By Selena Barrientos and Caroline Picard, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
Hard, but oh so rewarding: That's what these stars have to say about raising their kids solo. Katie Holmes, Mindy Kaling, Michelle Williams, and other A-list mamas have gotten extremely candid about what it's like to parent without a partner.
Felicity Jones
“Being a working mother and a working single parent instills in you a sense of determination.”
Christina Milian
“I want to show the example that you can be a single mother and work and handle a lot of other things at the same time.”
Edie Falco
“As a single mom, I’m juggling a lot and working long hours. Yes, it costs them a little, but what my children get in return is a mother who is energized and content. It helps us to bring out the best in each other, which is what a family should do.”
Padma Lakshmi
"I have a great career, and I have my daughter. So what I don’t have is not as important to me as what I do have."
Solange Knowles
“I think it’s really important for every mother to find their own way.”
Denise Richards
“I think moms, single or not, put a lot of pressure on ourselves trying to balance it all. It’s never going to be perfectly balanced – the sooner you know this, the sooner you can relieve some of the pressure you put on yourself.”
Roma Downey
“What is free time? I’m a single mother. My free moments are filled with loving my little girl.”
Sofia Vergara
“I was really young when I divorced his father, so I raised him trying to set the best example and give him the best that I could ... When people compliment me on him, on how well mannered, how charming, funny, and well-behaved he is, makes all the sacrifices worthwhile.”
Halle Berry
“For me, motherhood is learning about the strengths I didn’t know I had, and dealing with the fears I didn’t know existed.”
Sherri Shepherd
"I had a lot of guilt as a single mother trying to raise a child. I had to go to work and Jeffrey was screaming that he didn't want me to. You have to give yourself permission to let go of the guilt."
Minnie Driver
“It is really challenging to be by yourself, to be the bread-winner, to make sure your child is having a complete and lovely childhood - and it’s all on you, sort of, on the day-to-day.”
Katie Holmes
"You do the best you can. Some days you feel really good about yourself and some days you don’t."
Nia Long
“Don’t feel guilty about being a single mother. Patience is super important as a single mother. You do have to be a little more patient because all of the responsibility is on you…ask for help!”
J.K. Rowling
“I would say to any single parent currently feeling the weight of stereotype or stigmatization that I am prouder of my years as a single mother than of any other part of my life."
Jacqueline Kennedy
”If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do matters very much.”
Sheryl Crow
“Adopting my boys - that’s just been the biggest everlasting event that has informed everything, and really for the better.”
Britney Spears
"My kids come first, always. There is nothing more rewarding than being a mom and watching my sons grow into young men. I am so lucky that I get to experience all of life's adventures with them."
Connie Britton
“I do want to say there are so many women out there who are single moms, really not by choice, and doing it and making it work every day. I think it’s becoming much more a part of our culture and I hope that it will become more accepted and that those women are going to be more and more appreciated, respected and supported.”
Wendy Davis
“I hope telling the story of how I went from being a single mom to serving in the Texas State Senate to running for governor will remind others that with the right leadership in government, where you start has nothing to do with how far you go.”
Kate Hudson
"I don't try to sugarcoat things. I'll say, 'I'm doing the best I can.' I like cooking, I like presenting. I like it to be an experience and [my kids] help me with it, but if they want something after that, I'll be like, 'Look, I'm placing a meal out for you like a king. I can't do everything. I'm going to have to be the okay mom.'"
Charlize Theron
"I have bad days. I make mistakes. Going through the tantrum stages when they’re such little assholes. And they choose the worst moments. It’s a lot for one person. But after six years of having my two nuggets, there’s not a day when I wish I hadn’t done this."
Sandra Bullock
“My family is blended and diverse, nutty, and loving and understanding. That’s a family.”
Regina King
“I think it is definitely difficult for any professional being a mother, and a single one at that. It’s hard not having a partner to raise your child. It’s difficult, but far from impossible and we smile more than we cry.”
Taraji P. Henson
"Even the President of the United States - four of them, in fact - were raised by single mothers ... Nevertheless, mention that you're a single mom, and all-too-many of us still have to cut through a thick, gristly layer of stigma before we're given our proper due."
January Jones
"My life is so full. It’s not like, ‘Aww, I wish I had a man.’ After I had Xander, I went on a couple of dates and I was like, ‘I’d rather be at home sleeping, or watching TV, or hanging out with my kid.’”
Mindy Kaling
“I've had to learn to release myself from mom guilt at least a couple times a day ... I’m also learning to feel better about asking for help, whether it's from family or hiring help. It’s not profound, but I love my career and I don't want to make myself feel bad about pursuing both. Just cutting myself some slack has been very helpful for me."
Michelle Williams
"When you've been a parent for 11 years and you've done it alone, you don't have romantic ideals, because you have a practical understanding that you can do it by yourself. "
Diane Keaton
"Motherhood is the most completely humbling experience I've ever had. It puts you in your place, because it really forces you to address the issues that you claim to believe in - and if you can't stand up to those principles when you're raising a child, forget it."
Kate Winslet
"What I do feel, very deep within myself, is a strength that will not fail me. You have to carry on as a mother, no matter what, and that's what I've always done. "
Katie Couric
"You don’t have the bad cop when you’re the good cop and you don’t have a good cop when you’re the bad cop; you’re like the whole police force in your family ... and so it’s challenging."
