History Main / GlamorousSingleMother

->'''Bulma:''' You know, Vegeta might be...''is'' a total ass, but he's not that bad.\\

-->--''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged''

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]
* Ash Ketchum's mom Delia from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' fits this trope somewhat. While she is a very good mom, Ash left his home at ten to commence his journey, as most young men and women around his age do, so compared to many, she had a lot less on her work plate. She is always there to welcome him back at the end of a journey.

[[folder: Film]]

* Averted with Chris Sanchez in ''Film/{{SWAT}}'', who ends up having to be on call during her kid's birthday party ([[PulledFromYourDayOff and gets called in, naturally]]) and complains when three of the other officers on the SWATTeam don't want to go out drinking with her after they pass the SWAT test (although Street takes her up on it):

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* Rachel on ''Series/{{Friends}}'' is more of a subversion. She is single during her pregnancy and after Emma is born, while maintaining a high-profile job. However, Ross (Emma's father) is a consistent presence throughout it all - even taking off work for a time to help raise her. The trope is even {{Lampshaded}} during her baby shower, where Rachel is starting to panic that she won't be able to handle it. Ross points out that she has overcome adversity before, but also has the benefit of him (already an experienced parent). Not to mention she has a very strong support group around her, who all live locally and are happy to help out. In fact, the ever-dependable Monica and Chandler seem to spend more time with Emma than Ross and Rachel do.

This trope, coupled with BabiesMakeEverythingBetter, can create some dastardly UnfortunateImplications in that they make getting pregnant appear to be a substantially less physically and emotionally draining task than it really is. It's probably not coincidental that this trope almost always involves upper-middle-class women, as opposed to the working poor. Contrast SingleMomStripper and StrugglingSingleMother.

* Probably the most famous invocation of this trope is the title character on ''Series/MurphyBrown''. Dan Quayle famously attempted to question the UnfortunateImplications this trope creates - and ended up the target of ridicule (in Real Life and on the show itself) for suggesting that television could influence people like that. Interestingly, [[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,319786,00.html Candice Bergen herself]] thought Quayle had a point.

* ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Back when Myne was a modern-day Japanese woman named Urano who died in her early twenties, her mother raised her alone. Myne makes no mention of financial struggles despite Urano's {{Bookworm}} habit and her mother's FleetingPassionateHobbies that mostly consisted of crafts. There is mention of her trying to save money at some point, but it's presented of having been yet another hobby rather than a necessity. Lack of difficulty with other aspects of raising a child may be justified in part by Urano's borderline addiction to reading making her fairly easy to keep busy.

* ''VideoGame/HuniePop'' has Kyanna Delrio, a glamourous 21-year old mother of one, a hairstylist and an aspiring actress. The development team made a conscious choice to completely gloss over the motherhood aspect of her character because they believed it would be too much of a buzzkill.

In RealLife, being a single mother is ''not'' easy. Let's be honest here. Children kind of need a lot of attention. It can be an overwhelming task for two parents, let alone one who also needs to have a day-job just so she can put food on the table.

* Ash Ketchum's mom Delia from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' fits this trope somewhat. While she is a very good mom, Ash left his home at ten to commence his journey as most young men and women around his age do, so compared to many she had a lot less on her work plate. She is always there to welcome him back at the end of a journey.

* Lindy Harlaown from ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' managed to balance having a successful career as a military officer with raising her son by herself after the death of her husband, then went onto adopt a second child with severe emotional scars. None of this is ever shown to be a burden for her, and she is never depicted as anything less than a [[GoodParents loving mother]] for the entire run of the series. Of course, the fact that her son was serving on her ship by the time of their introduction probably helped to reduce the workload.

* ''Series/ShesGottaHaveIt'': Opal and Shemakka both have daughters here, and aren't involved with their fathers (Opal's a lesbian who just got a donation from him). They both seem to do very well. However, though their fathers don't appear, it does seem they pay support and are involved, which probably helps.

* The indie film ''Film/{{Tumbleweeds}}'' had a similar situation with the single mother, though a little more realistic in tone.

* {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in ''Film/{{Mermaids}}''. Rachel Flax is an attractive single mother of two and is able to financially support both of her daughters despite working low-paying jobs (perhaps justified as the film is set in 1963 and it was easier to support a family on a modest income back then) while also having a healthy sex life. However, she is shown to be a terrible parent. She doesn't cook, feeding Charlotte and Kate nothing but finger foods while treating them more like friends than her children. Rachel's promiscuity has resulted in her and the girls moving dozens of times and Charlotte holds a deep resentment for Rachel, swearing herself to a life of celibacy and dreaming of joining a convent as a way of rebelling against her mother. This all comes back to bite Rachel when Charlotte develops a crush on local handyman Joe and Charlotte doesn't know how to handle it, all culminating with [[spoiler:Charlotte getting herself and Kate drunk, giving herself up to Joe and Kate falling into a river and almost drowning]].

* Parodied in a dark way in ''Film/{{Ulvesommer}}'' where Cecilie is [[SexyScandinavian beautiful]] single mother who's a LethalChef and a suitcase filled with [[ReallyGetsAround pictures of her exes]], except for her daughter, and the story's heroine, Kim's father. Because 'he left her with a kid' by falling off a mountain and dying. Kim loves climbing like her father, which is expected for her to be sceptical too, but she disapproves of Kim being a {{Tomboy}}, even though she almost always travels around with her boyfriends rather than caring for Kim. She finally gets CharacterDevelopment in the end, TakesALevelInBadass, and becomes a good mother.

* Rachel on ''Series/{{Friends}}'' is more of a subversion. She is single during her pregnancy and after Emma is born, while maintaining a high-profile job. However, Ross (Emma's father) is a consistent presence throughout it all - even taking off work for a time to help raise her. The trope is even {{Lampshaded}} during her baby shower, where Rachel is starting to panic that she won't be able to handle it. Ross points out that she has overcome adversity before, but also has the benefit of him (already an experienced parent).
** Not to mention she has a very strong support group around her, who all live locally and are happy to help out. In fact, the ever-dependable Monica and Chandler seem to spend more time with Emma than Ross and Rachel do.
* Alicia Florrick on ''Series/TheGoodWife'' is a high powered lawyer, often working incredibly long hours. She is still married, but her husband's not there (he's in prison early in the series; later they're separated) so she acts as single mother. On the other hand, her children are teenagers so they're more independent, but the only problems she ever has with them are about them mildly rebelling.

* Virginia Johnson on ''Series/MastersOfSex''. We don't see her children every episode, especially since both she and Masters conceal considerable portions of their personal lives from each other (he less than she).
** In season 3 this is deconstructed, with her now-teenage daughter arguing with her and outright calling her a bad mother, claiming that she left the kids to raise themselves while she was focusing on the study.
* Naomi Sandburg in ''Series/TheSentinel'' travels constantly all over the world, has nice clothes, etc. in spite of being an ex-flower child with a son whose father she's not sure of (or won't admit.)
** Fanfiction often speculates that she comes from a well-to-do family and has a trust fund.
* Lisa from ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. She also has a ridiculously nice house, even though she doesn't have an especially good job and is raising a kid on her own.
** It is very possible that she inherited the house since when she had a house party, in which she invited Dean, no parents or other relatives of her were shown. Plus, she once dated Dean, who is very familiar with credit card fraud and might have taught her a trick or two.

* {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in ''Film/{{Mermaids}}''. Rachel Flax is a single mother of two and is able to financially support both of her daughters working low-paying jobs (perhaps justified as the film is set in 1963 and it was easier to support a family on a modest income back then) while also having a healthy sex life. However, she is shown to be a terrible parent. She doesn't cook, feeding Charlotte and Kate nothing but finger foods while treating them more like friends than her children. Rachel's promiscuity has resulted in her and the girls moving dozens of times and Charlotte holds a deep resentment for Rachel, swearing herself to a life of celibacy and dreaming of joining a convent as a way of rebelling against her mother. This all comes back to bite Rachel when Charlotte develops a crush on local handyman Joe and Charlotte doesn't know how to handle it, all culminating with [[spoiler:Charlotte getting herself and Kate drunk, giving herself up to Joe and Kate falling into a river and almost drowning]].

* Laura in ''Film/ThirteenWomen'' is a young widow (presumably. Her husband's fate is never mentioned but he is definitely out of the picture) raising her son Booby. However, she lives in a BigFancyHouse with servants, and is rich enough not to need to work. And is played by the glamorous Creator/IreneDunn.

* Laura in ''Film/ThirteenWomen'' is a young widow (presumably. Her husband's fate is never mentioned but he is definitely out of the picture) raising her son Booby. However, she lives in a BigFancyHouse with servants, and is rich enough not to need to work. And is played by the glamorous Irene Dunn.

* {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in ''Film/{{Mermaids}}''. Rachel Flax is a single mother of two and is able to financially support both of her daughters working low-paying jobs (perhaps justified as the film is set in 1963) while also having a healthy sex life. However, she is shown to be a terrible parent. She doesn't cook, feeding Charlotte and Kate nothing but finger foods while treating them more like friends than her children. Rachel's promiscuity has resulted in her and the girls moving dozens of times and Charlotte holds a deep resentment for Rachel, swearing herself to a life of celibacy and dreaming of joining a convent as a way of rebelling against her mother. This all comes back to bite Rachel when Charlotte develops a crush on local handyman Joe and Charlotte doesn't know how to handle it, all culminating with [[spoiler:Charlotte getting herself and Kate drunk, giving herself up to Joe and Kate falling into a river and almost drowning]].

* ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Back when Myne was a modern-day Japanese woman named Urano who died in her early twenties, her mother raised her alone. Myne makes no mention of financial struggles despite Urano's {{Bookworm}} habit and her mother's FleetingPassionateHobbies that mostly consisted of crafts. Lack of difficulty with other aspects of raising a child may be justified in part by Urano's borderline addiction to reading making her fairly easy to keep busy.

* Subverted in the Literature/JudgeDee story "The Coffins of the Emperor". The Judge meets a young prostitute raising her infant son (fathered by a soldier) in abject poverty in a garrison town on the northern border of China. She's also disfigured from a badly-healed whip mark (the father of her son was in prison and she tried to break in to see him). Fortunately, the Judge manages to prove the soldier's innocence and send him back to the girl.

->'''Bulma''': You know, Vegeta might be...''is'' a total ass, but he's not that bad.\\
'''Tien''': Says the woman he left a single mother.\\
'''Bulma''': Please. I'm rich. It's hardly the same.

* Averted in ''Film/BigEyes''. Margaret is extremely concerned about providing for her daughter by herself. Her first ex-husband uses the fact that she is a single mother to try and take custody of Jane, and Margaret has to marry Walter to avoid this. During the trial, Margaret admits that a big part of the reason Margaret stayed with Walter as long as she did is that she didn't think she could provide for herself and Jane on her own.

'''Bulma''': Please. [[Fiction500 I'm rich]]. It's hardly the same.

* {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in ''Film/{{Mermaids}}. Rachel Flax is a single mother of two and is able to financially support both of her daughters working low-paying jobs (perhaps justified as the film is set in 1963) while also having a healthy sex life. However, she is shown to be a terrible parent. She doesn't cook, feeding Charlotte and Kate nothing but finger foods while treating them more like friends than her children. Rachel's promiscuity has resulted in her and the girls moving dozens of times and Charlotte holds a deep resentment for Rachel, swearing herself to a life of celibacy and dreaming of joining a convent as a way of rebelling against her mother. This all comes back to bite Rachel when Charlotte develops a crush on local handyman Joe and Charlotte doesn't know how to handle it, all culminating with [[spoiler:Charlotte getting herself and Kate drunk, giving herself up to Joe and Kate falling into a river and almost drowning]].