10 of Pop Culture's Most Infamous Mothers-In-Law
Your husband's mom might seem a little overbearing, but she's got nothing on these famous MILs.
By Caralynn Lippo
Getty + HBO
Judy Geller, Friends
Ross and Monica's overly critical mother favors her son and constantly pokes fun at her daughter's lack of a husband throughout her various Friends appearances. And Judy isn't a fan of Chandler when he and Monica do eventually get together — though that's all cleared up in "The One Where Ross Got High," a full season before Judy *technically* becomes Chandler's mother-in-law.
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Gemma Teller, Sons of Anarchy
Gemma (played by Married With Children's Katey Sagalin a decidedly less-friendly role) is main character Jax's mother, and the two have a complicated relationship. She has an equally complicated relationship with her son's eventual wife, Tara, which ends when she (spoiler alert) murders her daughter-in-law in cold blood. By the end of the 7-season show, Gemma is the main antagonist.
Cersei Lannister, Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones' HBIC is basically the mother-in-law from hell. When Margaery is first engaged to marry Cersei's oldest son, King Joffrey, Cersei despises her almost from the moment they meet. Things don't improve much after Joffrey is killed and Margaery marries Cersei's surviving son, Tommen.
The animosity between the two grows as Margaery rules at Tommen's side as Queen, and Cersei eventually sets in motion her assassination (and the resulting deaths of, like, half of the most important people in King's Landing). On the bright(ish) side, all of Cersei's children are dead now, so she has no more in-laws to torment. Yay?
Mrs. Bennet, Pride and Prejudice
Mrs. Bennet isn't a bad in-law, per se. But her preoccupation with marrying off her 6 daughters makes it literally the only aspect of her identity worth talking about. By the end of the Jane Austen classic, she's a mother-in-law times 3, to Fitzwilliam Darcy, Charles Bingley, and the awful George Wickham.
Trix Gilmore, Gilmore Girls
The OG Lorelai in the Gilmore clan, Richard's mother Trix is incredibly rude to almost everyone, but particularly to her daughter-in-law, Emily. And everybody knows that Emily is the best character on Gilmore Girls. The peak of her terrible MIL behavior actually happens after she dies, when Emily discovers a letter that Trix had once written to her son begging him not to marry Emily. Not cool.
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Viola Fields, Monster-in-Law
Doting and overprotective, Viola's immediately rocky and downright combative relationship with her future daughter-in-law (played by Jennifer Lopez) is the entire basis of the not-well-received romantic comedy's plot. At one point, she even attempts to poison her son's fianceé with nuts at the couple's rehearsal dinner, which, TBH, is a little much for lighthearted rom-com fare.
Bunny MacDougal, Sex and the City
The mother of Charlotte's first husband Trey, Bunny was way too involved in her son and his wife's lives on Sex and the City. At one point, she even barges into their bedroom unannounced. Creepy.
Hester Crane, Frasier
Frasier's judgmental mom appeared on both Cheers and Frasier (though only as a figment of her son's subconscious in the latter). On the Cheers episode "Diane Meets Mom," she actively threatens Frasier's then-girlfriend with death in an attempt to get Diane to stop dating him.
Marie Barone, Everybody Loves Raymond
The quintessential coddling mother-in-law, Marie was a force of nature on the long-running sitcom and a major, constantly criticizing thorn in Ray's wife Debra's side.
Endora, Bewitched
The witch mother of Bewitched's female lead Samantha Stephens was predisposed to loathe all mortals, so she was inclined to hate her daughter's husband, Darrin, from the moment she showed up in the series premiere. Unsurprisingly, Darrin found himself on the wrong side of a lot of Endora's curses throughout the classic sitcom's 8 seasons.
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Caralynn Lippo Caralynn Lippo is a freelance writer and native New Yorker raised in Brooklyn.
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