IT’S Mothering Sunday this weekend and time to celebrate the women who made us who we are.
So showbiz writer Garth Pearce asked ten celebrities what their mum has taught them over the years.
Here they share what they learned from the most important women in their lives.
BEYONCE
On mum Tina
SHE taught me to be obsessed with truth.
If I can’t tell the truth for some reason then I don’t say anything.
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She worked in a bank and saved enough money to open her own hair salon, called Headliners so I wanted to be a hair stylist for a while, then a dance teacher.
When I finally thought about singing for a living, I told her: “There is no way this is going to work, but I want to be a singer.”
She didn’t laugh and let my dad, Mathew, leave his job to manage me.
It was so difficult at the start.
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We lost money and had to sell our house to move to a small place.
My mom said: “Follow your dreams and we will worry about the rest.”
Beyonce is my mom’s maiden name and one which I am very proud to have.
RIO FERDINAND
On mum Janice
WE were living on an estate in Peckham, South London, and I could never see myself moving away.
My mum would tell me to go out and see the world and to not put off your plans.
When I first had some success, I began to go off the rails a bit.
I was suddenly being invited into clubs, free of charge.
The idea was to have a good drink, a late night and run it all off in training the next day.
I remember my mum saying: “Stop going out or you will be on the scrap-heap.
“There’s a big world out there. Make sure you get to see it.”
ANGELINA JOLIE
On mum Marcheline
MY mom always made it clear that I was her friend, and that was a lesson for life.
We would play together, dance together and she showed me how to be kind.
We would call her Marshmallow, instead of Marcheline, as a joke, because she was the most gentle person in the world.
She would never get angry or swear.
Any time I had a problem, she would ask: “What are you feeling? What are you thinking? What are you doing?”
She wanted to listen.
I was like my mom’s girlfriend.
So I was able to talk to her.
LEO DICAPRIO
On mum Irmelin
AS a toddler she had a broken leg, which landed her in a German hospital.
Refugees and soldiers from the war were also there and she ended up contracting several major illnesses.
She didn’t leave hospital for two and a half years.
She taught me by her example – moving to America, living a life and appreciating every day.
It has made me want to live life at its fullest, enjoying new places, art, wildlife, the ocean.
What I do does not change the course of history.
I am an actor. We are clowns for hire.
Life is much bigger.
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY
On mum Sharman
MY mum was an actress, until she started to write.
She suffered from stage fright and never went back to the theatre.
My dad (Will Knightley) acted but money was tight.
He told her they could afford a second child only if she turned to writing.
That second child was me!
So she taught me that this is the sort of business which can end in a flash.
And to always treat people how you’d like to be treated.
It made me mature.
I was lucky enough to get plenty of work in my 20s.
And that’s what it was, luck.
If no one hires you, it’s out of your control.
Enjoy it for what it is.
KATE WINSLET
On mum Sally
MY mum taught me the importance of getting on with life, without complaints.
She was never afraid of hard work.
There were six kids on my mum’s side.
They all acted at some point, apart from mum, who was the shy one.
My dad Roger acted, too.
But when I was 11, he had a serious accident on a canal boat which virtually pulled his whole foot off.
Mum adapted immediately.
She worked in a deli and we had family allowance as a back-up.
She was always strong, never complained and all I remember is a happy atmosphere despite the fact money was so tight.
JENNIFER LOPEZ
On mum Guadalupe
I HAD some tough love from my mom.
She always told me to get to know a man first and never to rely on him.
I have spent too much time throwing myself into love, rather than stopping and thinking and learning.
What girl listens to everything her mother says?
We had some fights about our different views.
I should have taken more notice.
I got lost back there for a while.
This business takes over and you don’t think straight.
But I had a loving, caring family and I was trying to get that for myself.
I am a natural romantic who thinks on the lines of love and marriage.
SHERIDAN SMITH
On mum Marilyn
MUM had a country and western act with my dad, Colin, called The Daltons.
I remember at school feeling embarrassed, because no one else’s parents were like that.
But later, I realised how cool it really was.
I would sing with them on stage and my mum taught me: “Remember, you can do anything and go anywhere if you know that you’re loved.”
That’s how I ended up going to London at just 16 to appear in theatre.
I lived with five 16-year-olds in a two-bed flat.
I found it very tough but I always felt mum’s support was like a safety net.
It kept me going.
JAMIE BELL
On mum Eileen
SHE took me to dance classes which started it all. I was just 13 when Billy Elliott came out and that changed everything.
My sister and I were living in a little village in Teeside, being brought up by my mum on her own.
I was able to move to London and then to America – but I’ve never forgotten where I came from.
I am not going to lie and say that travel and Hollywood films have not changed me.
It gives me new experiences and sights and people I never expected to see.
But I’ve never let that go to my head. My mum always said: “Remember who you are.”
CHARLIZE THERON
On mum Gerda
MUM taught me “Do anything for your children”.
It is no secret that she shot dead my alcoholic dad when he was attacking us with a gun.
She saved our lives and you can’t make a greater sacrifice than that.
She would always say that she would do anything to protect me from harm.
With that sort of support and confidence I was able to move from South Africa and work and live around the world.
It opened up my life in a way which I could never have imagined.
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A lot of people would say their mum is the greatest.
I think, in my case, she is.
