Mother's Day is a celebration of mothers everywhere, but it also marks an opportunity to reflect on what they've taught us.
Stars like Tracee Ellis Ross and Jennifer Lopez have previously spoken about their mothers' impact and the lessons they've learned from them in the past.
(MORE: Mother's Day appreciation: Children read touching thank you letters to their moms)Check out what some of Hollywood's most famous stars have said about their mothers' influence.
Tracee Ellis Ross
"I think the most incredible stuff that I learned from my mother was through the experience of watching her," Ross told CNN's Van Jones about her mother, music legend Diana Ross. "There's a way that my mom navigates her life and her own beingness and experience that is, as a reflection, empowering, and gives me the courage to make my own choices and live my own life as I would."
Julia Roberts
"One of the greatest things she ever did for me ... I remember asking her -- when I had three kids under 3 years old and just felt like I was running in a thousand directions at once -- 'How on earth did you raise all of us? You worked full-time, and you did all these things,'" Roberts told InStyle magazine. "She could have said, 'Well, you know, you just do your best.' But she said, 'Darling, it’s called daycare. I dropped you and your sisters off at 7:30 in the morning, and I would pick you up at 4 in the afternoon.' But it didn’t feel like that to me. I didn’t feel like I was a dropped-off person who didn’t see her mom all day. I just felt completely part of her life, and she was part of mine. And that’s the magic trick: to make people feel that they’re with you when they’re not."
Reese Witherspoon
"I learned a lot about hard work from my mother," Witherspoon told Southern Living. "She was a nurse for 35 years and a teacher. And, you know, just loving what you do makes a job not feel like a job. She taught me to have a passion for my interests and to work into those interests."
Beyoncé
“My biggest hero is and always will be my mother. She has taught me about caring for others, working hard and working smart," the singer and mother of three told Garage Magazine in 2016. "Everything I know about being a mother comes from the examples she has shown. My mother has instilled confidence in my sister and me and taught us to always be grateful."
Jennifer Lopez
Lopez says her mother, Guadalupe, was a driving factor in her success. “My mother said I could do anything with my life," she told The Independent newspaper in the U.K. "I could even be president of the United States."
Kate Hudson
Hudson told People that her mom taught by example. "It's not really advice so much as she's my confidant and we talk about our life and her life, and we support each other now that I'm an adult. Where she's really wonderful is leading an authentic life and a truthful life."
Mindy Kaling
Sadly, Kaling's mother died in 2012 from cancer, but she passed down words of wisdom to her daughter during her life. Kaling told Good Housekeeping that her mom, a doctor, said, "Always be your own best friend."
(MORE: 8 last-minute Mother's Day gifts you can still get to mom on time)Angelina Jolie
Jolie's mother, Marcheline Bertrand, had a strong impact on her life. One of the biggest lessons, she told Vanity Fair, was to "figure out who I was and try to enhance my individual personality and not get in the way of it."
Jennifer Garner
Growing up in West Virginia, Garner told Southern Living that her mother showed her the importance of surrounding herself with good people. "Community is the one thing people crave most, and it’s hard to come by," she said. "I grew up with such an excess of it that now wherever I go, the first thing I do is build my group.”
Kerry Washington
"My mom is a retired professor who has a timeless elegance about her,” Washington told Essence. “She’s not into trends, but she always looked great. Growing up she always received a weekly manicure, and when I got old enough we did it together.”
A mother herself, the actress said she wants to emulate her own mom. "She didn’t instruct, she lived by example. Actions are more powerful than what you say. And [watching my mom] gave me room to discover my own path," she said. "I want my daughter to find her own path, but what’s more important is her relationship with self. Knowing that she feels good and deserves to take the time and invest in herself and not worry about what other think about her is important to me.”
Melissa McCarthy
While accepting an MTV Movie Award, McCarthy paid tribute to female comedians who came before her -- and her mother, who she said, "taught me not to fear being the butt of the joke, and taught me not to worry about being likable or perfect, and to lovingly go for the kill."
