These women have many accomplishments to their names, but they all managed something much more difficult long before they became famous. They all became mothers before attaining high-profile status within their chosen careers. It’s hard enough to make history with monumental achievements, but to do it all while raising children is something to admire above all else. Besides, after becoming a mother, how hard can conquering the world be?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Kris Jenner
Kris Jenner and her children have formed an entire empire on their family dynamics. Kris Jenner is mother to the Kardashian children (Kim, Khloé, Kourtney, and Rob) and two Jenner children (Kylie and Kendall). She has lived in the public eye for decades, having been married to Robert Kardashian when he gained notoriety for working on the defense team of O.J. Simpson in “the trial of the century.” Yet, it wasn’t until 2007 that Kris Jenner truly became famous with the launch of a reality show about her family called Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Jenner’s oldest child, Kourtney, was 28, and her youngest child, Kylie, was 10 when the show first premiered. Now, all of her children have gained fame in their own right, and Jenner is still a heavily featured presence in their lives, both on and off the show.
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton was already a mother before she became a prominent political figure. She and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, raised their daughter, Chelsea, in the White House. After serving as first lady, Clinton went on to become a US senator and later served as secretary of state. She then became the first woman to be nominated for president by a major political party, running as the Democratic candidate in the 2016 election, after a bid in 2008. Her daughter supported her through both presidential campaigns.
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart’s daughter, Alexis, was already an adult by the time Martha became a household name. After raising Alexis with her husband, Andrew Stewart, Martha created an empire for herself. She launched lifestyle magazine Martha Stewart Living and had two successful television shows. While Stewart gained fame and recognition for founding Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and building a brand around her personality, she is arguably more well-known for something else. In 2004, Stewart was convicted on felony charges of conspiracy, obstruction of agency proceedings, and making false statements to federal investigators. She served time in jail for five months and then another five months of house arrest. Although she has rebuilt her brand since her release, Stewart has not risen to the same level of fame and attention that she had before her arrest.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt was the longest-serving first lady in the United States, staying in the White House with her husband, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (also known as FDR), from 1933 to 1945. The Roosevelts had six children: Anna, James, Franklin Delano Jr. (died within his first year), Elliott, Franklin Jr., and John, all of whom were fully grown before FDR first became president. Roosevelt worked hard as first lady, speaking out in support of civil rights for African Americans in the US and regularly holding press conferences, writing columns, and sharing her opinions with the public. She majorly redefined the role of first lady — which, up until then, had mainly been a position of hostess and homemaker.
Elizabeth Taylor
Before Elizabeth Taylor gained incredible notoriety for her tumultuous romantic life and seven husbands, she became a mother to two boys, Christopher and Michael, with her second husband, Michael Wilding. Although Taylor had been an actress for years and gained attention for her role in National Velvet, it wasn’t until Giant was released in 1956 that she became silver screen royalty. Taylor went on to star in many other feature films, including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cleopatra, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. In 1957, Taylor gave birth to a daughter, Liza, with her third husband, Mike Todd, and later on, she adopted a German orphan, Maria, with her fifth husband, Richard Burton.
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright had three daughters — Anne, Alice, and Katherine — with her husband, Joseph Medill Patterson Albright, before divorcing in 1982. Albright went on to make quite the name for herself in politics. Under President Bill Clinton’s administration, she was appointed as the US ambassador to the United Nations. She held the position for four years before becoming the secretary of state. She was the secretary of state for four years until Clinton left office in 2001. Albright was the first woman to be appointed secretary of state.
