In most jobs it would be pretty odd to bring your mom to the office party, even if you would really like her to extol your unique brand of genius to the boss and explain that you are really a very good worker. Yet, if you work in Hollywood, bringing your mom to a work function can earn glowing headlines and make the hearts of fans on Twitter go pitter pat as they gush over the cuteness of it all.
At the 2020 Oscars, movie stars’ unique ability to bring their mom to work functions without people thinking it was weird was on full display. Keanu Reeves, who was on-hand to present at the show, walked the award show’s red carpet with his mother, costume designer Patricia Taylor. One fan tweeted, “Can I just say, I love that Keanu took him mom to the Oscars”, which they probably would not say if a co-worker showed up at the staff retreat with his parent in tow.
Saoirse Ronan, nominated for Little Women, sat through the long ceremony with her mother, Monica Ronan. Even Joaquin Phoenix, who took home the prize for Best Actor for Joker, brought his mom to the show and after party, according to the Associated Press.
Laura Dern brought her kids and mother, Diane Ladd, to the show, and thanked her from the stage after winning the Best Supporting Actress prize for her work in Marriage Story. For Dern, though, it was only fair to bring her mother to work, as Ladd brought Dern to the Oscars as a young girl, when Ladd was nominated for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. It’s yet another perk of being a Hollywood big shot.
