Stepmom Quotes From The Heartfelt 90s Movie

As you will see in these Stepmom quotes, the movie takes a realistic look at how resentment and jealousy can make co-parenting a challenge.

Maybe it is a cold and dreary day outside and you feel like watching a sad movie.

It’s cathartic to cry sometimes, and if that is the mood you are in, then Stepmom, starring Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon, is a perfect choice.

The movie was released in 1998, and was a box office hit, even though it was met with mixed reviews from critics.

The movie starts out exploring the dynamics between a divorced New York couple and the ex-husband’s new girlfriend.

As if all of that alone is not enough drama for a magnificent film, the writers throw us a heart-wrenching plot twist.

It turns out that Susan Sarandon’s character, Jackie Harrison, has been battling cancer in silence.

When she gets the news that her cancer is terminal, she finally shares the news with her family.

Keep reading through these Stepmom quotes to learn how this affects the family, but fair warning it might make you cry!

Don’t forget to also check out these co-parenting quotes to help separated parents.

If you like this article, we suggest you explore our most popular quotes article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily encouragement. 

Look through our complete collection of inspirational quotes here.

Stepmom quotes from Isabel

1. “You know, I never wanted to be a mom. Sharing it with you… that’s one thing. It’s another to be looking over my shoulder for the next twenty years, knowing someone else would have done it better… someone else would have done it right.” ― Isabel (Julia Roberts)

2. “You know every story, every wound, every memory. Their whole life’s happiness is wrapped up in you… every single second. Don’t you get it? “ ― Isabel (Julia Roberts)

3. “Don’t fight with me when I’m hungry.” ― Isabel (Julia Roberts)

4. “It’s not that I can’t cook, I choose not to cook.” ― Isabel (Julia Roberts)

5. “What is it that you’re worried about, looking bad at the PTA?” ― Isabel (Julia Roberts)

6. “If you meet me back here in 1 hour, I will prove to you why you hired me… even though I wouldn’t sleep with you.” ― Isabel (Julia Roberts)

7. Look down the road to her wedding. I’m in a room alone with her, fixing her veil, fluffing her dress, telling her no woman has ever looked so beautiful. And my fear is she’ll be thinking, “I wish my mom was here”. ― Isabel (Julia Roberts)

8. “Hello?… What is your problem, asshole?” ― Isabel (Julia Roberts)

9. “Why doesn’t everybody get on the sofa for a picture, huh?” ― Isabel (Julia Roberts)

10. “All right, you may think this is funny, but this is so not…” ― Isabel (Julia Roberts)

Stepmom quotes from Jackie and Luke Harrison

11. “Yep. Life’s a tradeoff. It’s finally legal to smoke dope, but you got to have cancer.” ― Jackie, (Susan Sarandon)

12. “You know, Ben was born in two hours, went right to the breast, and camped there for 4 days. His blanket looked just like a cape. Even the nurses thought so. He loves hearing that story about how he was born a magician.” ― Jackie, (Susan Sarandon)

13. “I’m getting a court order and you are never going to be with these children again alone, do you understand? EVER!” ― Jackie, (Susan Sarandon)

14. “A 12-year-old girl is trying to cope with the fact that her Father is never moving back in here with his family, she sees her Father naked in the shower, with another woman, for the first time, and you think it would be better for her… than to pretend that nothing happened?” ― Jackie, (Susan Sarandon)

15. “I have their past, and you can have their future.” ― Jackie, (Susan Sarandon)

16. “Winning without dignity or grace is not winning.” ― Jackie, (Susan Sarandon)

17. “Good one. Okay, now let’s get one with the whole family. Isabel?” ― Jackie, (Susan Sarandon)

18. Jackie Harrison: “What are we going to tell the kids?”

Luke Harrison: “Maybe we should tell them the truth. They can handle it. It should’ve been

me instead of you.” ― Luke, (Ed Harris)

19. “We’ll beat it. You’re not alone in this, you know. You don’t have to go through this by yourself — you know that? Understand what I’m saying?” ― Luke, (Ed Harris)

20. “Don’t do this. Don’t bring in the lawyers. You know that the kids aren’t in any real danger, this is about Isabel.” ― Luke, (Ed Harris)

Stepmom quotes from conversations between Jackie and Isabel

21. Isabel: You look tired.

Jackie: I hate when people say that. It’s like a polite way of telling you that you look like shit.

22. Isabel: Are you dying?

Jackie: Not today.

23. Isabel: What about her?

Jackie: 28 hours. The doctors wanted to go in and get her, but I knew she’d come at her

own time. You can never rush her.

Isabel: I’ll keep that in mind.

24. Isabel: I am so unbelievably sick of your imperious bullshit. I never said I was

June-fucking-Clever…

Jackie: You don’t use that kind of language in this house!

25. Isabel: If every time life hits her hard you want to have a twelve-hour conversation every

third Tuesday of the month, go right ahead, lady. I have a life.

Jackie: Oh, and I don’t?

Which of these Stepmom quotes is your favorite?

“Let’s get a photo with the whole family,” is actually the last line of the movie.

At this point, Jackie is nearly bedridden, but she spends Christmas morning with all the people who love her.

She shares some tear-jerking scenes with her children.

Isabel takes a photo of Jackie, Luke, and the kids, before Jackie utters her request in a thready voice.

This moment shows just how much the relationship between the two women changes throughout the film.

Jackie has come to rely on Isabel, and Isabel learns much about caring for others in a selfless manner.

There is so much growth that happens in this movie for each of the characters.

It feels authentic and real to anyone who has experienced any kind of traumatic event that helped shape who you are.

What are your favorite Stepmom quotes and lines from the film?

You can let us know in the comment section below, but what I am most curious about is if you made it through the whole movie without crying!