly to trade familial stories while playing Mahjong. In a series of sixteen vignettes that ...more - 16Shelley Long, Craig T. Nelson, Betty Thomas
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Jeff Kanew
With her marriage breaking up, Beverly Hills housewife Phyllis Nefler (Shelley Long) boosts her self-esteem by leading a local troop of Wilderness Girls. Although Phyllis' version of roughing it is ...more - 17Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, Fionnula Flanagan
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Callie Khouri
A classic Southern tale of hilarious sadness set in a sleepy Louisiana parish. A group of lifelong friends stage a rather unorthodox intervention to help a young playwright unravel the truth about ...more - 18Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Greta Gerwig
In the years after the Civil War, Jo March lives in New York and makes her living as a writer, while her sister Amy studies painting in Paris. Amy has a chance encounter with Theodore, a childhood ...more - 19Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Timothée Chalamet
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Greta Gerwig
A teenager (Saoirse Ronan) navigates a loving but turbulent relationship with her strong-willed mother (Laurie Metcalf) over the course of an eventful and poignant senior year of high school. - 20Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman
- Released: 1996
- Directed by: Danny DeVito
This film adaptation of a Roald Dahl work tells the story of Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson), a gifted girl forced to put up with a crude, distant father (Danny DeVito) and mother (Rhea Perlman). ...more - 21Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Herbert Ross
M'Lynn (Sally Field) is the mother of bride-to-be Shelby Eatenton (Julia Roberts), and as friend Truvy Jones (Dolly Parton) fixes the women's hair for the ceremony, they welcome a helping hand from ...more - 22Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia
- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Norman Jewison
No sooner does Italian-American widow Loretta (Cher) accept a marriage proposal from her doltish boyfriend, Johnny (Danny Aiello), than she finds herself falling for his younger brother, Ronny ...more - 23Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan, Felicity Huffman
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Garry Marshall
Teenage Rachel (Lindsay Lohan) is a real thorn in the side of her mother, Lilly (Felicity Huffman). More than just rebellious, she is incorrigible. After Rachel crashes a car, Lilly decides to haul ...more - 24Alison Lohman, Robin Wright, Michelle Pfeiffer
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Peter Kosminsky
"White Oleander" chronicles the life of Astrid (Alison Lohman), a young teenager who journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) goes to prison for committing a ...more - 25Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders
- Released: 2009
- Directed by: Henry Selick
While exploring her new home, a girl named Coraline (Dakota Fanning) discovers a secret door, behind which lies an alternate world that closely mirrors her own but, in many ways, is better. She ...more
