Behind nearly every great figure in history, there was a mother who pushed, shaped, or quietly laid the groundwork. Sometimes that influence was dramatic. Sometimes it was deeply personal. But it was almost always there.
Here are six remarkable women whose children went on to change the world, and whose own stories deserve to be told.
Olympias, Mother of Alexander the Great
Most people know Alexander the Great as Alexander III of Macedon, the ancient conqueror who built an empire spanning multiple continents. Far fewer know the name, Olympias.
She was the wife of Alexander’s father, Philip II. After Philip was assassinated, Olympias threw herself into helping her son rise to power. Her role was not without controversy. Some historians have claimed she was involved in efforts to remove rival claimants to Alexander’s throne. But her dedication to her son’s success was never in question.
Catherine de’ Medici, Mother of Three French Kings
Catherine de’ Medici started life as an Italian noblewoman. She married Henri II of France and went on to become the mother of three kings: François II, Charles IX, and Henri III.
Two of those sons were still children when they took the throne. Catherine stepped in and effectively co-ruled alongside them. For a period, she held the formal title of Queen Regnant of France. It is hard to think of another mother in history who wielded that level of power on behalf of her children.
Mary Wollstonecraft, Mother of Mary Shelley
This one is a story of influence that crossed the boundary of death itself.
Mary Wollstonecraft was a writer and political activist. She died just eleven days after giving birth to her daughter, from postpartum complications that led to septicemia. Her daughter never truly knew her.
And yet that daughter (Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein) was profoundly shaped by her mother. Her father, William Godwin, taught young Mary to read by tracing the letters on her mother’s gravestone. She grew up to become a devoted reader of her mother’s published works. Themes of parenthood that run through Frankenstein itself are widely connected to Wollstonecraft’s lasting influence on her daughter’s imagination.
Joséphine de Beauharnais, Mother of Eugène de Beauharnais
You probably know her as Empress Joséphine, the famous wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. But before she was Joséphine Bonaparte, she was Joséphine de Beauharnais, named for her first husband, the politician Alexandre de Beauharnais.
From that first marriage came a son, Eugène. Through her influence and powerful position alongside Napoleon, Joséphine helped Eugène rise to prominence in both the military and government. He eventually became the Viceroy of Italy after Napoleon’s conquest of that country.
Notably, after Joséphine’s death and Napoleon’s fall from power, Eugène stepped away from political life entirely and returned to a quiet private existence.
Frances Polidori, Mother of Two Victorian Icons
Frances Polidori raised her children in a household devoted to education and the arts. That environment produced two of the most celebrated names of the Victorian era: her daughter Christina Rossetti, one of the finest poets of her generation, and her son Dante Gabriel Rossetti, one of its most significant painters.
The bond between Frances and her children never faded. Later in life, Christina dedicated many of her poems to her mother. Her brother Gabriel asked Frances to model for several of his paintings, including one that depicts both mother and daughter.
Sara Delano Roosevelt, Mother of FDR
Franklin D. Roosevelt (the 32nd President of the United States) carried his mother’s maiden name as his middle name. The D stood for Delano, her surname before marriage. Sara Delano Roosevelt was FDR’s only parent after his father’s death, and she was devoted to him throughout his life.
That devotion sometimes went too far, at least in the eyes of his wife Eleanor. Sara’s continued control over aspects of Franklin’s life after his marriage created real tension between the two women.
But Sara was far more than an overbearing mother-in-law. Despite sometimes being described as someone who disliked politics, she made speeches on her son’s behalf, took on an unofficial ambassadorial role at one point in his career, and became a supporter of civil rights. She was, by any measure, a formidable woman.
History remembers the great figures. But every so often, it is worth pausing to remember the mothers standing just behind them, the ones who made it all possible.