Famous mothers are glamorous and beautiful. It seems they never have dark circles under their eyes or spit-up on their clothing. For many mothers, stepping out onto a red carpet dressed to the nines in a size 2 gown is but a lofty day-dream. Most mamas spend their days in sweatpants picking spilled Cheerios out of their crusty carpet. It doesn’t seem fair that moms in the spotlight appear so incredibly perfect all of the time. Regular moms may feel like they’ll never measure up to the ideal when perusing the social media accounts of the famous moms they follow.

Before celeb mothers had babies of their own, they were babies themselves. Overwhelmed and exhausted moms may take solace in the fact that some of the famous mamas of today are the awkward children and teenagers of days-gone-by. In fact, many of the photos floating around out there of star mommies in their younger years bear no resemblance whatsoever to the flawless faces that celebrity moms currently present to the world.

It’s nice to remember that everyone is human -- even millionaire mothers with personal chefs and drivers and nannies and tons and tons of cold, hard cash. While their fashion choices and hairstyles weren’t always on point, celeb moms have always been adorable, even before stylists and makeup artists arrived make sure they never revealed  bags under their eyes or had spit-up on their clothing. Please enjoy the following 15 photos of celebrity mothers next to younger versions of themselves.

15 Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow was born to famous parents. Her late father was notable producer and director, Bruce Paltrow, and her mother is Tony award-winning actress, Blythe Danner. The actress and author didn't break onto the scene as a hot young starlet until 1991. One of her first roles was the young Wendy Darling in the movie Hook.

Paltrow soon grew from an awkward, gangly teen to an Oscar-winning actress. Her father, who had known her before she became a household name, had no qualms about making sure his darling daughter didn't allow her new-found fame to go to her head.

In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Paltrow shared, "I remember when I was maybe 27 years old and kind of at the height of my movie stardom -- it was around the time of [my 1999 Best Actress Oscar for Shakespeare in Love] and this and that. I think I was very much believing my own hype, which how could you not?"

Paltrow continued, "I was sitting with my dad, feeling great about my life and everything that was happening, and he was like, 'You know, you're getting a little weird ... You're kind of an a--hole.' And I was like, 'What the hell?' I was totally devastated...It turned out to be basically the best thing that ever happened to me."

14 Kelly Clarkson

Singing sensation Kelly Clarkson gained major fame after winning the first season of American Idol. Before she was belting out ballads in front of millions of viewers, she was just your average middle school student. The bangs she rocked back then are actually pretty similar to the ones she rocks today.

Clarkson, who has two children, River and Remington, with her husband, Brandon Blackstock, is thankful to have such an amazing partner. "I married someone who's good at saying, 'If you want to do this with the kids, let's do this thing now, and that thing with the kids later,'" she stated. "Having a partner in life who helps me map it out is so important."

Clarkson has taken heat over the years because of her weight. On this issue, she once bravely proclaimed, "With weight in general, I say go at your own pace. Whether you're a mom or whatever. It's your life; you should do what you're comfortable with. I'm not a vain person -- I'm not sure that's shocking. I just rock what I've got."

13 Kate Hudson

Actress Kate Hudson is the mother of two sons, Ryder and Bingham, and the daughter of timeless actress Goldie Hawn and musician Bill Hudson. She's always been darling, but has definitely brushed up on her go-to facial expressions since she was a tot.

Hudson recently admitted, "Yes, I help my kids with their homework. But I also get bored doing it. I will sit and listen to my children pontificate and discuss their ideas till the day is long because it warms my heart, but I really don’t want to do math! I’m gonna say it: I’d prefer to watch The Bachelor rather than do fractions and divisions.”

Hudson has also revealed, "Even though every primal ounce of the nurturing, domestic woman in me gets pulled, I’m a hunter as well,. And I love to hunt! And as a woman I feel that somehow we are supposed to feel apologetic about wanting both. But I don’t want to apologize for that anymore. Being both already comes at an emotional cost, without adding society’s antiquated idea of the traditional roles of man and woman in the home.”

12 Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez was 38 years old when she and her then-husband, Marc Anthony, welcomed their adorable twins, Maximilian (Max) and Emme, into the world. Before she became a superstar, a business mogul and a mother, JLo was just "Jenny from the block": an unassuming, adorable little girl.

Lopez's meteoric rise to fame has made her life exhilarating and wonderful: two aspects of her day-to-day existence that have only increased since the arrival of her children. She has shared of Emme and Max, "They just made my life so much better. I'm forever grateful that ... you know, I didn't have kids until later and so I almost thought that it wasn't going to happen for me, so I'm very aware that I was blessed with that. It could have been something different."

Life can be crazy for Lopez as she juggles starring roles in multiple television shows, her clothing line, her music and motherhood, but she's grateful for the crazy ride. She has also shared, "I don't take it for granted one day. It is a little bit insane. I take it one day at a time. Me and the kids are like gypsies. We're traveling all over the place, just getting it done, doing the best we can."

11 Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman rocked quite an impressive hairstyle when she was a young girl. Today, her mane is sleeker, and her role as a mother is one she cherishes. Kidman adopted two children, Isabella and Connor, with her ex-husband, Tom Cruise, and has two biological children, Faith and Sunday, with her current hubby, Keith Urban.

She recently shared with CNN, "I've experienced motherhood in so many different ways...I've experienced adoption, birthing a child and I've experienced surrogacy. I'm like when it comes to it, I just wanna be a mama. I suppose my maternal instincts and drive has always been there since I was little...I am a mother because I love being a mother."

Kidman recently starred in the award-winning film, Lion, which centers around the subject of adoption. Speaking about the movie, she stated, "I've made films that make philosophical statements or examinations of the human condition and all, but this for me is a film very much about life and about connection and the strengths of mothers."

10 Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore has been a star since she was just a young child. She had a significant role in the majorly successful film, E.T. The Extraterrestrial when she was just 7 years old. Her adorable button nose and golden locks were just as captivating back then as they are today. Since then, Drew's movies have run the gamut, and she's proved herself as a versatile actress.

Barrymore is also the proud mama of two girls with her ex Will Kopelman: Olive and Frankie. She may be a seasoned actress, but she admitted to People magazine that she's still in the process of learning how to be a mother. She shared, "I'm just trying to figure this all out."

In her book, Wildflower, released in 2015, Barrymore reveals that her younger years were difficult ones, and that she found herself on her own at just 15 years of age. According to Drew, she wrote the book for her daughters. She has shared, "When I first started having children, people were like, 'Well, what are you going to tell them about [your upbringing]?' There was always a connotation and insinuation of, 'You should be ashamed,' But that's crazy. [My daughters] are going to know I'm not some holier-than-thou person who just doesn't want them to live. I just want to guide them in the best way possible."

9 Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba has transformed from the brooding teenager she once portrayed into a classy, sophisticated woman. She makes being a mother while also acting and running a successful business look easy, but has admitted that she sometimes she struggles to balance it all.

Alba recently shared some advice with moms in Parents Latina magazine. She stated, “Don’t get overwhelmed trying to do everything at once. Lay out what you can get done now and what will take longer. Don’t be hard on yourself. Doing your best to be present wherever you are is what’s important. Make time to eat healthy and stay active. It’s worth it to recharge once a week: Get sleep, have a date night or a girls’ night in, and drink some wine!”

Jessica has also shared, “My heritage is all about family, which always comes first. And respect for yourself and for your elders is something that I’m passing on to my daughters. I make sure they know where they came from and that they spend time with their relatives, but they’re not surrounded by it all the time. We have different cultures in the house.”

8 Madonna

Before Madonna was rocking it out on stage as a Material Girl, she looked like the girl next door. She's the biological mother of daughter, Lourdes and son, Rocco, and has two adopted children, David and Mercy. Madge has called her children the biggest loves of her life, and has also admitted to being a "pretty strict" mom. She's struggled to figure out the best ways to relate to her children as they've grown up.

According to Madonna, "Seeing my daughter at 16 -- it's kind of uncomfortable. She's still my little girl and she's also a woman." Madonna has also revealed that it's a little unnerving to see her son "looking at girl's butts."

Madonna is one of those moms who seems to have access to the fountain of youth. Does this mama ever age?! She's admitted her diet isn't always as healthy as it should be, and has shared, "I'm guilty of eating Magnum bars before I go to sleep at night." She combats her love of ice cream by getting down on stage and on the dance floor. The singer has stated, "I've always danced and exercised. I can't imagine not doing it."

7 Beyonce

Queen B has revealed that she was a victim of bullying in her younger years, and has since become one of the fiercest of all female singers of all time. Multiple sources have confirmed that Beyoncé and her husband, Jay Z, have added twin babies to their family, making their first child, Blue Ivy, a big sister. A source recently told People magazine, “Bey and Jay are thrilled and have started sharing the news with their family and closest friends.”

Beyonce loves being a mother, and once shared with Anderson Cooper, "[Having a daughter] just gives you purpose and all of the things that my self-esteem was associated with, it’s all completely different. I realized why I was born and more than anything all of the things I want to pass on to my child and the best way of doing that is not by preaching or telling her but showing her by example, which is one of the reasons I’m here.”

Soon after giving birth to Blue Ivy, the "Lemonade" singer shared with Vogue magazine, "Right now, after giving birth, I really understand the power of my body. I just feel my body means something completely different. I feel a lot more confident about it.”

6 Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is the mother of twins with her ex-hubby, Nick Cannon: a son, Moroccan and a daughter, Monroe. Her permed updos have been replace by highlighted tresses, and her love of her children has blossomed just like her singing career.

Mimi's pretty picky about who watches her babies when she's not around, and once shared, "Unfortunately I have to have nannies but I'm very hands-on. I fire nannies like this (snapping her fingers). And I hate doing it, but I have to...if they try to make themselves more important in the baby's mind than me."

In 2009, long before becoming pregnant with her twins, Carey commented on motherhood in an interview on Larry King Live. She shared that she wanted to wait to commit to being a mom until the time was just right. Mariah stated, "I wouldn’t be just like, 'Oh, I’m having a child, Yay! Let me get a nanny so I can give her the baby. Take the kid.' That doesn’t work for me. I don’t believe in that."

5 Megan Fox

Since becoming a major star, Megan Fox has swapped her sunburn and braces for a flawless full face and perfect pearly whites. Fox has three sons with her on-again, off-again hubby, Brian Austin Green: Noah Shannon, Bodhi Ransom and Journey River.

After her first baby, Noah, arrived in 2012, Fox commented on being a mom, “It’s exhausting, but it’s amazing and you can’t -- until you have kids --  imagine how much you could possibly love a human being. It’s really intense and really overwhelming."

Being a mother has changed Fox's views on the roles she chooses to take on. She told Marie Claire, “I’m going to be more cautious about choosing films because I’m already thinking about when he’s in school and his friends are going to be showing him my photo shoots with me in a bikini and he’s going to be horrified. So that will deter me from making some of the choices I made before.”

Fox realizes that life won't always be peaceful while raising three boys so close in age, and has stated, “I’m excited for the future, to see them be brothers and be best friends and I know that there’s gonna be lots of fighting, but there’s also gonna be lots of hugs and kisses.”

4 Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron has always been stunning, even when she was rocking spectacles and a darker mane. The always-glowing actress is the adoptive mother of a son, Jackson, and a daughter, August. Soon after adopting her first child, she told InStyle magazine, “Motherhood was something I always knew I wanted to experience. What a great opportunity.”

She's also shared that her own mother set the standard of what it means to be a parent extremely high. According to Theron, “I can only hope to be 10 percent of the mom mine was to me. She encouraged me to be confident and enjoy life. That’s what I want for my son.”

Theron's Snow White and the Huntsman costar, Kristen Stewart, can attest to the fact that the J'Adore Dior spokesperson was born to be a mother. Stewart has shared, “When there was a baby around she would light up and look like Mother Teresa. She’s a force.”

Theron has admitted that being a mother is difficult, but worth it, and has stated, "So far I’m not surprised by anything about being a mom. It’s all pretty great -- but that’s what I expected.”

3 Kim Kardashian West

Kim Kardashian West may watch her carb count a little more carefully than she did when she was a tot, but her beautiful brown eyes are just as lovely as they were when she was a little girl. Kardashian West has two children with her rapper husband Kanye West: a daughter, North and a son, Saint.

The reality star has opened up many times about what life is like as a mom. She once shared with the Associated Press, “I think when you have a baby there’s like no time for any like (expletive). Excuse my language. You don’t have time for it and sometimes I see things and I’m like, ‘I’m not gonna let that slide. This person was wrong.’ Or whatever I’m feeling I speak my mind a little bit more after I’ve had our daughter. I don’t know if it’s a combination of being married to someone that’s super honest and open and says whatever he wants whenever he wants to or just not having time really for anything else but the truth and just being real.”

Kim has also shared, "I love being a mom! It’s the most rewarding feeling! I really love every phase! Just the way my daughter laughs with me, all of the small things in life you appreciate!”

2 Shakira

Hip-shaking singer Shakira has lightened her locks and lost her bangs since her youth. She's also welcomed two beautiful boys, Milan and Sasha, to the world. The beauty and her professional footballer husband, Gerard Pique, make adorable babies together. Shakira's done a great job of balancing her life as a mother and her career, even though life is a little crazier than it used to be.

After her first son arrived, Shakira told People magazine, "Everything is different. Maybe the biggest change is that I think about the future more, what the world will be like for him when he grows up. But when it comes to living, it’s all about the present. I’m finally able to really savor all of those little moments that, in the early days of my career, I was too busy thinking about the next thing to just stop, take it all in, and enjoy.”

The talented artist has also shared, “I’m always trying to challenge myself. I think it’s important to be content with your achievements but never complacent. I’m always looking for that song I still haven’t written, new sounds...music has infinite possibilities, more than I can explore in a lifetime. I’m grateful to still be as passionate about doing what I do.”

1 Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie was raised in the spotlight. Jolie's mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, passed away from breast cancer in 2007. The director, producer, writer and Oscar-winner admittedly has a strained relationship with her father, Jon Voight, due to the fact that he left her family when Jolie wasn't even a year old.

Jolie is determined to be the best parent she can possibly be, and, while she was still married to Brad Pitt, once shared of their daily routine, "We wake up, we make breakfast. In our domestic life, we’re Mom and Dad. And often we’re dorky Mom and Dad, which the kids find ridiculous."

In 2014, the actress opened up to People magazine about her children. She shared, "We spend so much time at home, we’re such a family, we’re such good friends. And the film aspect of our lives is a fun part of our lives, but it’s a small part of their lives. We don’t shield them from it. They come to the sets and they’ll come to some premieres, and they know what Mommy and Daddy do, and sometimes they’re more interested in some films than other films, but they also do so many other things with us...We just live our lives together. If you ask any of our kids about us, I feel like they’d probably say, ‘Well, let’s talk about how Mommy and Daddy are so uncool.’ That Daddy makes better pancakes than Mommy. That’s about the level of their interest.”

Sources: Today.com, People.com, TVGuide.com, CNN.com, ABCNews.go.com, Vogue.com, DailyMail.co.uk, USMagazine.com