SIGNIFICANT
     MOTHERS

These nine celebrity moms didn't need talent scouts or Little League coaches or Star Search judges to know from the start that their kids were special. (And you know what? The feeling is mutual)

Long before a star's fan club builds its first web site, there is mom laughing at the living room skits and clapping at the school recitals. "If I wanted to show her some stupid dance I'd made up, she always had time," says Megan Mullally of her mom, Martha. But even the apple of a mother's eye can try her patience. "He was mischievous, always into something," recalls Diane Kutcher of her son Ashton. "Once he stacked bricks on the trunk of a car and ruined the paint job." And what happens once their kids become famous? Well, at least one star's mother is ready to accept the credit due her: Says Janice Combs of her son Sean, "He definitely got his good looks from me."

Heather Locklear & Diane Locklear
heather on diane: "I love her to death. My mom was the head of the PTA. She walked us to school. She took us to every class, from baseball to dance. She was always packing our lunches and always there when we came home from school to give us graham crackers and milk. I wish I could do all the things she can do and not get tired. She gives advice if you ask. She's there if I need her. We live five minutes away so I see her all the time. She can get a little down and dirty, in a fun way, but when I say something embarrassing, she calls me Heather Deen! What I appreciate most is her compassion and kindness, which hopefully I can pass on to my daughter. A part of her went into me and each of my three siblings."
diane on heather: "We had four children and each one has their own little thing. Heather happened to be the witty one, but she has always been kind of shy. She took a high school class in drama. She got a D because she couldn't stand up in front of the group and talk. Then she went to UCLA and was discovered. She just came out perfect, we think. I used to cook three meals a day, and my children still love to eat, as does Heather's husband, Richie. It's one of the best things we do together. We're just like everybody else." —Lisa Simpson

The other mothers profiled:
Charlize Theron & Gerda Theron
Ben Stiller & Anne Meara
Ashton Kutcher & Diane Kutcher
Ming-Na & Lin Yee & Michaela
Sean Combs & Janice Combs
Tom Cavanagh & Rosemary Cavanagh
Megan Mullally & Martha Mullally
Derek Jeter & Dot Jeter