The greatest on-screen mother-daughter duos - From screaming matches and sass, to unconditional love and shoulders to cry on, these are the greatest on-screen mother-daughter duos that continue to illuminate the unique bond between a woman and her female offspring.

© NL Beeld

Rainbow and Zoey Johnson, 'Black-ish' - Rainbow (Tracy Ellis Ross) is an optimistic and energetic mom who often doesn't seem to know how to connect to her media-obsessed older daughter Zoey (Yara Shahidi). Despite this, the two share admiration and unconditional support for each other, and their moments of honesty are golden.

© Getty Images

Donna and Sophie Sheridan, 'Mamma Mia' -

Despite Sophie's frustration with not knowing who her father is, this duo shares one of the sweetest mother-daughter relationships, particularly when they sing 'Slipping Through My Fingers.'

© NL Beeld

M'Lynn and Shelby, 'Steel Magnolias' - M'Lynn's speech at Shelby's funeral is proof enough that this film's mother-daughter relationship raised the bar.

© NL Beeld

Bonnie and Christy, 'Mom' -

This mother-daughter duo has a big lesson to teach about forgiveness and family love, as they attend AA meetings together and constantly point out each other's flaws—yet still somehow figure things out.

© NL Beeld

Claire and Alex Dunphy, 'Modern Family' -

This understated relationship shines brilliantly in moments where the type-A mom helps her bookish daughter through the ups and downs of puberty.

© NL Beeld

Endora and Samantha, 'Bewitched' - Not exactly the ideal mother-daughter relationship, the two did keep things interesting by magically intervening in each other's lives.

© NL Beeld

Sonu and Mindy Lahiri, 'The Mindy Project' - Sonu and Mindy's relationship is so great because it both explains where Mindy gets her headstrong theatrics from, as well as delivering some much-needed wisdom in critical moments.

© Getty Images

Adele and Ann August, 'Anywhere But Here' - Through anger, manipulation, sacrifice, and defeat, Adele's love for her daughter still shines through.

© NL Beeld

Carol and Marcia Brady, 'The Brady Bunch' - Despite the Brady's radically different real lives, Carol and Marcia's characters had a certain closeness in their perky flawlessness.

© NL Beeld

Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, 'Gilmore Girls' - Witty dialogue at 100 miles a minute, heaps of junk food, excessive coffee-drinking, and a deep well of mutual love and respect make this mother-daughter duo the ultimate relationship goals.

© Getty Images

Clair, Sondra, Denise, Vanessa and Rudy Huxtable, 'The Cosby Show' - Though they're not so much of a duo, Clair Huxtable's relationships with her (very different) daughters gave everyone the opportunity to see a bit of their own mother-daughter relationships in the show.

© NL Beeld

Cora, Edith, Mary, and Sybil Crawley, 'Downton Abbey' - Again, this is less of a duo, but Cora Crawley is a steady rock and shoulder to cry on for all of her daughters, and their dynamic relationships drive this high-toned period soap opera.

© NL Beeld

Mrs. George and Regina George, 'Mean Girls' - She's not a regular mom, she's a cool mom! Amy Poehler's role as a Juicy Couture-clad mocktail-serving mother wasn't exactly admirable, but it was legendary.

© Getty Images

Roseanne and Becky Conner, 'Roseanne' - In a show praised for putting a realistic middle-class mother on television, Roseanne and Becky's relationship had all the complexities and nuances of a loving, bossy mom and a headstrong, sassy daughter who care deeply about one another.

© NL Beeld

Edith Bunker and Gloria Stivic, 'All in the Family' - This duo had to deal with Archie Bunker, the bigoted husband of Edith and father of Gloria. Their relationship kept his outrageous behavior in line.

© NL Beeld

Lucille and Lindsay Bluth, 'Arrested Development' - They might not be a heartwarming duo, but they sure do make us laugh. 

© NL Beeld

Aurora and Emma Greenway, 'Terms of Endearment' - Aurora and Emma make up one of the most emotional and heart-wrenching mother-daughter relationships to ever grace film.

© NL Beeld

Ann Romano and Barbara Cooper, 'One Day at a Time' - A feminist single mother with career and boyfriend troubles also had to deal with two rebellious teenage daughters, but Barbara—the more wholesome daughter—took a bit of the weight off.

© Getty Images

Anna and Tess Coleman, 'Freaky Friday' - This duo, from the cult classic film about a mother and daughter who must literally walk in each other's shoes, needs little explanation.

© NL Beeld

Sophia Petrillo and Dorothy Petrillo-Zbornak, 'The Golden Girls' - The sassy Italian mother and eye-rolling daughter in this sitcom about four older women sharing a house in Miami set new goals for aging mother-daughter duos.

© NL Beeld

Patty and Angela Chase, 'My So-Called Life' - In this show that many consider to have been discontinued too soon, Angela narrated a complex relationship with her mother that varied from wanting to physically harm her to feeling proud to be her daughter.

© NL Beeld

Peggy and Kelly Bundy, 'Married…with Children' - Peggy and Kelly often conspired against the patriarch Al, and their dynamic relationship—amidst an already-dysfunctional family—kept things very interesting.

© NL Beeld

Nora and Kitty Walker, 'Brothers & Sisters' - Nora Walker is the matriarch of the family and a large part of the reason why her daughter Kitty and the other siblings have stuck together through crisis after crisis.

© NL Beeld

Sarah Braverman and Amber Holt, 'Parenthood' - Lauren Graham must have motherhood in her veins because she brings that amazing quality on-screen again in this heartwarming relationship.

© NL Beeld

Lisa and Tia and Tamera Landry, 'Sister, Sister' - There's a kind of larger-than-life love that Lisa expresses for Tia and Tamera that makes you envious—even if you already have an amazing mom.

© NL Beeld

Christina and Carmen Lowell, 'The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants' - Through hard lessons and extreme disappointment, Christina and Carmen are each other's greatest protectors, sticking together in a way only a single mother and daughter abandoned by her father could.

© NL Beeld

Grace and Brianna, 'Grace and Frankie' - The hit Netflix series brought viewers an uptight mother and quick-lipped daughter whose banter makes you nervous in the best way possible.

© Getty Images

Kris Jenner and the Kardashian-Jenner women, 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' - You couldn't leave out the ultimate "momager" and matriarch and her clan of extremely dramatic, yet unconditionally loving, daughters.

© Getty Images

Shirley Renfrew and Laurie Partridge, 'The Partridge Family' - Shirley was a widow and an impressively cool leader of this musical group of five, and she shared an especially close relationship with her eldest daughter Laurie.

© NL Beeld

Joyce and Buffy Summers, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' -

Buffy usually gets all the spotlight, but her mother's gentle and understanding nature ultimately enabled Buffy to repeatedly save the world, so, Joyce: thank you.

See also: Fictional film families played by real-life families

© NL Beeld