British singer Lily Allen just made headlines for claiming that her two children “ruined” her career. “I love them and they complete me, but in terms of pop stardom, totally ruined it,” she said during a podcast interview. “It really annoys me when people say you can have it all because, quite frankly, you can’t.”
It may be true that not everyone can be everything, and that mothers who also pursue careers face unique challenges. But that doesn’t mean that moms can’t achieve success in Hollywood, sports, or any other industry. That success may just look a little different or be on an extended timeline compared to their peers.
Candace Cameron Bure is the perfect example of a Hollywood mom who managed to do it all with absolute grace and class.
The former child star, who rose to fame portraying D.J. Tanner on the popular 90s sitcom “Full House,” has had a long-lasting and successful Hollywood career. Now at the age of 47, she’s the chief content officer of Great American Media.
Emily Assiran/Getty Images for 90’s Con
Bure has competed on the reality competition show “Dancing With the Stars,” written four books, reprised her sitcom role in the spinoff “Fuller House” (2016-2020), and achieved much success starring in several fan-loved movies on the Hallmark Channel before making the move to Great American Media.
Perhaps the most shocking part of Bure’s success is that she’s openly conservative and Christian. The actress has caught heat in the industry for standing up for her values but hasn’t backed down or apologized for saying what she said.
“When I had a lot of these ‘bullets’ kind of hit me in the last year or so, they’ve been a really big challenge to me personally, to my heart, to my character, to my relationships, to my jobs,” Bure said during a December episode of her podcast. “I remember being so upset over it, because it’s like how do you recover?”
“I’ll just say it, cancel culture is very real,” she added. “And they were trying to cancel me.”
A lot of the backlash came when Bure switched from Hallmark to GAC and said they planned to “keep traditional marriage at the core” of the content made there. But so far, besides clarifying her comments and lack of hate for any group, the actress has not backed down from those statements.
Despite how Lily Allen feels about motherhood and careers coexisting, Bure managed to achieve it all while successfully raising her kids. The celeb married Russian NHL hockey player Valeri Bure on June 22, 1996 and went on to have three children with him.
Natasha Valerievna was born in August 1998. Next came two boys, Lev in February 2000 and Maksim “Maks” in January 2002.
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
In case any critics are tempted to accuse Bure of outsourcing her parenting duties with full-time nannies, it doesn’t sound like that’s the case. The “Full House” star told People in 2011 that her family is very close-knit.
“We are a very close family and no matter what’s on the schedule, we all stick together,” Bure told the outlet at the time. “We have dinner together just about every night and our weekends are all about having fun together. My time is so short with them and I know that when they start driving, it will start to change. But for now, I keep them close.”
Bure has been keeping fans up to date on what’s going on in her kids’ lives lately.
“What a day! My boy. My son. My baby. So proud of you,” the actress posted on Instagram when Maksim graduated high school in 2021. “You have grown so much in character and your love for God. Your joy is infectious! You are and have always been such a blessing to us; to be your mama and papa. We are so grateful God gave us to you to be your parents. As well as everyone who has contributed in your journey.”
Maksim followed in his father’s footsteps and went on to play hockey at Liberty University.
Los Angeles, February 16, 2016. JB Lacroix/WireImage
Bure got to try out a new role in January 2024 when her middle child tied the knot: mother of the groom.
“Words cannot express the joy we have felt this weekend celebrating the marriage of our son and his bride Elliott. We gained a beautiful daughter and a wonderful family to do life with,” the celeb wrote in a photo post on Instagram. “I have an overwhelming sense of love, joy, peace and contentment thanks to God’s blessing of family and friendship. My heart is so full.”
The actress’s oldest daughter, meanwhile, dabbled in acting and modeling just like her movie star mom. But unlike so many other young and beautiful Hollywood celebrities, Natasha hasn’t fallen victim to the cult of woke nor has she tried to get attention by dressing in skimpy outfits.
Natasha spoke about embracing the conservative values her parents instilled, including in the way she dressed. “Modesty & I have come a long way truthfully,” she shared to Instagram stories in 2023. “A year or two ago I dressed COMPLETELY different and showed WAY more of my body than I ever needed to.”
“I still want to dress stylishly and keep up with the trends but I don’t ever want to compromise my values,” Natasha wrote.
Bure’s eldest daughter also publicly defended her mom when she got into a public back-and-forth with JoJo Siwa in 2022. Siwa had originally called Bure the “rudest celebrity” she ever met, a sentiment which the actress responded to immediately.
“Honestly, I was shocked when I saw the TikTok on Sunday, and I had no idea where it came from,” Bure said in a video to her followers just after the incident happened, as The Daily Wire previously reported. “I immediately tried to reach out to her through a mutual friend … because I didn’t know what happened — I didn’t know.”
The “Fuller House” star said she personally reached out to Siwa to reconcile. “I called her,” Bure said. “We had a great conversation.” She related that the criticism stemmed from an interaction the two had when Siwa was 11 and felt ignored when asking Bure for a photo on the red carpet at an event.
“Respectfully, someone saying no to taking a photo with you is not a ‘rough experience,'” Natasha shared in stories at the time. “This generation is so sensitive and has zero backbone. Grow up. There are bigger issues in the world than this.”
Not everyone is able to have a successful career and be an attentive mother. But for anyone looking for examples of it working out in real life, Bure is a role model in the Hollywood sphere.