Moms Gone Wild

Plus: Joan and Christina Crawford’s Toxic Bond

View in browser | Update preferences SUBSCRIBE FOR FULL ACCESS If you’ve ever found the Mother’s Day section of your local stationery shop even slightly unrelatable, this one’s for you. Mom-related Hallmark sentiments are certainly lovely, but most fail to authentically capture the rich diversity of the mother/child relationship, as Mariska Hargitay’s wide-ranging discussion of her mother, Jayne Mansfield or the complicated bond between Queen Elizabeth II and her son, Charles both reveal. Some of us grew up with mothers who did the best they could, which is how Carrie Fisher would sometimes describe her upbringing by Debbie Reynolds. Others, like Christina Crawford, might wish their moms had tried a little bit harder—or had directed their energy in a different, more nurturing direction. While few of us are the children of international superstars or the Queen of England, there’s still something to be gleaned from all these Dedalian connections. Especially inspiring is the story of Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, who nursed mother Rita Hayworth through her frail final years, even as she devoted her life to raising funds to fight the disease that took her mother’s life. “If anything, my mother taught me how to sur-thrive,” Carrie Fisher once said. “There’s a part of me that gets surprised when people think I’m brave to talk about what I’ve gone through. I was brave to last through it.” EVE BATEY, EDITOR Moms Gone Wild BY JUDITH NEWMAN Sure, mothers always get blamed for everything. But—as a look at the women behind Paris, Lindsay, and Britney reveals in the November 2007 issue—if your child is your meal ticket and career booster, it’s hard to be the parent she needs. READ MORE Why this ad? Get more as a Vanity Fair subscriber Exclusive offer: Subscribe to get one month of Vanity Fair free START YOUR FREE TRIAL OLD HOLLYWOOD BOOK CLUB Joan and Christina Crawford’s Toxic Bond BY HADLEY HALL MEARES Joan Crawford portrayed herself as a doting mother in her two books—but in her own infamous memoir, Mommie Dearest, Christina Crawford painted an entirely different picture: “I just wanted to scream at them that it was all a fake.” READ MORE HOLLYWOOD Inside Carrie Fisher’s Difficult Upbringing BY JULIE MILLER Her father, Eddie Fisher, left her mother, Debbie Reynolds, for Elizabeth Taylor—and that was only the beginning. READ MORE ROYALS Inside Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles’s Complicated Relationship BY HADLEY HALL MEARES Romantic and sensitive, young Charles had little in common with his straightforward, undemonstrative mother, but as decades passed, the duo developed a close, warm bond. READ MORE FILM Mariska Hargitay Was “Living a Lie” for 30 Years. Now She’s Embracing Her Mother, Jayne Mansfield—and Her Biological Father BY JOY PRESS Last year Hargitay opened up to VF about My Mom Jayne, a documentary that paints an unvarnished portrait of her Hollywood bombshell mother—and reveals the true identity of her biological father. READ MORE HOLLYWOOD Rita Hayworth’s Heartbreaking Vanishing Act BY ANTHONY BREZNICAN “She looked at me and she said, ‘Who are you?’” Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, the daughter of Hayworth and Prince Aly Khan, tells VF. READ MORE Why this ad? MORE FROM VANITY FAIR POLITICS BUSINESS HOLLYWOOD STYLE ROYALS CELEBRITY This e-mail was sent to you by VANITY FAIR. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2026. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.