We learn a lot from our moms. But when your mother is a household name in music, film, politics, or otherwise, the lessons you learn can be next-level. Here are 12 daughters of powerhouse moms who are now powerhouses in their own right.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Susan Wojcicki, Anne Wojcicki, and Janet Wojcicki
Daughters of Esther Wojcicki
Each of Esther Wojcicki’s three daughters — Susan, CEO of YouTube</a>; Anne, CEO of 23andMe; and Janet, University of California San Francisco doctor and researcher — became such impressive leaders in their fields that Esther wrote a book about raising them called, not surprisingly, How To Raise Successful People.
Cecile Richards
Daughter of Ann Richards
Cecile Richards led Planned Parenthood Federation of America from 2006 to 2018, and transformed the reproductive rights organization into a political force, but she would not have jumped at the opportunity had it not been for her mother, Ann Richards, the last Democratic governor of Texas.
Cecile told Business Insider what her mother would say when she had doubts: “Get over yourself. You never know unless you try, and the things you really regret in life are the chances that you didn't take."
Tracee Ellis Ross
Daughter of Diana Ross
Tracee Ellis Ross is known as much for her starring roles in Girlfriends and Black-ish as she is for her passionate support of the #Timesup and #Blacklivesmatter movements. And she credits her mother, singer Diana Ross, with stoking her own ambitions.
"She used to say things like, 'Oh no, no, no, I worked for all of this,'" Ellis Ross told ABC. "'This is mine, and I’m not leaving any of it to you. I’m going to spend it, so you’d better get a job, little girl.'"
Lena Dunham
Daughter of Laurie Simmons
Lena Dunham created, wrote, starred in, and frequently directed the hit HBO show Girls, and continues to make a name for herself creatively. Dunham shares her passion for art, politics, and women's issues with her mother, artist Laurie Simmons.
“The entirety of my childhood was seeing creative people not just be creative, but also interact with each other about each other's work,” Dunham told Vice in an interview. “But having an artist mom whose work was just as important as my father's was, I think, especially formative.”
Maria Shriver
Daughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Maria Shriver — award-winning journalist, author, and former first lady of California — learned so much from her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of President John F. Kennedy and founder of The Special Olympics.
“The gift my mother gave me was the gift of possibility,” Shriver wrote for Today. “From an early age, she instilled in me a belief that I could do anything I wanted to do. It wasn’t a matter of, 'Can I?' or 'Should I?' It was just, 'You can, you must, you will!'"
Chelsea Clinton
Daughter of Hillary Clinton
The former first daughter is now a mother herself, as well as an author and vice chair of The Clinton Foundation. She credits her mother, Hillary Clinton, with giving her the will to persevere, whether on the playground as a child — or as an adult.
"I learned to never give up, and always get back up the next day,” Chelsea said in an interview with O Magazine.
