To moms, this particular celebrity is everything. She is a hero, muse and spirit animal. She is the number one female that most women dream about being best friends with, having a drink with, and laughing on the couch with. She is the number one girl crush. She is the universally loved Kristen Bell.
She is loved as an actress in television shows like The Good Place, Veronica Mars and House of Lies, but we seriously love her as an open, raw and honest mother of two who is merely living her truth. Since becoming the loving mommy to two little girls, she and her acting, comedic husband, Dax Shepard, have managed to maintain their children's privacy from photographers while remaining an open book of hilarity in the area of marriage and parenthood.
While other moms in Hollywood are focused on their vegan meals, organic living, Gucci-clad kiddos and putting out social media posts and photos of perfection, Bell and Shepard are all about showing the more "real" side of parenting, sharing one fumble and a misstep at a time. Fans literally could not love this woman more. Never change, Kristen Bell. The universe needs your awesome.
19 When she schooled all moms on how to fix a pull-up
It's proven science that any time you are on an airplane with small children, some type of random mishap will befall you. Actress and mom-hero Kristen Bell is indeed no exception to this rule. She was on an airplane with her pull-up-clad daughter when suddenly the diaper strap broke! No worries here.
She merely tied the offending ends up with her hair band and carried on being awesome — way to think on the fly, there, Mama Bell. No one wants to struggle with a diaper on a plane.
18 When she begged for parenting advice because she knows no one is an expert here
Kristen Bell will be the first to admit that she is no expert in parenting, heck... none of us are! We are all doing the very best we can to raise our kids without lasting adverse effects. While many mothers out there make it a point to shut down unsolicited mothering advice, Bell is all about it. S
he practically begs random people to give her everything they have because you never know what might work. She isn't here to be a know-it-all, so when it comes to tips and tricks of mothering, give it all to her. She welcomes it.
17 When she made a run without any makeup because she knows parenting is not glamorous
When Bell and her hubby get gussied up for an Awards show or a movie premiere, make no mistake, she slays it every time. Unlike many ladies of Tinsel Town though, she isn't prancing through L.A. in full makeup 24-7. If she has to run out to the grocery store to grab Froot Loops and milk, she won't be held up with contouring and fake lashes.
She just throws her sweatshirt on and away she goes, no makeup and no fancy hairstyles accompanying her. What does she care? She is a mom in need of milk, darn it!
16 She let her kids dress her up as Elsa
Girl, we have all been there a time or two. Your kids want to dress you up and even though it's the very last thing on the planet that you feel like doing, you give in to their demands. After all, it might buy you fifteen solid minutes of peace. Bell let her kids do precisely this when they transformed her into a broke-down Elsa for Halloween.
Even though this mother famously voiced Frozen's Anna, Bell's daughter Delta is an Elsa girl all the way, and forces mom to be an Elsa-gal too. Oh, the things that we do for our children.
15 When she shined on the red carpet and then let us all know she had a burrito in her purse
Some celebrity mamas carry high-end makeup products in their designer clutch purses while strutting down the red carpet, but not our Kristen Bell! In 2014, Bell took to social media to let her fans know that she had a burrito stowed away in her fancy clutch! Those awards shows can be lengthy, and the last thing a famous actress needs to come down with is a spell of low blood sugar.
Kristen took no chances when she graced the Oscars. Our glorious parental leader showed us that real girls eat, even when dressed in designer duds from head to toe.
14 She is open and honest about anxiety and depression, never making regular moms feel alone
Motherhood can be isolating, and so many women end up having spells of anxiety and depression along the way. Mental illnesses such as these often make women feel as if they are less, or that something is inherently wrong with them when that could not be further from the truth. Bell makes it a point to show all sides of her to the world.
Of course, she gives us the pretty, bubbly and witty side, but she also lets women know that she too struggles with anxiety and depression. Never do we feel alone with Bell is sharing her own experiences with us.
13 She took protecting her kids' privacy to a whole other level of awesome
Kristen Bell goes all mama bear on folks when she needs to! While she as a person is pretty transparent, she is also very protective of her children's privacy, especially when it comes to random strangers photographing them.
When she saw the paparazzi trying to catch a pic of her daughters outside of their school, she intervened by blocking the camera-clad guy in with her car, confronting him and then making him delete the pictures that he had snapped. Sure Bell is funny and cute, but when it comes to her children, she is a force to be reckoned with.
12 When she came up with This Bar Saves Lives because she loves all kids
Bell teamed up with Ryan Devlin, Todd Grinnell and Ravi Patel to create This Bar Saves Lives. The team of genuinely amazing human beings makes sure that for every snack bar that they sell, life-saving nutrition is donated to a malnourish child somewhere in the world. So far they have managed to distribute over three MILLION nutrition packets to children in desperate need.
If that isn't devotion to a good cause, then I don't know what is. Kristen Bell indeed has her priorities in check, and quite a few Hollywood mothers can learn a thing or two from her.
11 When she starred on Momsplaining and told everyone the cold hard truths
Kristen Bell stars in the web series Momsplaining, sharing her blunt and forwards thoughts and experiences with the whole world. She even put Ellen executive producer, Andy Lassner, through a series of labor pains as punishment for each question he didn't correctly answer a trivia question on one of their segments. She tells it like it is, shows it like it is and proves to the world exactly why she is our dream bff. You honestly can not dislike Bell, no matter how hard you try. Although Lassner might have it out for her after what she put him through on the web show.
10 She is honest and raw about her marriage to her children's father– No fairytales here!
Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell honestly seem like they are partners in love, but also best pals. Their relationship and marriage haven't been years upon years of bliss and sunshine, however. The two have had to work at their relationship, and there were some real low points over the years.
Now that they are in a good space, they are happy to share their trials and tribulations proving that honestly, security and trust in marriage only makes for stronger, better parents. These two aren't picture perfect, but they somehow get it right every single time.
9 She told her kids to lay off singing Frozen songs!
Kristen Bell's two young daughters have their very own real Disney princess as a mommy, but they could care less about that. In fact, they really can not stand when Kristen/Anna sings. My kids are the same way.
For some reason, my vocal chops make them furious. Even Bell's kids can be brutal and cutting when it comes to judging her obvious talent. Little Lincoln and Delta seem to be a tough crowd. We wonder if they would tell Idina Menzel to zip it or if their hardcore critic merely is reserved for mom.
8 She stands with moms in their sheer exhaustion and lack of patience
Just like us, Bell needs some sleep. While other moms can't do much other than tell us the joys and blessings of motherhood, Bell isn't afraid to let the world know that her little Delta's new penchant for middle of the night partying is really testing her nerves.
She and hubby Dax Shepard even switched out the doorknobs so that they can lock their daughter's door from the outside and keep her in her room so that she doesn't wake up the entire house at 3 a.m. It's a divisive parenting move, but Bell doesn't care. She's exhausted!
7 She pumped on a video conference call
Bell and her Bad Moms costars visited talk show host Ellen to share their hilarious filming moments, and Bell took the cake with her oops moment. The ladies were doing a Bad Moms table read, and Kristen thought that she would get a bit of milk pumping time in as she worked. She had no idea that she was being projected on a huge television screen!
She assumed that they were only skyping her voice. The men in the room thought they heard static, but the ladies knew that the sounds coming through the screen were the noises of the trusty milk pump.
6 Bell's kids walked in on her doing the deed, and she isn't afraid to tell us about it
The mere thought of Mom's darling children walking in on on her private time is extremely uncomfortable! Try as hard as we might to shelter them from the facts of life; sometimes they find their way into the most un-child-friendly moments possible.
When asked what the most embarrassing thing her children have ever done was on the daytime television show The Talk, Bell immediately told Sara Gilbert that her daughters have intruded on mommy and daddy time. Of course, Bell and Shepard managed to play it off, and because their daughters are very young, they will likely not even remember.
5 She got real about her kid's homemade gifts
It sure is sweet when your children make you something with their own hands and hearts. After four daughters my home would stand to look like something out of Hoarders if I chose to keep every darling scarp of something that they presented me with. Bell and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to kid-made crafts.
She referred to one of her daughters' masterpieces as beautiful waste when she posed the question as to what to do with all of the treasures her children dream up. Bell is a far cry from celeb mothers like Angelina Jolie who let her children draw all over her wedding dress. Not cute.
4 She was straight up about vaccinating her kids
Lots of celebrity mothers out there have jumped on the anti-vaxxing bandwagon in recent years, but Kristen Bell is here to let the world know her beliefs that "vaccinating children is the intelligent and responsible choice." She even went as far as to encourage the public to "believe in doctors, not in know-it-alls."
Again, she proves to be reflective and opinionated when it comes to how she chooses to raise her daughters. Tell it like it is Bell, raise your voice and use your status to get heard.
3 She didn't worry about bouncing back post-baby
While plenty of celebrity moms make life all about the quick snapback after having their babies, Bell is more of a realist when it comes to shedding the pregnancy pounds. After having her first daughter Lincoln, she didn't obsess over losing her lbs rapidly.
Instead, she made it clear that her self-worth did not come from a dress size. She took her exercising at her own pace, walking or running for 10 to 20 minutes a few times a week and doing light pilates at home with a friend. She is everything that many aspire to be as moms!
2 She used to fib to her kids about their birthdays
When your kids are very young, they don't precisely know when their birthday weekend is unless you tell them it's currently happening. Bell is a bit of a genius considering she kind of fibs to her kids about when their birthdays are.
If her kids have a birthday that falls on an inconvenient day, she tells them their birthday is on a different day of the week so that the family can simplify things. Sometimes little white lies are us moms' saving graces, am I right? She won't be able to pull this off forever, so enjoy it now Bell!
1 Kristen dislikes mornings just like many other moms
Mornings with kids are the armpit of parenting. No longer can you rise from your slumber, enjoy a warm cup of coffee, a long run and a relaxing shower before starting your long day. Once you become a mom, those luxuries come to a screeching (pun intended) halt. Parenting is a 24-7 job and you work on your kids' schedules.
No staff is waking to care for Bell's beauties as she sleeps in until noon. When asked about her family's morning routine, Bell described it as downright difficult. We get you, Kristen. Tell it like it is. Mornings with kids stink!
Resources: mommyish.com, today.com, instyle.com, popsugar.com, fatherly.com