Beyoncé, Selena Gomez, Billie Eilish & Travis Kelce’s Moms Talk About Raising Superstars
I started doing the girls hair because they were 14 15 years old it was to protect my kids and they need protection trust me totally different experience with me with two boys in sports I do not worry about them at all I just don’t welcome to an iconic group of mothers who have raised some of the most famous people in the world I want to start with having you all introduce yourself I’ll start with you Maggie I Magie beard uh my children are Billy eish oconnell and Phineas oconnell both musicians songwriters and all around
wonderful people I’m Tina noes and I’m the mother of three wonderful children Beyonce Salange and Kelly a bonus daughter I’m Mandy TFI I am the mother of Selena Gomez and Gracie TFI hi I’m Donna Kelsey I’m the mother of two football players Jason and Travis who are unashamedly themselves I just want to get straight into motherhood and what you imagined motherhood would look like for you and how it is different from what you expected I expected it to look very much like it did been the best job that I’ve ever had and it’s daunting it’s a lot of
responsibilities and I felt so blessed because I lost my mom like 6 months before I got pregnant it was the best blessing ever in life to me I always wanted to be a mother also lost my mother in my 20s as much as I always wanted to be a mother I don’t think I was prepared for the the depth of the love and the joy also the hard you’d see like a mother out walking a baby and you think this is like the image of peace and ease and then when you are a mother you’re like oh my gosh it was so hard to just get out the door so was the hardest
thing but the most joyous thing and also I felt very needed every creative skill you have every Talent you’ve ever had everything is needed in that job I found that very fulfilling Mandy what you think well I had Selena at 16 so I really didn’t have any idea of what to expect I was obviously really scared and nervous it’s almost like we grew up together we joke that we’re going to have to be in retirement homes at the same time then I had Gracie later in life 37 so it’s been different experiences completely then you have the
added pressure of them under the spotlight and they’re trying to grow and be themselves and go through what every other kid goes through and they don’t get to do that free of judgment was there a moment where you realized your child was maybe going to book any expectation that you had on what their life would look like Beyonce was seven and her dance teacher put her in a talent show with bigger kids like all the way up to high school and I was like that’s not fair cuz she’s only seven and she went in and she was shy and I mean
she got on that stage and commanded the stage and I was my husband and I were like who is that you know cuz the confidence came and a Joy I could see it and so she felt so confident she she said well I just want to get my trophy I’m hungry and I want to go home and I’m like you don’t know if you won like sit down and chill but it was something that happened on that stage that I had never seen before so I I felt very confident that’s what she wanted to do cuz she’d always say you know I want to be like Michael Jackson I’m like yeah well who
does it you know whose kid doesn’t she showed a lot of um confidence and that was my main thing is I I saw the joy in it when you see the confidence in your children and you see them doing so well is there moments of motherhood where you want to keep them more grounded how was that conversation at home for you Maggie people would always say to me like you’re your mind blown that you know Billy’s playing Radio City or MSG or something I was like my mind was blown when she played the high hat in Highland Park I mean I think everyone’s parent is
mind blown when you see your child you know step on a stage and do anything graduate something yeah you step on stage in front of 10 to 100 thousand people and that’s an hour and a half you know and then the rest of the time you’re at the dinner table and your brother’s giving you and you know what I mean and so I think that the family part is the part that keeps it samean yeah especially you know once they played each other and that was special I don’t think they even knew that they were brothers so um cuz they’re a little different but basically
the same they’re pretty funny pretty boisterous but yeah trying to keep kids grounded when they do get to that stage is I think if you just bring things that they did when they were children to just show them that they’re like everybody else how many broken windows there were how many times I had a call from the neighbor or you know just silly stuff they weren’t mean children or bad children just that they were very rambunctious do you still get to do all those normal things with your kids is there anything that you’ve had to give
up in the world of Fame I’m looking at you Tina what like what have you had to say goodbye to in the word of normal SE or a family unit you know salons just won’t play the game she’ll just put a hat on and go shopping but obviously that’s not something that we can do that’s what I miss like I miss us going to the grocery store going to with my kids going to eat something that’s just really simple because you don’t get to do that you don’t get to go to the mall anymore I always use Disneyland as the as the example like you have to go in
the back where all the mechanical things are and you don’t really get to go through the park and you can’t but you have to walk like 90 M an hour and go really fast and so yeah you do miss out on that we used to have a lot of times that we would go to Target and just hang out at Target and just shop and do silly things but you can’t do that anymore you three in particular your children found Fame very young for the boys it was a little later in life that trajectory has been probably more intense in the last
two years uh yeah we can’t go anywhere really yeah it’s a it’s just if we want to do something you have to run out the restaurant or the movie theater but I do you know get to uh sneak away every once in a while and we go to places that nobody knows where they are do you get the moments where somebody’s stopping you on a plane or when you’re walking down the street and saying yeah are you Travis and Jason’s mom yeah they know it and I’ve tried everything I’ve tried sunglasses but I’m just so tall and big it’s hard to not noce me walk by I’m
grateful that people know who I am and most of them are very very respectful and it’s like we love your children I mean what mom doesn’t want to hear that it’s just when somebody like tries to take a picture of you in the bathroom I’m like whoa I draw the line at the toilet you know let’s let’s stop how about you those moments of like you’re Selena’s mom I don’t get that a lot actually and I’m thankful because I usually am in sweats and no makeup and hair in a bun so if I do get recognized I’m like oh my God like I look like this
all the time that you recognize who I am so my youngest Gracie gets it L my husband gets it a lot but me I for some reason I I don’t get it that much so it’s nice Tina you must I feel like you’re one of the most recognizable moms in America I get a lot but you know I enjoy talking to people I’m a people person so I don’t mind taking a picture I don’t mind as long as people are respectful it’s fun for me I’ve met some really interesting people what about you Maggie I’ve been traveling with Billy since she was 13 14 years old so a fan
will probably know who I am I love it because they always say really nice and they’ve been tched and their lives have been changed and I find it very moving and I have kind of taken advantage of it to promote what I care about which is addressing food equity and climate change it’s not only nice but it also you can use it to help make things better I talked to my own mother about this somebody who’s deeply invested in being a mother where do you become a mother and where you come back to being the individual is that more intense when
you’re the mother of somebody that the world knows I don’t try to hide the fact that I’m a mom I do have my own identity and I invest my own time in things that I have passion for I think you have that relationship with yourself first I think that life has Seasons right you know the whole you can have it all like you can’t have it all at the same time and so you have a period of your life where you’re very focused on yourself and your career or whatever that is and and maybe you’re still doing that when you have children
but it changes a little bit and then when you’re child becomes in this position where they really need you in a way that is more than a toddler needs you you know for me I’m a founder of a nonprofit and that’s very fulfilling I’m still an actor but my number one thing every single day is how are my kids doing and do they need me Maggie for you you were certainly in the industry of Hollywood before you had your two children and just a resurface clip from Friends ended up on the Internet of late how was that for you okay let’s talk
about that I think it’s hilarious because that came out oh Billy is a nepple baby and I’m like did you know that I got that episode of friends because I actually was about to lose my health insurance and I talked to a friend who was a casting director and he got me an audition and I got that part which was a small part but friends became the biggest show ever so of all the things I’ve ever done in my career that’s what everyone has seen you know my husband and I are workingclass actors you know we we Eed out a meager living
as most actors do you know we were lucky to barely make our health insurance so when all this happened to our kids we’d never been on that side of it talk to me a little bit more about that because they’re surrounded by I’m guessing a lot of people that work for them that are on their payrolls again at a very young age they kind of run empires of their own how do you cut through that as a mother and say this is the right thing this is the wrong thing you need to listen to me I think that your mother and your father your parents
as great as your team is everyone has an agenda and that’s not necessarily a bad word they do have an agenda but your agenda is that your child should be happy and healthy and fulfilled and give back to the world very early on you know I owned a hair a very successful hair salon and I started doing the girls hair to earn my keep so that I could travel with them because I wanted to protect them not because I wanted to go and be on planes every day cuz there was nothing glamorous about it it was to protect my kids because they were 14 15
years old in the industry that can I mean chew you up and spit you out after a while I was like oh I’ll get to go back home but I never did because I saw the need to be there cuz like Maggie said you’re the person that doesn’t have any other agenda those are your kids and you want to protect them and they need protection trust me they need it yeah totally different experience with me with two boys in sports they’re out the door the minute they graduate from high school they are on their own and they’re totally independent and they don’t need
me for anything seriously there are people that are helping them in college to with their grades keeping out of trouble they’ve got the NFL that’s getting involved with everything from foundations to you know financial planners to this and that and they have so many more Technical and more advanced individuals that I can ever be I do not worry about them at all very yes you are it’s different cuz when you know in 18 they’re out the door and they don’t come back they’re also they’re also Giant football it’s like I have I have to go visit
them well that’s a blessing because I I my experience was totally different I know that I can see that yeah is there something in when your children do art that you see yourself reflected and start with you Donna because we’ve all been watching them on Tik Tok do their show show all of us have said their mom must have taught them how to cry as in the vulnerability of these men you know I don’t think you teach somebody I think that’s in your DNA whether you’re going to cry or not it’s just in our family we do we cry at movies we cry you know
we’re very very soft uh when it comes to that obviously on the football field they’re totally different human beings they’re out there to kill but um they’re in touch with themselves they’re very genuine and they care about individuals and I think that started at a very young age and they care about each other Mandy when you see Selena do stuff do you see is there any part of her work in music or on TV that you’re like that that really feels like a part of me that she’s doing reflection no no no like right now I’m sweating cuz I’m so
nervous like and she will get out there and just like be partying and just so happy and doing her thing and I’m just like how are you doing this like I’m I’m like doing a little inch of what she she does it’s all her it’s just definitely her personality her passion and I just get to sit back and watch someone turn into a fabulous human who gives back and every day it’s a surprise this morning on the way here I was sobbing because she got nominated for an Emy and she broke a record the Latina who’s got the most Emmy nominations in history so I
was crying on the way here and she’s like don’t make me cry I’m in hair and makeup and then I’m like okay I won’t is there a moment for you that you were like this is the proudest I’ve ever felt as a mom yes it’s actually it’s a cute story her and Demi um were on Barney together and they would always practice in the car the Disney you know the ears and they would always like hi I’m Demi levado hi I’m Selena Gomez and they would like practice with like glow stuff flowing all over the house in the car whenever um she did her ears for Disney
I was like wow that’s pretty powerful that she was practicing and we were just in a small town in Texas and then now she’s getting to live her dream I’m the most proud when they do something that is Artful that they love but it also has a good repercussion on the world you know that they’re teaching that teaching somebody something or they’re giving back doing charity work and that type of thing I’m just I can’t stop smiling I do see myself and I’m proud to say that I do see the things that I instilled in them to treat people well not to get
stuck on yourself cuz we we had some moments where I was like listen you they can pick up their own suitcases look people in the ey say hello don’t turn into a diva you have to teach your kids that I I don’t believe that that’s something that they just get because everybody’s trying to handle everything for them and you know kissing their butts sometimes and and I’m like you know no no no you’re not helpless be a good person first so I’m I’m most proud when they’re good people yeah that’s a really interesting one because I think
Mandy you’ve spoken before about somebody was trying to hold her umbrella and you’re like let her hold her own umbrella especially for those that F very young what are those moments for you like no they’re going to learn how to be adult that is one of my favorite stories like she was getting out of the trailer and there was an umbrella and they were holding it for her and then they they were bringing her food and all this stuff and I was like she can hold her own umbrella she needs to learn how to pump her own gas in her car like she
needs to be a person first I I think one of my biggest fears is you know people always saying yes and people have to say no like you have to look up for someone’s best interest is really what I was saying earlier and their best interest sometimes is everyone leave them alone give them a break you’ve got to have some rails and you got to have people not afraid to say this is a truth right and I do remember like one time I remember talking about a tour and suddenly there were all these conversations she loves to drive and
they’re like well we could tow your car behind you I was like stop right there you she’s 17 years old not towing a carb so that when she gets to a venue she can like what drag race around the town you know so watching that keeping an eye on the you talk about taking breaks which I think in all of your children’s industry is an important thing but sometimes harder to do than say yes to everything have you ever been the instigator of like you need to take some time for me all the time my kids like to work and
they like to be creative and I think that’s wonderful but you do need that time where you don’t have the pressure and the stress of it so I’m always preaching that but doesn’t seem to be working too well I think they probably all have amazing work ethics and have such passion for what they do that it’s like putting the breakes on it they’re like well wait a minute what it’s it’s a part of who they are and how they’ve like grown as people and there was a point where when she first started you know being a part of the Disney family
it was very this this this this this and then all of a sudden we looked up and she didn’t have a day off and I was like oh she’s a minor like no she’s got to have a day off and it wasn’t them being hard on her it was us saying oh okay she wants to do this you must day in day out the world media Instagram Tik toks are fascinated with your children where do you stop reading the comments where do you jump in what like what is your interaction with the world that loves or sometimes is mean to your children online oh man that’s aough
you know it’s it’s best just not to not to get involved and not to even go there I mean you know it’s not true your kids know it’s not true it’s just best to just not say anything there’s only one time I think there was a comment about me and their father getting back together again and all I said was false you know you know besides that you know I I really have never never engaged I don’t read comments on Instagram I barely go on it cuz it’s not healthy for me and so you’re right I just don’t engage and I don’t pay attention to it
we’re happy we’re living Our Lives I hope you’re happy and living your life but you’re on here being mean that’s the hardest part about this whole thing because that’s your children we talked about protection you want to protect them you can’t cuz you can’t fight the whole internet my kids are like Mom don’t you answer those crazy people just ignore them and I can to a certain degree but sometimes it just gets to be too much and I have to say what I have to say and then I’m done with it I remember very clearly when Billy did the
Brit Awards and she was in a low spot and it was because of the internet you know entirely Meli came and presented her award and then Meli she didn’t realize because when the Spice Girls were a thing you know what happens you get a a bad review in a local paper you know what I mean like how you know what I mean it’s like kind of a that’s a bummer but you don’t have millions of people commenting on you and it is kind of an experimental generation that we’re parenting I wish there were ways that we could protect them from
seeing it I don’t think we’re going to do away with it sadly but I wish people knew the impact I just kind of take it with a grain of salt most of the time it just depends you mess with my grandchildren I’m coming for you and uh because they’re minors and they didn’t ask to be in this I have to say that I have gotten on and let people have a piece of my mind several times but I take a lot and then it’s certain things that I just have to draw the line on two of you have are grandmothers as well as mothers how has that chapter of
motherhood changed for you it’s just fun seeing how your children act with their kids trying to find out what kind of a parent they’re going to be you know watching your son be a father is just like how can they be so tender and be such a maniac out on the field you know Travis is a good uncle and Jas is a great dad and it’s just very heartwarming to know that they have that within them to be very nurturing very kind very gentle and not only that you know you get to hug your kids too hug your grandchildren what’s grandmotherhood
like for you Tina oh God it’s the best I become a kid I was in the Hamptons with them and I mean I Swang on a swing every day and swim and have fun it’s like being a kid again with them because you know when you’re raising your kids you don’t really have the time some times to do all of those Kitty things with them I can buy all the noisy toys and they get on their parents’ nerves and you know do things that I I didn’t get to do with my kids it’s the best do you see your daughters as the same similar types of
mother that you were yes very much so what are your favorite depictions of motherhood and pop culture my favorite was Claire huxel she was a lawyer she was a mother of five and she was a wife and she could do it all and I’m like that’s who I want to be like so yeah she was my uh Mentor that’s what I wanted to be like I didn’t want to be your mom that just stayed home and was with you all day long somebody to show you the way if you work hard you have a good work ethic you can achieve anything you want when I was a little girl I loved
Julia and you probably Diane Carol played Julia and it was for a very similar reason because the Brady Bunch and all those ladies were wonderful but they stayed at home and they were like the perfect mothers they look perfect but this was a career woman who had to balance having a child with going to work that was the first time too that I saw a black woman that was a professional so I grew up just loving Julia and of course Claire huxel there was some Disney mom still watching one of my grandchildren and those moms are
super cool they’re not like so perfect like they kind of zany and you know I love them I grew up with Julia too was a favorite you’re the first person I talked to that knows everybody like when was that like 1950 something 1965 May yeah currently I mean America ferrera’s character in Barbie I mean was there ever a better speech that summed it all up that was a nice depiction of you know this devoted mother who was trying so hard with this you know I think that was nice and you brought up Barbie that’s honestly one of the lines
when we thought about this cover and wanting you for women on it we mothers stand still so her daughters can look back and see how far they come how was watching Barbie for all of you I like Barbie I mean I had a special relationship to Barbie so no but my kids wrote that song Beautiful song so but that line I think I think it’s a balance of that right we don’t want to just be like we’re here so you can go here but I think it’s important that as you are hoping your children grow go much farther than you and have better lives and that we we
reduce gener ational trauma in each generation and we do that you still have your own life and it’s important to model for them that you can still do you know at every age you can still do you can create you you know so I think it’s kind of equally important I would agree I think it is a a mix of both I was um a commercial banker and I wanted to get ahead and so I worked really really hard I was a major Breadwinner in the family I think it’s important for them to see see that a woman can do whatever she wants but I did stand still my husband
and I knew that our marriage was not working but we stayed together for the kids to make sure that they had the most normal relationship that they possibly could in that one respect I did stand still for several years until I could move on on my own it reminds me of when I was in high school because I did get pregnant with Selena at 16 and my school counselor told me I ruined everybody’s life including including the child and the boy who participated in in in the project I was determined to graduate high school do something and show her
that no matter what comes your way you can really fight your way through it and I wanted to be that role model for her because I didn’t have that like as I was growing up like I can do it and she can do it and she’s going to know that she can do it that’s that’s kind of what we do right we stand in the gap for our for our kids
