Actor Michelle Williams said something I will never forget when she accepted her Oscar in 2012. Thanking her daughter, Matilda, the award-winner said “I am a mother first.”

I recently read a quote by Sophia Loren that struck me, too. She said “When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.”

I love these vintage photos and how you can almost forget that these great women were never really recognized as mothers first.

 

Jane Birken and Charlotte

Jacqueline Kennedy and Caroline

Jane Fonda and Troy

Zsa Zsa Gabor and Constance

Shirley MacLaine and Sachi

Elizabeth Taylor and Michael

Sophia Loren and Carlo

Audrey Hepburn and Luca

Lucille Ball and Lucie

Natalie Wood and Courtney

Judy Garland and Liza

Peggy Lee and Nicki Lee