Come Mother’s Day, moms everywhere are celebrated. Heart-tugging commercials remind you to call yours. Greeting cards espouse the love only a mother can give. That’s how it should be, of course. But this holiday isn’t just for moms — it’s for stepmoms, too. And sometimes that message can get lost in the mix. If you have one of these “bonus” moms in your life, you undoubtedly want her to feel recognized. Fortunately, a few celebrity stepmoms are helping change the narrative and shine a light on just how important these women are in the lives of the kids they’re co-parenting.
In movies, stepmoms are rarely painted in a flattering light. Cinderella’s wicked stepmother, Lady Tremaine, forces Cinderella to wait on the family hand and foot. In Parent Trap, Meredith Blake (or Vicky Robinson, if you’re rolling old school) tries to make her fiance choose between her and his twin daughters. Basically, stepmoms are all too often depicted as the villain. In real life, though, stepmoms can be the missing piece in a family puzzle.
Have you heard the way Kelly Clarkson talks about husband Brandon Blackstock’s two children from his previous marriage? She always includes Seth and Savannah when she discusses “her” kids. Or how about the admittedly “amazing dynamic” Hilaria Baldwin shares with her husband Alec Baldwin’s adult daughter Ireland Baldwin? Ireland was only 15 when she and Hilaria met, so her stepmom saw her through the teen years and all they entailed.
Alicia Keys, Tori Spelling, Miranda Lambert… the list of incredible celebrities flipping the script on the stepmom stigma goes on and on.
Join us in giving them — and all the deserving stepmoms out there — a very special shout-out.
A version of this story was originally published May 2020.
Gisele Bündchen
Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady share two children: Vivian, 12, and Benjamin, 10 — the supermodel mom also is the stepmom to son Jack, 12, whom Brady shares with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan.
“I don’t like the word stepmom,” Bundchen has said. “I use the word bonus mom because I feel like it’s a blessing in my life. I feel so lucky that I got to have an extra, wonderful little angel in my life.”
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones now shares two children with hubby Michael Douglas: Dylan, 19, and Carys, 16, but has always been accepting of Cameron, 41, Michael’s son from a previous relationship, and has been supportive even during very difficult times.
Kate Bosworth
Despite keeping a low profile on her personal life, Kate Bosworth loves to gush about her stepdaughter Jasper from her previous marriage to Michael Polish. When speaking about her stepmother role in Along for the Ride, she previously told us that she was drawn to it because of her love for being a stepmom.
“I’ve been a stepmom for 11 years, so it was like such an exciting role to be able to take on. I felt like it was so parallel to my own life. I’m very well aware of the evil stepmother trope and I was like, ‘Yes, let’s shatter that,'” she added. Because that’s my relationship with my stepdaughter. It’s so close, warm, and so loving.”
Heather Rae Young
Heather Rae Young’s upcoming wedding to Tarek El Moussa is as big a deal for them as it is for his two kids with ex Christina Haack, Taylor and Brayden. And both sides of the couple have never shied away from the fact that they’re growing as a family, not just as a couple. Young recently explained that she doesn’t feel the need to have more kids with El Moussa, saying on E! Daily Pop: “I already feel like I have two kids.”
Jada Pinkett-Smith
The Red Table Talk host Jada Pinkett Smith, a mother of two, has said she’s not only accepting of Will Smith’s son Trey — whom she called as her “beautiful Bonus” but is also close with Trey’s mom.
“We have learned to LOVE each other,” she wrote in a 2013 Facebook post of the mixed family dynamic.
Gabrielle Union
While Gabrielle Union and husband Dwyane Wade welcomed daughter Kaavia in July 2019, Union has been a stepmom to Dwyane Wade’s three kids: Zaire, Zaya, and Xavier for quite some time — the couple wed in 2014 but began dating in 2008.
Before looking to surrogacy, Union who opened up about her infertility and how it affected her personal and professional life during her appearance at the BlogHer18 Creators Summit and has even called the kids the “driving force” behind their reason to get married.
Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria just became a mom for the first time (her son, Santiago, was born in June 2019), but even before that, she’s been such a proud stepmom that she put the title in her Instagram bio — a doting stepmother to husband José Bastón’s three children: Jose, Natalia and Mariana.
LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes has always had a very close relationship with her two stepsons, Jake and Mason. She said the boys have helped her understand the capacity she has to love.
“The trio that is my life…I am grateful! I will forever be in awe of the wonder of God’s plan,” Rimes gushed.
Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek keeps her relationship pretty private, so you may be surprised to know the actress is very close with her three stepkids from husband Francois-Henri Pinault’s first marriage: François, Mathilde, and Augustin James.
Barbra Streisand
Hollywood legend Barbra Streisand became a stepmother to Jess, Josh, and Molly Brolin when she married their dad, James Brolin, in 1998. Josh has raved about the legendary singer’s stepmom abilities, saying “I thank god for her” for making his father so happy.
Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys and husband Swizz Beatz share two little boys: Egypt and Genesis — and she is a stepmom to daughter Nicole, and boys Prince and Kassem.
“Our family’s one big beautiful family,” Keys said on Good Morning America.
Tori Spelling
Tori Spelling is the proud stepmom to husband Dean McDermott‘s son Jack, whom he shares with Mary Jo Eustace and whom Spelling first met at age 6. For Jack’s birthday in 2019, Spelling reminisced on Instagram about how their relationship had grown: how they “bonded over dogs, his rabbit DIY school project, tag, hide and seek, and video games.”
“He called me Teri. And I didn’t correct him bc I loved that he had his own perception of me,” she continued. “I remember his feet growing and eventually we could share the same shoes (not now he wears a 14 ha ha!). And, I then remember the years as I watched this young boy grow to be a pre teen and a teen and try to figure out his role in our blended family…You are a fighter and a beautiful human @thejackmonty. PS- I know we both hate emotions so I’ll stop now. Happy 21st Birthday! I Love you Jacky Boy. Xoxo.”
Hilaria Baldwin
While Hilaria Baldwin and husband Alec Baldwin are expecting their seventh child together, the yoga teacher and Mom Brain podcast cohost is the stepmom to Alec’s daughter Ireland whom he shares with ex-wife Kim Basinger.
“I have been so lucky to have an amazing dynamic with her,” Hilaria said of her relationship with Ireland. “I never tried to be her mom. I think that’s really important. First of all, I’m 11 years older than her. I met her when she was 15 years old. And we are just like girlfriends. Sometimes she calls me for advice. Sometimes I call her for advice. And so we’ve never had one bad moment our entire relationship.”
Eve
The rapper said that having a stepdad helped her be a better stepmom to husband Maximillion Cooper’s four children: Jagger, Lotus, Mini, and Cash and considers herself a “super chill” stepparent.
Miranda Lambert
When Miranda Lambert married NYPD officer Brendan McLoughlin the country artist became a stepmom to his baby boy.
My stepson is amazing,” Lambert told Extra in June 2019. “I’m loving that whole phase, and I’ve raised a million dogs, so I feel like I’ve got that part of my womanly/motherly thing is full, so this is a whole new journey. It’s great.”
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