Celebrity Moms Who Have Made a Difference in the World

Cookie Magazine has announced their first annual "Smart Cookie Awards" to honor 11 mothers who have made a difference in the world. A few of our favorite celebrity moms made the list:

Mariska Hargitay
Founder and president of the Joyful Heart Foundation
Mother of August, 10 months

Mariska was inspired to start her foundation by the unusual fan mail that she received while playing Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU. "It wasn't 'Oh, I love your show, you're so pretty,'" she says. "It was women disclosing things to me, saying, 'Can you help me?' These girls who were so lonley and had nowhere to go were writing to some woman on TV"

Mariska decided to turn her traditional fan website, Mariska.com, into a site to build self-esteem which provides resources for rape victims and women suffering from depression and addiction.

In 2002, Hargitay founded the Joyful Heart Foundation (JHF) to provide healing therapies for survivors of sexual assault. "We don't try to reinvent the wheel, because there are so many fantastic organizations out there already," she says.

In addition to being a busy actress and advocate, Hargitay is the mom to 10-month-old son, August, but says being a mom has refueled her instead of unraveling her. She says: "I think becomeing a parent reinvents you. I wanted to be a mother so badly, so no matter what's going on, when I see him, it's a wash. Nothing is in my heart more than he is -- he just wipes the slate clean."



Cynthia Nixon
Supporter of the Alliance for Quality Education
Mother of Samantha, 10, and Charles, 4

"In 2001, on the first day of my daughter's kindergarten, I arrived to find that massive budget cuts had taken place over the summer, so the public school I was taking my daughter to was very different from the one I had toured earlier that year. An assistant principal, the music teacher, and the art teacher had been let go; some of the kids were in trailers because there weren't enough classrooms. That day, I went to a protest that had been organized by the Alliance for Quality Education, and I liked what I saw. We fought the cuts and were able to repeal most of them, which made a huge difference for my child's school. Now we go up to the state capital to lobby and have face-to-face meetings with politicians. When I work with the alliance, I know I'm doing something for my children and the 1.1 million other schoolkids in New York City."



Sharon Stone
Campaign chairman for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR)
Mother of Roan, 6, Laird, 2, and Quinn, 1

"Being a good parent and a good activist are similar—both are about listening and making sensible choices. Sometimes I have to decide between attending a fund-raiser and tucking my kids in, but I know that if I go out and raise $4 million for AIDS research, it will make the world a safer place for my sons. AmfAR donates almost all of the money it raises to research programs. Many of the most potent life-extending drugs that exist for HIV and AIDS patients today were created because of grants given by our organization. At the first Cannes fund-raiser I participated in, we raised about $150,000; last year, it was almost $4.5 million. I will shamelessly be Patty the Party Hostess if it makes people understand how important it is to contribute."



Marcia Gay Harden
Supporter of the Red Cross and the YMCA
Mother of Eulala, 8, Hudson, 3, and Julitta, 3 (all pictured)

"After Hurricane Katrina, I flew to Houston on my own to go to the Astrodome, because I wanted to set up a reading center for the children. While I was there, I noticed two organizations that were incredible in their ability to help people quickly: the YMCA and the Red Cross. When I came back, I thought, I have to be a part of these two organizations that can 'get 'er done.' Working with the children at the YMCA, I am grateful to see how they take the opportunity given to them and turn it into artistic brilliance, political acumen, and worthy citizenship. Working hand in hand with the Red Cross, I see families lifted from their present tragedies and given hope for the future. I started working with charities before I had children, but now there's more resonance. Motherhood enhances my life, and I think that makes me better at whatever job I do. I know it's the biggest cliché in the world, but kids are the ones we have to help. They're the future."

Pick up the latest issue of Cooke Magazine to see the rest of the list!