Friend of the Family: Kathy Griffin’s Mom, Maggie

In honor of the Mom’s holiday o’ recognition, we’re sending the love to one of our favorite celebrity mamas: Maggie Griffin. The mother of outrageous comic Kathy Griffin, she always has open arms for her gay fans--and a nice box of Franzia.

The wine enthusiast has appeared in every season of Kathy’s Emmy-award winning My Life on the D-List. Whether she’s supporting her daughter, inspiring the elder generation, campaigning for gay rights, or creating catch phrases like “Tip it!” (In reference to a near-empty box of wine [book out this summer!]), Maggie Griffin puts the family in Friend of the Family.

I always laugh at her comments on the Bravo show, but I fell in love with Maggie Griffin the first time I saw her holding a marriage equality sign.

The year was 2008, tension was high as Prop. 8’s passing loomed, and as Kathy took to the streets with fellow celebs to protest the discriminatory legislation, Maggie was at her side, at 87 years of age, with a homemade sign that said “Marriage Equality: I’ll Drink to That!” I melted.

There are a million moments when Maggie reaffirms her charming commitment to compassion and equality. Most often, her good nature is shown through her abiding love for her often foul-mouthed daughter. Though she often shocks, Maggie stands by her kid. She “accept[s] her shtick” and Catholic Mag called Kathy’s infamous Emmy award acceptance/discrediting of Jesus, “shocking but funny.”

The only time Mom was really disappointed was when Kathy dropped the F-bomb in  hottie Anderson Cooper’s presence whilst taping CNN’s New Years Eve coverage. Kathy said her mom thought she had “shamed the family. Like we're the Rockefellers.'You shamed the family again Kathleen!'" She also reported her Mom was “inconsolable” following the Anderson incident. “It took not one but two boxes of wine to get her back off the ledge."

In honor of Mother’s Day, we couldn’t be prouder to count Maggie Griffin as more than a friend--heck, she’s a member of our extended family. I even cleaned up the language a little for Mama Maggie. Now if only we could contain Kathy’s cursing…