Futurama's Villainous Mom Took Her Name From The Real Mother Of A Series Writer
The most evil villain in Matt Groening's and David X. Cohen's animated sci-fi comedy "Futurama" is undoubtedly Mom (Tress MacNeille), the wicked corporate tyrant who aims to own everything in the universe. In public, Mom wears a grandmotherly gown, complete with a bustle, and spends her time hawking "homemade" goods with a gentle, old-world, rustic charm. As soon as Mom is back in her office, however, she removes her gown — it turns out it's a robotic suit akin to the one worn by Iron Man — and transforms into her true self: a rail-thin, chain-smoking, Cruella de Vil-like monster who slaps her children and invents unusual cusses (sample dialogue: "Jam a bastard in it, you crap!").
Mom has three bumbling adult children named Walt, Larry, and Igner (Maurice LaMarche, David Herman, and John DiMaggio) whom she forces to stand in a line so she can slap them all with only one swing of the arm. As "Futurama" progressed, it would also be revealed that Mom and the doddering old Professor Farnsworth (Billy West) once had a series of torrid affairs decades ago. Mom and the Professor occasionally reunite for another brief fling, but it never works out. Mom is just too evil for the Professor. She can think of nothing but wealth and takes sadistic glee in exploiting others. Although she is a notorious and famous figure, no one ever refers to her by anything other than Mom.
It wouldn't be until a 2017 Reddit thread that "Futurama" co-creator would reveal that Mom actually had a real name, albeit one that had never been spoken in dialogue. Her name is Carol Miller, and she was originally named after the actual mother of series writer Patric Verrone.
Carol Miller
Verrone's real mother was actually named Edna Miller, and Mom was originally going to be named Edna, but, as Groening himself said on Reddit: "Patric Verrone wrote the episode in which Mom first appeared, and he named her Edna Miller (his mother's name). We changed the first name to Carol, so there you go. Another useless Futurama factoid! Sincerely yours, Matt."
As simple as that.
Although no one on "Futurama" has confirmed this, Mom appears to be physically modeled after Mary Anne Trump, the mother of Donald Trump. Photos of Mary Anne typically see her grimacing in what looks like wicked glee and sporting a massive, poofy hairdo, very much like Mom's. Multiple articles written years ago posited Mary Anne's influence on the blustering idiot tycoon, so she was a known pop culture presence long before Donald thought he should get into politics. Mary Anne died in 2000, shortly after the premiere of "Futurama," so the show's animators likely knew who she was and what she looked like. Her amoral, Trumpian behavior on the show certainly bears this out.
Of course, if Patric Verrone named a supervillain after his own mother, one might begin to wonder what sort of relationship the two shared. Was it antagonistic, or would Edna Miller have found the homage flattering and funny?
"Futurama" recently relaunched after its third cancelation several years ago. The entire cast has returned, including MacNeille as Mom. Whether or not Mom's real name will finally be mentioned in dialogue remains to be seen. For now, it is only a piece of trivia for fans to note.