*sighs wistfully* MILFS. Mothers. Mommies. Whatever you call them, we here at Fanfic.Mag love them. That’s why we’ve created the counterpart to our list top-ten fanfic DILFS. This is by no means the be all and end all of mommies (and by mommies, we mean a hot, mature lady). Here are just a few of our favourite strong, independent mothers of fanfiction.
- Galadriel
Cate Blanchett. Oh, how you have my heart. The Lady of Light has been stealing our hearts since she first appeared in The Lord of The Rings’ first installment, The Fellowship of the Ring.
Kind, tall (seriously, she’s like 6’4”), and so beautiful that Gimli put aside centuries of dwarven-elvish conflict to ask for a single strand* of her golden hair, Galadriel is the most powerful elf in Middle Earth by the time we see her in LOTR. Not only is she mother to Celebrían, but she gentle-parents (and lightly traumatises) Frodo during his time in Lothlorien, and she sets up the Fellowship with the tools and weapons they will need to succeed in their quest to destroy the ring.
We see Galadriel again in Amazon’s Rings of Power, and she’s back being a badass. Sure, it’s not lore-accurate, but I like my women sweaty, covered in orc-blood, and in the throes of battle. The 8,000+ written works with her as a featured character on AO3 agree.
*BTW, she gave him three hair strands, imbued with the light of the Two Trees. Those who get it, get it.
- Bayonetta
We can hardly talk about MILFs if we don’t mention fanfic’s favourite umbra witch, Bayonetta. If you like a gun-wielding, demon-summoning, shape-shifting, kinda amnesic woman hellbent on thwarting the dastardly angels of Paradiso, then Bayonetta is for you.
First seen in 2009, this videogame series is wonderfully weird; set in a fictional European city called Vigrid, Bayonetta is seductive and clever, set in a world where I constantly have no idea what’s happening plot-wise, but I’m enjoying myself anyway. She’s hot, she’s feisty, she’s very demure, very mindful, and a character that has survived the test of time.
Bayonetta not only spawned several sequels, but it’s continously been re-released on newer, better platforms like the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. Over a thousand fanfictions have been posted on AO3. Nearly 18,000 users follow her tag on Tumblr.
Fine, I guess. I’ll go replay the game if I absolutely have to (skipping with whimsy all the way to my PlayStation.)
- Sofía Vergara
What’s the thing that goes, takatakatakatakatakataka?
Sofía Vergara is a national treasure – a Colombiana I have nothing but admiration for (and maybe a small massive crush. Comedy is hard enough in your native language, but Sofía masters it brilliantly in her second as she plays the part of Gloria in Modern Family. Time and time again, she’s shown her wit and humour both on-screen as a mother and step-mother and in interviews, and (respectfully) she looks fabulous while doing it.
Some of Modern Family’s best moments came from her character, including but not limited to the helicopter, the Disneyland-heels situation, and all the times she beefed with Claire.
Man, I love latinas. With 30,000 people following Modern Family on Tumblr and thousands of stories on AO3, Wattpad, and Fanfiction.net, fanfiction agrees.
- Claire Dunphy
Okay, I know we’ve already done Modern Family, but I can’t mention Gloria without mentioning Claire Dunphy.
The CEO trope is wildly popular in fanfiction, and it’s not always for me, but CEO Claire? Yes, please, thank you very much. Get you a woman who is both mother and boss of the company.
Phil doesn’t know how lucky he is. Claire carries her family on her back, with everyone relying on her as the adult in the room as she tries to manage her kids (Hayley, I’m side-eyeing you bombastically). She’s mature and level-headed but also kind and supportive when really, with her drive, she could’ve gone even further as a career woman, and I love that.
And her chemistry with Gloria. An enemies-to-(platonic?)-lovers ship, anyone? Someone sedate me. Take me back to the padded sell.
- Lauren Graham
GILMORE GIRLS, RISE! Need I say more?
Face-card-wise, Lorelai Gilmore is one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. I would go to war for those blue eyes. But Lorelai isn’t so much defined by her beauty but enhanced by it becasue she’s intelligent. She’s witty. She’s funny. And that’s more attractive than anything.
Lauren Graham is a master actress, bringing so much depth and development to arguably the most fleshed-out, complex female character on screen. She’s not perfect, but she’s a wonderful mother to Rory, endlessly supporting her daughter and steering her to be a good human being by the end of the show. Sure, she passes on her junk food addiction, they don’t always see eye-to-eye, and some of her interactions with Emily are heart-breaking to watch, but I love the melancholy of this character. Her strength. Her determination to rebel against what was expected of her and create and new life for her and her daughter.
She’s included in over 7,000 AO3 fics, nearly 60,000 posts on Tumblr, and Gilmore Girls will live on forever as a cultural phenomenon. Luke, you lucky son of a bitch.
- Lady Dimitrescu
Resident Evil is the gift that keeps on giving.
The videogame series that gave us Leon Kennedy (see the daddies list) also gave us our evil, horror countess mommy – Lady Alcina Dimitrescu. This lady is of noble birth, graceful, sophiscated, mother to three charming daughters…and a bit of a mutant. But we won’t hold that against her!
Maybe Alcina has a thirst for blood thanks to Mother Miranda’s so-called cure, but there’s something captivating about this 9’ 6” aristocrat and her big hats – so much that since her introduction in RE Evil Village in 2021, she’s become a fan-favourite for fanart and cosplays. Fanfiction of her is also very popular – she’s got 16,000 followers on Tumblr and 5,000+ fics on AO3, most of which are quite…spicy.
What can we say? We thirst for a murderous, cannibalistic, parasite-carrying, 100-year-old madwoman. It’s just a shame Ethan Winters doesn’t agree.
- Gillian Anderson
Grace. Sophistication. An endearing Englishness. All hail Queen Gillian.
She’s the star of the X-Files, The Fall, Sex Education, The Crown, and dozens more incredible TV shows and movies – and Gillian eats every time.
Her role as sex-therapist Jean Milburn in Sex Education actually rewrote my brian chemistry. I love her house with all its penis statues and vagina paintings. I love her obsession with pheromones. I love how she’s so patient and gentle (in her own special way) with Otis. Jean is reeling from a messy split with her bastard of an ex-husband, but she’s trying to make it on her own.
She gets it on with a Swedish plumber called Jakob and has a baby. Unfortunately for Jean, it’s not his. It’s complicated. But Gillian is brilliant in every scene. This is a woman who can both star in a coming-of-age show all about sex and bodily functions AND play Margaret Thatcher.
Her characters, including Dana Scully from X-Files, have over 20,000 fanfictions on AO3 and 30,000 followers on Tumblr. Incredible range. Incredible actress. 100% mommy.
- Hannah Waddingham
In the words of RuPaul, wow, she’s a whole lotta woman.
Hannah Waddingham is also a star of Sex Education, but speaking as a fan of hers for many years, there is so much more to her than her excellent performance as Sofia Marchetti. She’s been in Ted Lasso, The Fally Guy, Game of Thrones, Les Misérables, and Benidorm (elite knowledge if you know Tonya Dyke).
She’s tall, she’s blonde, she’s beautiful. She’s an AMAZING singer, noted for her West End and Broadway performances, and I can tell you, Hannah reduces me to tears every time. If you haven’t seen it, watch her rendition of The Winner Takes It All in Benidorm. Mother did not need to go that hard, but she did.
At this point, she’s an icon – both beloved and revered as not only a very talented and stunning actress but a lovely person. Seriously, I’ve never seen or heard a bad word about her.
Perhaps she’s one of the more niche choices on this list, but I regret nothing. In Hannah Waddingham, we trust.
- Aunt May
Okay, Marvel fans, here you go, ya filthy animals. (It’s me. I’m the filthy animal).
We’re not necessarily talking about the aunt of Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield’s Spiderman here (although we’re open to opinions), but the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May.
I can’t lie, while most people were rightly salivating over Tom Holland, my eyes were drifting elsewhere. We’re with Tony Stark on this. And Happy. And that one guy in the sandwich shop. She’s hot. Marisa’s portrayal as an attractive, younger version of Aunt May was refreshingly welcome when she first appeared in Captain America: Civil War. She might be hotter and quite a few years younger than her predecessors, but this Aunt May is no different than that of Rosemary Harris and Sally Field.
Since it’s Disney acquisition, Marvel doesn’t always hit the same way it used to, but they did one thing right with May. She’s not solely someone to simply look at and appreciate, but when this Spiderman has everyone hating on him, she’s always there to guide and nurture. She loves Peter enough to raise him as her own, and she’s in his corner until the very (tragic) end.
May is not the main character nor is she the leading lady. But she’s still featured in over 23,000 AO3 and Tumblr posts, and that’s why I larb her.
- Helen Parr
Someone is gonna need to pick up my tongue. It’s fallen out of my mouth.
In all seriousness, Helen Parr of The Incredibles is my favourite MILF of all time, and I mean that respectfully. Yeah, we get that one exquistie scene of her checking out her dumptruck during the rescue mission, but if you look at her as a character on paper, there’s so much more to Elastagirl.
Her superpower of elasticity symbolises her role as the matriarch of the Parr family – she stretches herself thin to cover every base. She’s got a grumpy, insecure teenage daughter, a son running super-speed circles around her, a mysteriously powerless baby, and a husband amidst a serious mid-life crisis (I’m talking about you, Bob).
Yet, Helen takes it all in her stride; we meet her as a housewife who is trying her hardest to adjust to civilian life after a heroic career, but instead of missing her glory days, she gets on with it. She cooks, she cleans, she goddamn drops everything to go pick up after said crisis-struck husband gets himself compromised on a vanity mission. And she does all of this while suspecting Mr Incredible of having an affair.
Helen bends, but she never breaks. She really is a superwoman. Again, she’s nicher than most MILFs in fanfiction, and some of her ships are VERY questionable, but I love her.
I still thank Pixar every day for making her the star of The Incredibles 2. I walked out of the cinema in love.