If you were looking for a feel-good movie in the 1980s, you could do worse than Steel Magnolias. This southern dramedy follows a group of women through the trials and tribulations of their life and stars some of Hollywood’s biggest names like Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, and Daryl Hannah.
However, the central role went to Julia Roberts, who portrayed Shelby, a young woman with type one diabetes who desperately wants children but cannot have them due to risks from her condition. Although the movie ends with Shelby’s death, she ultimately manages to have a child, and Roberts looked like a true, gorgeous southern belle throughout her time on screen.
Parenthood may not have been the biggest hit of the 1980s, but this family-themed comedy from 1989 was far from a flop. The story revolved around Gil and Karen Buckman (played by Steve Martin and Mary Steenburgen) as they deal with the struggles of raising their three kids while a fourth one is on the way.
Has Mary Steenburgen ever had a role where she didn’t look absolutely charming and gorgeous? If so, it’s definitely not this one! In addition to looking great, Steenburgen also has impeccable comedic timing, which makes her role in this movie even that much better.
The National Lampoon’s Vacation series has spawned six movies and a TV series at this point. However, it all started with the original Vacation film back in 1983. In this movie, we get to meet the Griswolds and their hilariously futile attempts to have a classic family summer vacation.
While the Griswold children have gone through several actors over the years, Beverly D’Angelo has reprised her role as Ellen, the Griswold family matriarch, for all of the main series films. She looked great all the way back in 1983, but honestly, she continues to be one hot mom all these years later too!
Back to the Future was a movie that basically defined the 1980s. You can’t have a discussion about movies from this decade without someone mentioning this beloved time-traveling series. The series got its start all the way back in 1985, and one of the most memorable characters was Lea Thompson as Lorrain Baines-McFly.
And let’s just say she’s not your typical ‘80s mom! Despite Back to the Future being a lighthearted comedy, Lorraine has a particularly disturbing storyline where, in the 1950s, she hits on a boy that she doesn’t realize is her time-traveling son from the future. Is this still Back to the Future, or did we get this mixed up with Oedipus Rex?
The ‘80s were a golden age of musicians starring in hit movies. While Madonna might be the superstar most associated with this trend, don’t forget that Cher also had several cinematic hits during this decade! And one of those was the award-winning film Mask. The movie tells the real-life story of Rocky Dennis, who lived with a deforming genetic disorder known as craniodiaphyseal dysplasia.
In the film, Cher plays Rocky’s mother, Rusty, who had no issues loving her unusual son…or a string of biker boyfriends! While the movie is supposed to be a touching drama, it’s hard to ignore how absolutely fantastic Cher looked in this movie. She was at her peak then, and she hasn’t stopped peaking since!
Sophie’s Choice is not exactly a movie that you would consider “hot.” The award-winning drama follows Polish immigrant Sophie Zawistowski (played by Meryl Streep) as she falls in love with a fellow boarding house tenant despite already being in a relationship. As the two grow closer, he learns more about the horrific past Sophie faced during the war in Poland.
All that being said, there’s no denying that Sophie is one of Streep’s most memorable and beautiful characters. Despite her character’s horrific backstory, Streep portrayed a woman full of quiet beauty inside and out—it’s probably no surprise that she won an Oscar for this unforgettable performance!
The 1980s ended with one of the most memorable sci-fi comedies of all time—Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. The movie followed the delightfully quirky scientist Wayne Szalinski (played by Rick Moranis) as he attempted to create a shrink ray…only to succeed in shrinking down his children to miniature proportions!
While Szalinski’s wife, Diane, is not the most important character in the film, audiences couldn’t forget Marcia Strassman’s portrayal of this long-suffering and gorgeous mother who has to deal with her husband’s crazy antics. This wasn’t the most amazing movie ever made, but Strassman never looked better than this!
In the original Alien movie, we get to see Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley—an all-around space heroine who isn’t afraid to go toe to toe with one of the most terrifying species in the universe. However, in the sequel film, Aliens (released in 1986), we get to see a much different side to Ripley than the tough-as-nails woman we loved in the first movie.
In this film, we get to see Ripley attempt to protect not only herself but also a small child who is the sole survivor in a space colony attacked by the Xenomorphs. While not technically a mom in the strictest sense, Ripley is obviously following her motherly instincts in this sequel…and she still looks great doing it!
When Beetlejuice was released in 1988, audiences had never seen a movie quite as crazy as this one…and that may still be true to this day! This horror-inspired comedy follows a recently deceased couple who turn to an otherworldly exorcist (Beetlejuice) to help drive out the new family that has moved into their home.
The movie is full of memorable roles from iconic actors—including Michael Keaton as the title character and a young Winona Ryder in one of her earliest roles. However, one of the most memorable characters has to be Delia Deetz, Ryder’s wannabe artist stepmother, played by Catherine O’Hara. She may have been obnoxious, but Deetz was one woman who knew how to put an outfit together!
When people think of Fatal Attraction, they think of Glenn Close…and for good reason! The actress amazed and terrified audiences as Alex Forrest, a woman who becomes violently obsessed with a married man after a one-night stand. However, the movie would have been nothing without Anne Archer as Beth Gallagher—the wife of the cheating man who gets unfairly roped into Alex’s chaos.
While most of what you feel for Beth in the movie is pity, you have to admit she looked great as a young ‘80s mom trying to deal with the craziness her husband brought into their lives. Glenn Close may have deservedly been the star of the show, but Anne Archer was the beauty holding the whole thing together!
E.T. the Extraterrestrial is one of Stephen Spielberg’s greatest hits that follows a young boy, Elliott, who unexpectedly befriends an alien who’s trying to find his way home. While E.T. may have won all our hearts, let’s be honest—that alien won’t be winning a beauty contest anytime soon! However, that doesn’t mean that every character was hard to look at.
In probably the most memorable role of her career, Dee Wallace starred as Mary Taylor, a single mother to Elliott who ends up roped into this extraterrestrial caper. While her look in the movie might be delightfully dated today, in the ‘80s, no one could rock a feathered bob and a pair of overalls better than Mary Taylor!
Dirty Dancing had no shortage of attractive actors—including the two lead roles played by Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. This classic ‘80s romance movie followed Frances “Baby” Houseman as she fell in love with a dance instructor (Swayze) that she met while on vacation in the Catskills with her parents.
While she didn’t have the biggest role in the movie, Kelly Bishop (who is probably most famous for Gilmore Girls) played Baby’s mother, Marjorie. Being a well-to-do woman, there’s not a scene in the movie where Marjorie isn’t dressed to the nines in some of the most fashionable styles of the 1980s.
If you’re looking for a feel-good, lighthearted movie, you’ll want to look elsewhere than Ordinary People. This award-winning drama from 1980 chronicled the turmoil in a seemingly perfect family that was struggling with the accidental death of one child and the attempt of another to end his own life.
In a role much different than what she got famous for, Mary Tyler Moore played the part of Beth, who is in denial about the tragedy that has occurred and attempts to pretend her life is business as usual. Moore gave the performance of a lifetime, but she also managed to look amazing as she portrayed this stylish, WASP-y woman.
Lean on Me was released in 1989 and tells the real-life story of a struggling New Jersey high school and the principal who attempted to turn things around for the students. The film starred Morgan Freeman as principal Joe Louis Clark but had a large ensemble cast that really made the film memorable.
One of those characters was Leonna Barrett, the angry mother of a student who was expelled by Clark. Portrayed by Lynne Thigpen (who ‘90s kids might know as the Chief from Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?), Barrett is a bit of a villain in the film, as she is opposed to the movie’s protagonist, but Thigpen brought the character to life and managed to look great while doing it!
Terms of Endearment is a great film for anyone who knows what it’s like to have a complicated relationship with your parents. The film follows a mother-daughter duo, Aurora and Emma, over the course of decades as the two oscillate wildly between bickering and supporting one another. The film was an instant hit and managed to nab five Oscars the year it was released.
Both Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger gave stellar performances as the main characters, and while both are mothers in the movie, we have to give this one to MacLaine’s portrayal of Aurora. She might be one of the older moms on this list, but no one knows how to rock collar ruffles quite like her!
Coal Miner’s Daughter was a 1980 biopic about the life of country musician Loretta Lynn. Named after Lynn’s hit song of the same name, the movie starred Sissy Spacek in the lead role as Lynn herself. Despite being unsure of the role at first, Spacek excelled as the country star and even won an Oscar for her performance.
While we don’t think that Spacek looked quite like a carbon copy of the real Loretta Lynn, she’s honestly never looked better than when she was rocking one of Lynn’s classic embellished gowns and a hairstyle that’s a mile high. How a mother of four manages all that is beyond us!
Stephen King rarely ventures outside the genre of horror, but when he does, it usually leads to a hit movie adaptation! For some, his greatest adaptation may be The Shawshank Redemption, but our money is on the 1980’s classic, Stand By Me. This coming-of-age tale shows a group of four friends during a summer when they struggle with family life and attempt to find the dead body of a local missing boy.
While most of the movie focuses on the four friends, we do get glimpses of their families, including the mother and father of the narrator, Gordie. His mother was portrayed by Frances Lee McCain, who has quite a long list of roles from classic ‘80s movies, including Gremlins, Back to the Future, and Footloose.
No one does sci-fi-horror-comedy musicals quite like Little Shop of Horrors. Come to think of it…has anyone else even attempted such a creative genre matchup again? This musical (which got a movie adaptation in 1986) follows Seymour, a nerdy florist who falls in love and attempts to keep his alien, man-eating plant from destroying the world.
In the film, Seymour’s love interest is Audrey, a shy shop girl with an abusive boyfriend. While not technically a mom by the end of the film, there is a famous musical number from the movie (“Somewhere That’s Green”) where Audrey imagines her future life with Seymour, including two kids that are hilarious carbon copies of their nerdy, weird parents.
There were lots of ‘80s movies about loveable scamps, but none got quite as famous as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The film stars Matthew Broderick as the title character as he fakes an illness to skip school with his girlfriend and best friend to enjoy a day off in the city of Chicago.
Obviously, he has to keep his plans from his parents, so he comes up with these elaborate schemes to keep them in the dark about what’s really going on. Cindy Pickett was cast to play Ferris’ mother, Katie, and while her look in the film is totally ‘80s, it’s also totally stylish. We don’t know what it is about ‘80s moms that made them love shoulder pads and spiky, short hair, but she looks great in both!
The ‘80s comedy Troop Beverly Hills didn’t get any love when it first premiered in 1989, and these days, most people have forgotten about it entirely. While it might not be groundbreaking cinema, it’s at least a charming story about a wealthy, well-to-do mother (played by Shelley Long) who becomes a Girl Scout troop leader in order to get closer to her daughter.
As Long’s character is meant to be your typical Beverly Hills diva, it’s no wonder that she looks so impeccably put together from the start to finish of the movie. She even somehow manages to make the ugly browns and greens of the classic Girl Scout uniform look fabulous!
Step aside, Sanderson sisters, because, before Hocus Pocus, there was the OG witchy trio of Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Susan Sarandon in 1987’s The Witches of Eastwick. The movie follows the women as they unwittingly form a coven due to the fact that they don’t at first realize they are witches.
While there is plenty of witchy fun in the movie, much of it focuses on the women’s struggles in their personal lives. In particular, Pfeiffer’s character, Sukie, is a single mother of six, which obviously poses some problems for her! Raising six kids alone is a herculean task, but Sukie somehow manages to look drop-dead gorgeous while doing it!
Risky Business was the 1980s film that loosed Tom Cruise on the world, and none of us have been the same since. While most people only remember the scene with Cruise dancing in his underwear to Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock & Roll”, the movie did actually have a plot…although not a very exciting one!
Cruise plays Joel Goodsen in the movie and has quite a raucous adventure after his parents leave him home alone on a trip. We don’t see much of Cruise’s mother (played by actress Janet Carroll), but this was still the role that made her famous thanks to her character’s hilariously oblivious nature and amazing ‘80s style.
Even when they’re green, scaly, and wreaking havoc, we can’t help but love the gremlins from the 1984 movie of the same name. The film follows a teenage boy who receives an adorable, fuzzy mogwai for Christmas, only for it to turn into a horde of troublemaking gremlins when he doesn’t follow the pet’s care instructions closely enough.
Although it’s definitely the animatronic hellions that steal the show, the main character’s mother, Lynn Peltzer (played by Frances Lee McCain), is a close second. After the gremlins begin their reign of terror, we see this ‘80s mom switch into Rambo mode as she hilariously takes down several of the monsters causing problems. And she does it all while wearing some truly classic ‘80s styles!
Michael Keaton might be the hottest Mr. Mom from the ‘80s, but for this list, we’re taking a look at his wife in the film, Caroline. In the movie, Keaton’s character becomes a stay-at-home dad after his wife lands a prestigious job with an advertising company. Considering this was an ‘80s comedy, it’s safe to say that hilarity ensues.
Honestly, as far as ‘80s movies go, this is definitely not the best of the best, but it’s worth a watch to see how great Caroline (played by Teri Garr) looks throughout the whole thing. As a high-profile businesswoman, she wears one fantastic ‘80s power look after the other.
If you’re looking for a classic comedy, you can’t do much better than 1987’s Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. The film stars Steve Martin and the late John Candy as two strangers who begrudgingly become friends after their plane is re-routed due to bad weather. The comedic duo spends multiple days trying to get home in time for Thanksgiving.
As most of the movie revolves around Martin and Candy trying to get home, we only get to meet Martin’s wife and children at the end of the film. Actress Laila Robins portrayed his wife, Susan, and, despite only getting a short bit of screen time, still managed to look great while helping to conclude the movie.
Places in the Heart may not be Sally Field’s most well-remembered movie, but this 1984 drama may be one of her best, as she won an Oscar for her performance. The movie follows Field as Edna Spalding, a single mother who tries to keep the family farm afloat after her husband dies during the Great Depression.
Since this is a movie about a woman down on her luck during the Great Depression, we obviously don’t see Field rocking any fabulous ‘80s looks, but she still manages to look amazing in the film. She’s tough as nails and is willing to do anything to keep her family safe and fed—is there anything hotter than that?
When the movie 9 to 5 was released in 1980, it gave us not only a hit movie of the decade but also one of Dolly Parton’s most famous singles to date. The movie follows three working women (Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda) as they plan to get revenge on their scumbag boss, who has wronged all three of them in different ways.
While all three of the movie’s leading ladies look absolutely fantastic, only Tomlin’s character, Violet, is actually a mother. While she might not be winning mother of the year anytime soon (at one point in the movie, the three women actually attempt to murder their boss), Tomlin still looked great as a fed-up working woman.
Was there a coming-of-age movie from the 1980s that Molly Ringwald wasn’t a part of? From Pretty in Pink to Sixteen Candles to The Breakfast Club, she left her mark on the decade with multiple memorable performances. While her 1988 film, For Keeps, might not be one of her best-known, it’s still worth a watch for any Ringwald fans out there.
In the movie, Ringwald’s character, Darcy, finds herself pregnant as a senior in high school. Being a teen mom is probably a lot of work in real life, but on screen, Ringwald manages to look great through the whole ordeal. It’s not the most memorable movie in the world, but we’re never upset when this ‘80s icon is on our screens.
We don’t know what it was about ‘80s movies that revolve around people becoming parents in unexpected and hilarious ways (we’re looking at you, Three Men and a Baby!), but 1987’s Baby Boom is yet another entry in that genre. It’s not the best movie out there, but it does have one of the ‘80s hottest moms!
The movie revolves around businesswoman JC Wiatt (played by Diane Keaton), who receives an inheritance from a dead relative that ends up being a baby. While she is at first reluctant to raise the child, the kid eventually manages to break through her cold, business lady heart, and Wiatt eventually embraces the challenges of being a working mom.
These days, Hairspray is known mainly for the Broadway hit musical adaptation and the movie musical it spawned. However, this cultural icon got its start all the way back in 1988 as a movie from the hilariously twisted mind of John Waters. This cult classic about dancing teens in Baltimore had an all-star cast that included Rikki Lake, Jerry Stiller, Sonny Bono, and Debbie Harry.
However, the most famous role in this movie had to be that of Edna Turnblad, portrayed by the drag queen Divine. Okay, we might be joking when we say that Edna is one of the hottest movie moms of the 1980s, but this was definitely a role for the ages. John Travolta took up the role in the 2007 movie musical, but he couldn’t hold a candle to the OG cross-dressing mom from Hairspray.
