9. Lynette Scavo [Desperate Housewives]

Lynette Scavo

Lynette Scavo has been a firm favourite with a steady presence in our top 10 over the past four years. Mother to twins Porter and Preston, Parker, and Penny, Lynette is always willing to do what’s in her children’s best interests, even if they don’t see it that way. Over the years we’ve watched Lynette grow from a frazzled stay at home mother with four hyperactive and often at times unruly children, to a working mother juggling her career and her children. With Desperate Housewives’s time jump, we find Lynnette now balancing a career and raising teenagers, who get into as much trouble as they did when they were kids. In particular son Porter, who became involved with his best friend’s mother in season five, and then Preston, returned from backpacking around Europe in season six with a scheming fiancé! Lynnette is also pregnant again and struggles to deal with going through motherhood again but eventually embraces it. Lynette shows that motherhood isn’t all sunshine and roses and sometimes the best decisions for life are also the most painful ones.

8. Marge Simpson [The Simpsons]

Marge Simpson

Another firm favourite in our top 10 over the past four years is everyone’s favourite animated blue hair mother – Marge Simpson. Mother to Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, the ever so patient Marge not only has her hands full looking after her three young children, but also her dim-witted husband Homer, and still manages to keep the household in order, clean, and cook! Sometimes she even manages to take on extra-curricular activities like starting her own pretzel business or being involved in the community. Marge is definitely the epitome of super-mum, all while still being an ordinary mum!

7. Anne Juergens [The Secret Life of the American Teenager]

Anne and Robbie

Moving up a spot from her 8th position in last year’s top 10, Anne Juergens is a strong and responsible woman, who is embracing her independence in her later years in life, while encouraging her teenage daughters to do the same. Anne is the mother of Amy, Ashley, and baby Robbie, and grandmother to John. Anne also balances reigniting her career – when Amy was born she became a stay at home mother and now that her children are older she is re-discovering her mo-jo, with her family. And not’s let forget about Anne’s estranged husband and the father of her children – George, who let’s face it, can be a bit of a handful himself sometimes! While she loves her children very much, Anne is no pushover and persuades her eldest daughter Amy to be responsible in life and accept the reality of being a teenager mother. The strong and independent spirit that we often see in Ashley and Amy is a reflection of their mother.

6. Tami Taylor [Friday Night Lights]

Tami and Gracie

Tami Taylor has been part of our top 10 for three years running. With her kindness, yet ability to be unafraid to express her opinion, it’s not hard to see why. While she may be mother to Julie and young Gracie, the guidance counsellor turned recently former principal of Dillon High, has often found herself as a mentor and mother figure to other young Dillon residents. She took troubled Tyra Collette under her wing and encouraged her to recognise the potential in herself and now Tyra has achieved her life-long dream of leaving Dillon to go to college and create a better future for herself. When Becky Sproles found out she was pregnant and felt like she couldn’t go to her own mother, Tami was her sound board with no judgement and explained to her all her options. Tami is a popular and much loved mother and mother figure in Dillon – after all, how many other characters out there were able to go from a guidance counsellor to principal in such a short amount of time?

5. Hilda Suarez [Ugly Betty]

Hilda and Justin

After four years, Ugly Betty sang its swan song last month. And during those four years, Betty’s older sister Hilda Suarez, has had a steady presence in our top 10. The loud, brash and opinionated mother of Justin and older sister to Betty, may appear fierce upon first look, but really is a marshmallow who adores her family and would do anything for them. This admirable motherly trait is something that partner Bobby recognised and started a “Hilda Week” because he saw that she was always taking care of everyone else except herself! Awww! Over the last four years we’ve watched Hilda grow from selling beauty products door to door to owning her own business, despite her lack of education, in order to support her son Justin and become someone he could be proud of. The way that Hilda has always unwaveringly supported and encouraged her son and his lifestyle is also commendable.

4. Cate Cassidy [Life UneXpected]

Cate and Lux

Debuting into our top 10 this year is a newcomer to motherhood - Life UneXpected’s Cate Cassidy – a dysfunctional 30 something year old who finds herself learning how to be a mother when the daughter she gave up at 17, re-enters her life almost 16 years later. It is this dysfunctional nature and the learning process that Cate is going through that makes her so popular. Cate is a far from perfect mother, but she gets points for trying and rearranging her controlled life to include Lux. The relationship between Lux and Cate is fragile and still trying to find its way – Lux may have come back into her life and Cate may be trying to make up for the lost years, but Lux can’t easily forgive and forget the fact that Cate gave her up in the first place, even though Cate thought it was best for Lux. As much as Cate and Lux may argue, Cate has shown that she’s not leaving Lux this time and the ladies have had some sweet mother/daughter moments on the show amid the drama.

3. Lily Humphrey [Gossip Girl]

Lily Humphrey

Sitting steady in 3rd position for three years straight is Lily Humphrey (formerly Lily Bass, Lily van der Woodsen, and Lily Rhodes). When her children Serena and Erik van der Woodsen were growing up, Lily wasn’t exactly the best mother. She was more focused on snagging her next husband and her socialite reputation to realise that her children had issues and needed their mother’s love and attention. Luckily for them, Lily has seen the error of her ways and although far from perfect, Lily has become a lot more involved in her children’s lives and has become a better mother. She has also become a mother figure to stepdaughter Jenny and to Chuck - the son of her late husband Bart Bass.

2. Jenna Sommers [The Vampire Diaries]

Jenna Somers

Debuting into 2nd position in our poll this year is cool free spirited aunt turned guardian, Jenna Sommers. Aunt to Elena and Jeremy, Jenna was content with living a carefree life until her older sister and brother in law were killed in a tragic accident, leaving her nephew and niece orphans. Despite leaving her home town with a broken heart, Jenna stepped up to the plate and returned home to become the legal guardian of Elena and Jeremy. Being the cool young aunt has its perks – she can relate better to her teenage charges and able to dispense advice having been through the teenage drama not that long ago. But at the same time it has its downsides with Jenna feeling like she’s in way over her head when it comes to parenting – the rebellious and brooding Jeremy isn’t all that easy to deal with sometimes – and feeling like she’ll never compare to her seemingly perfect late older sister. Jenna genuinine loves her niece and nephew and tries her best to be what they need without being overbearing and that’s what counts.

1. Haley James Scott [One Tree Hill]

Haley and Jamie

For the third year in a row, Haley has taken out the top position in our top 10 coolest TV mothers poll and is there any surprise why? Mother to young Jamie, Haley is talented (she cooks and sings just to name a few), intelligent, kind, beautiful, young, goofy, thoughtful, and responsible – what’s there not to like about Haley? And all these traits embodied as a mother – Jamie is one lucky kid! When Haley was teaching at Tree Hill High, she was a well respected staff member, and one that students felt that they could trust and come to for advice. While she may no longer be teaching there, Haley’s influence on younger generations can be reflected through her son Jamie and even on his friends. This season, Haley has her fair share of drama and heartache from Nathan’s scandal to her mother dying, but has still demonstrated maturity and grace throughout it all, setting a great example for Jamie.

The Complete List
1. Haley James Scott [One Tree Hill] 28% on 471 votes
2. Jenna Sommers [The Vampire Diaries] 18% on 306 votes
3. Lily van der Woodsen [Gossip Girl] 17% on 280 votes
4. Cate Cassidy [Life Unexpected] 10% on 171 votes
5. Hilda Suarez [Ugly Betty] 4% on 74 votes
6. Tami Taylor [Friday Night Lights] 3% on 47 votes
7. Anne Juergens [The Secret Life of the American Teenager] 3% on 46 votes
8. Marge Simpson [The Simpsons] 3% on 43 votes
9. Lynette Scavo [Desperate Housewives] 2% on 38 votes
10.Theresa Russo [Wizards of Waverly Place] 2% on 29 votes
11. Gabriella Solis [Desperate Housewives] 1% on 23 votes
12. Amy Juergens [The Secret Life of the American Teenager] 1% on 18 votes
13. Erica Evans [V] 1% on 16 votes
=14. Debbie Wilson [90210] 1% on 15 votes
=14. Jillian Murray [Sonny With a Chance] 1% on 15 votes
=14. Chloe Kmetko [Make It or Break It] 1% on 15 votes
17. Gloria Prichett [Modern Family]1% on 14 votes
18. Susan Mayer [Desperate Housewives] 1% on 13 votes
19. Debbie Wilson [90210] 1% on 11 votes
= 20. Kim Keeler [Make It or Break It] 0% on 6 votes
= 20. Frankie Heck [The Middle] 0% on 6 votes
22. Angie Bolen [Desperate Housewives] 0% on 6 votes
= 23. Bree Hodge [Desperate Housewives] 0% on 5 votes
= 23. Erica Evans [V] 0% on 5 votes
25. Claire Dunphy [Modern Family]0% on 4 votes
26. Ronnie Cruz [Make It or Break It] 0% on 2 votes
27. Kathleen Bowman [The Secret Life of the American Teenager] 0% on 1 vote