History Main / GoodStepmother

* Nadezhda Alliluyeva, Stalin's second wife, was close to her stepson, Yakov, who was only a few years younger than her. When Yakov attempted suicide after his father forced him to break up with his fiancé, Nadezhda rushed to his side to comfort him, called a doctor, and stopped the bleeding. Stalin, in contrast, remarked, "He can't even shoot straight."

* Kelly, Rick's second wife on ''Series/AmericanRestoration'', is shown to have a good relationship with Tyler, his son from his first marriage.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' features a BigScrewedUpFamily on ''both'' sides due to Corrin and Azura having ties to both yet surprisingly [[NotBloodSiblings not actually being related by blood to anyone except each other]]. Among these is Mikoto, who is a GoodStepmother to the Hoshidan Royal family, since she loves Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura as if they are her own children. (Even Azura, though Azura ''is'' her niece.) Sumeragi also played a male role to Corrin, since he is not Corrin's actual father, and when Corrin learns the truth, Corrin may say that Sumeragi really was his/her father. [[WickedStepmother The stepfather on the Nohrian side of things on the other hand...]]

* ''Film/ManOfTheHouse1995'' is about a good [[GenderFlip stepfather]] who goes out of his way to gain his stepchild's trust and acceptance. In the film, lawyer Jack proposes to Ben's mother some time after her husband ran off with his secretary, disillusioning Ben and making him distrustful of male figures in his life. Through joining the Indian guides (a boy-scout knock off) which they initially both find to be dumb and stupid, as well as fighting off a pair of goons who are after Jack's head because he's prosecuting their boss, the two bond as a stepfather and son and Jack is allowed to marry Ben's mother.
* In ''Film/NannyMcPhee'', Evangeline is the Brown family's scullery maid who settles fights between the children. The children and Evangeline talk about why they're acting out and she tries to help. Their father, Cedric Brown, hasn't paid attention to them since their mother died but they don't want a stepmother because of the fairy tales. By the end of the movie, Cedric and Evangeline marry.

* In Creator/LMMontgomery's ''[[Literature/AnneOfGreenGables Anne of Green Gables: Rainbow Valley]]'', the minister's motherless children are told by another child that all stepmothers are wicked, it comes with the role. Nevertheless the youngest goes to persuade a woman to marry her father because her father is so miserable since she rejected him. And in ''Rilla of Ingliside'' it is clear that she is a perfectly lovely stepmother.

* In book 5 of ''Literature/GestaDanorum'', the sorceress Kraka, second wife to a Norwegian lord, cooks a meal for both her stepson Erik and her own son Roller, but prepares Roller's share with the slaver of a magical snake which will make him smarter and luckier. But Erik and Roller swap plates, and the spell is upon Erik instead. Rather than being angry at Erik, Kraka decides that from now on, Erik should be the leader of the brothers. She also promises that her magic will aid Erik whenever he calls her name, and helps him in outwitting King Gotar of Norway. When Gotar's assassins attack Erik in his bed, he calls out his stepmother's name, whereupon a shield happens to fall from the rafters, covering his body and saving his life.
* ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle'': Living in a world filled by [[FairyTaleTropes fairy tale tropes]] and their lampshades and aversions, Sophie's stepmother Fanny shows first antagonistic shades before revelation of her best intentions towards both her own daughter Martha and her stepdaughters Sophie and Lettie. The thing is, she loves her daughters equally, but her judgement is flawed.
** More specifically; Fanny sends Martha to study magic under a famous teacher, but sends Lettie to work in a bakery and Sophie to work in the family-owned hat store. It first appears favoritism, but turns out that she actually believed them to be the best life choices for her daughters: Martha is the youngest child, so [[YoungestChildWins she is already destined to have most exciting and lucky life]], and having magical skills could help her even more; Lettie is popular among guys, so working in bakery helps her finding a husband quickly; and meek, eldest Sophie can have a secure income in the hat store.
** That said, Martha and Lettie didn't agree with Fanny, causing them to [[spoiler:quietly swap their places using transformation spells]], making her decisions look more antagonistic. Especially [[CallingTheOldManOut Martha is eager to call her mom out]] for trying to decide what is best for each daughter, [[spoiler: and also further bad-mouth her by revealing the issue below]].
** More antagonistic-looking appearance is upon the revelation of that [[spoiler:Sophie's hats are extremely popular in the town, and Fanny lives rich socialite life on Sophie's earnings]]. Turns out, this was not due to malicious intentions; she genuinely thought that [[spoiler: [[ShrinkingViolet Sophie]] was happy working in the hat store]].

* In the original novel of ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'', Prince Humperdinck has a stepmother, Queen Bella. He always calls her "Evil Stepmother" (or simply "E.S." for short) because all fairy tale stepmothers are, and he was still a little boy when she married his father. In reality she's very nice, and she and Humperdinck are quite fond of one another.

* ''[[Literature/ATaleOf A Tale of the Wicked Queen]]'' is a PerspectiveFlip prequel to Disney's ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs''. It's shown that the Evil Queen started out as a kind and loving stepmother who adored her stepdaughter like she was her biological child. Eventually, she warped into ''the'' evil stepmother.
* After having a bad stepfather in the first book, the titular Percy Jackson of ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' get a good stepfather by the final book of the first series.

* On ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', Felicity Smoak is arguably a better parent to William than his father Oliver Queen (partially because William has less baggage with her than he does with the father he partially worries is going to get himself killed and partially blames for the death of his mother).
* On ''Series/TheBradyBunch'', Carol did such a good job raising the boys, the fact that she was a stepmother was never even mentioned except in one episode (season 1, #10) when Bobby, after watching ''Disney/{{Cinderella}}'' on TV, and being told to clean out the fireplace, convinced himself that Carol was a Wicked Stepmother. His use of the word "step"mother eventually provoked this reply:

* In ''Series/TheFosters'', though generally taken a relatively secondary role, Lena fully intends to and does play a positive parental role in Brandon, her stepson's life.
* Invoked and PlayedWith in the 1981 Chilean {{Telenovela}} ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Madrastra_(1981_TV_series) La Madrastra]]''[[note]]The Stepmother[[/note]] (as well remakes like [[Series/LaMadrastra the Mexican one]]), in which a rich woman is falsely accused of a crime and imprisoned in jail for 20 years, the father of her 3 children told them their mother was dead to avoid the shame. After those years, she was freed and comes back to the house to get revenge on the people who accused her, as well re-adopted her children (now adults whose don't remember the image of her mother), marrying her husband once again under another name, becoming the "stepmother".
* In ''Series/{{Moesha}}'', Dee who is Frank's second wife acts like a mother figure to Moesha and Myles.
* In ''Series/TheNanny'' Fran becomes the beloved stepmom of the Sheffield children, having gained their love and trust ages before her RelationshipUpgrade with their father.

* ''Series/RaisingHope'': Once Jimmy and Sabrina marry she is this to Jimmy's daughter Hope. Eventually she adopts Hope. She actually showed maternal instincts for Hope way before she became Jimmy's girlfriend/wife when she saved Hope from a gun toting mama. Sabrina also tries real hard to make sure Hope has a good childhood.

* In ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', if it weren't for the hyphenated names and mixed accents you wouldn't even be able to tell that this is a blended family. The phrases "stepchildren" and "stepsiblings" are virtually never used. Neither parent shows any preferences between biological and stepchildren, and that extends to even the shown grandparents treating all the kids equally.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'', Sofia's mother, Miranda, marries King Roland II and is a kind and loving stepmother to his children, Amber and James. She acknowledges there aren't many stories with good stepmothers, so it drives her to be as good as she can.

* In Bangladeshi culture, widows with young children are often advised to marry again as it is perceived a good woman is needed to make the family whole again.

* Margaret of France, the second wife of King Edward I of England, was this to her stepson, Prince Edward (the future King Edward II). The two were reportedly fond of one another, (unsurprising, as Edward was only 6 when his mother, Eleanor of Castile, died) and Edward II once gave Margaret a gift of an expensive gold and ruby ring. Margaret was also very unjealous to the point she named her daughter, Eleanor, after her husband's first wife.

* Nadezhda Alliluyeva, Stalin's second wife, was close to her stepson, Yakov, who was only a few years younger than her. When Yakov attempted suicide after his father forced him to break up with his fiancé, Nadezhda rushed to his side to comfort him, called a doctor, and stopped the bleeding. Stalin, in contrast, remarked "He can't even shoot straight."

* Serbian princess Mara Brankovic was a close confidant of her stepson, Sultan Mehmed II, conqueror of Constantinople. Married to his father, Murad II, to secure a political alliance, she chose to remain at the Ottoman court, spurning a proposal from the Byzantine Emperor in the process. Mara advised her stepson and acted as a diplomatic agent on his behalf when negotiating with other powers.
* Margaret of France, who was the second wife of King Edward I of England, was this to her stepson, Prince Edward (the future King Edward II). The two were reportedly fond of one another (unsurprsing, as Edward was only 6 when his mother, Eleanor of Castile, died) to the point that Edward II gave Margaret a gift of an expensive gold and ruby ring. Margaret was also very unjealous to the point she named her daughter, Eleanor, after her husband's first wife.

* In ''Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy'' (A modern graphic novel adaptation of ''Literature/LittleWomen''), the March family is blended. In their retelling, Mrs. March was a white single mother of Jo when she meets and marries Mr. March, an African-American widower who is raising his daughter, Meg. They would have two more daughters together, Beth and Amy. Like ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', it's hard to tell they're a blended family since all four refer to both parents as Mom and Dad.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' features a BigScrewedUpFamily on ''both'' sides due to Corrin and Azura having ties to both yet surprisingly [[NotBloodSiblings not actually being related by blood to anyone except each other]]. Among these is Mikoto, who is a GoodStepmother to the Hoshidan Royal family, since she loves Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura as if they are her own children. (Even Azura, though Azura ''is'' her niece.) Sumeragi also played a male role to Corrin, since he is not Corrin's actual father. [[WickedStepmother The stepfather on the Nohrian side of things on the other hand...]]

* ''[[Film/ManOfTheHouse1995 Man of the House]]'' (1995) is about a good [[GenderFlip stepfather]] who goes out of his way to gain his step-child's trust and acceptance. In the film, lawyer Jack proposes to Ben's mother some time after her husband ran off with his secretary, disillusioning Ben and making him distrustful of male figures in his life. Through joining the Indian guides (a boy-scout knock off) which they initially both find to be dumb and stupid, as well as fighting off a pair of goons who are after Jack's head because he's prosecuting their boss, the two bond as a step-father and son and Jack is allowed to marry Ben's mother.

* ''Film/TheSoundOfMusic'': Creator/JulieAndrews' character is hired as a governess who develops a dear fondness for the Von Trapp kids. After falling in love with the Baron Von Trapp, she is set to become this trope.

* ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle'': Living in a world filled by [[FairyTaleTropes fairy tale tropes]] and their lampshades and aversions, Sophie's step-mother Fanny shows first antagonistic shades before revelation of her best intentions towards both her own daughter Martha and her step-daughters Sophie and Lettie. The thing is, she loves her daughters equally, but her judgement is flawed.

* In ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'' novel, Prince Humperdinck has stepmother that he calls evil because all fairy tale stepmothers are. In reality she's very nice, the most beloved person in the kingdom (perhaps second only to Buttercup).

* ''[[Literature/ATaleOf A Tale of the Wicked Queen]]'' is a PerspectiveFlip prequel to Disney's ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs''. It's shown that the Evil Queen started out as a kind and loving step-mother who adored her step-daughter like she was her biological child. Eventually, she warped into ''the'' evil step-mother.

* Invoked and PlayedWith in the 1981 Chilean {{Telenovela}} ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Madrastra_(1981_TV_series) La Madrastra]]''[[note]]The Stepmother[[/note]] (as well remakes like [[Series/LaMadrastra the Mexican one]]), in which a rich woman is falsely accused of a crime and imprisioned in jail for 20 years, the father of her 3 children said to them her mother was dead to avoid the shame. After those years, she was freed and comes back to the house to get revenge of the people who accused her, as well re-adopted her children (now adults whose don't remember the image of her mother), marrying her husband once again by other name being the "stepmother".

* Min-Seong from ''Webcomic/TheFriendlyWinter'' is a boy who lives with his step-mother Seo-Ha. He thinks she's the sweetest and most beautiful woman on the planet.
* Summer Rose from ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', was, by all accounts, as loving to her step-daughter Yang as she was to her biological daughter Ruby, to the point that Yang didn't even find out they weren't biologically related until after Summer's death. Yang continues to hold her in high regard in the present day, referring to her as a "[[ActionMom Super Mom]]" when relaying her backstory to Blake.

* Halfway into ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'', Lois begins dating a doctor. Carl gets quite attached to Dave easily. His older sister Ginger is a bit more apprehensive at first. She at one point has a fairy-tale ImagineSpot where he was a [[WickedStepmother wicked stepfather]], and later [[TheBully Miranda]] tries to instill worries in her about Dave being her new father. Eventually Ginger does warm up to Dave too. Lois and Dave eventually end up engaged and the finale is about their wedding.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'', Chuckie initially worries that Kira will be like the stepmother from "Disney/{{Cinderella}}". She's actually quite nice and caring. One episode even has her adopting him legally (and likewise, Chas adopted Kimi).
* In ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'', Sofia's mother, Miranda, marries King Roland II and is a kind and loving stepmother to his children, Amber and James. Though she acknowledges there aren't many stories with good stepmothers, so it drives her to be as good as she can.

* Summer Rose from ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', was, by all accounts, as loving to her step-daughter Yang as she was to her biological daughter Ruby, to the point that Yang didn't even find out they weren't biologically related until after Summer's death.

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', Yang described to Blake her and Ruby's mother, Summer, as being a "Super-mom - baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters!". However after Summer's death, Yang found out that Summer was Ruby's birth mother but not hers. Her mother, Raven, left shortly after she was born.

It wouldn't be rare for the Good Stepmother to want to secure a ''portion'' of the fortune for herself. In such a case, the fortune might actually be better maintained, and she'll spend her share wisely.

* When her stepsons Erik and Agnar are killed by king Eystein Beli, Aslaug of ''Literature/TheSagaOfRagnarLodbrok'' weeps a single tear of blood for them (which is a lot, as she never cries), and afterwards persuades her biological sons to avenge their stepbrothers. She even personally leads and army against Eystein, which eventually defeats and kills the latter.

* In Creator/LMMontgomery's ''[[Literature/AnneOfGreenGables Rainbow Valley]]'', the minister's motherless children are told by another child that all stepmothers are wicked, it comes with the role. Nevertheless the youngest goes to persuade a woman to marry her father because her father is so miserable since she rejected him. And in ''Rilla of Ingliside'' it is clear that she is a perfectly lovely stepmother.

* [[Film/ManOfTheHouse1995 ''Man of the House'' (1995)]] is about a good [[GenderFlip stepfather]] who goes out of his way to gain his step-child's trust and acceptance. In the film, lawyer Jack proposes to Ben's mother some time after her husband ran off with his secretary, disillusioning Ben and making him distrustful of male figures in his life. Through joining the Indian guides (a boy-scout knock off) which they initially both find to be dumb and stupid, as well as fighting off a pair of goons who are after Jack's head because he's prosecuting their boss, the two bond as a step-father and son and Jack is allowed to marry Ben's mother.

** More antagonistic-looking appearance is upon the relevation of that [[spoiler:Sophie's hats are extremely popular in the town, and Fanny lives rich socialite life on Sophie's earnings]]. Turns out, this was not due to malicious intentions; she genuinely thought that [[spoiler: [[ShrinkingViolet Sophie]] was happy working in the hat store]].

* ''Film/ManOfTheHouse1995'' (1995) is about a good [[GenderFlip stepfather]] who goes out of his way to gain his step-child's trust and acceptance. In the film, lawyer Jack proposes to Ben's mother some time after her husband ran off with his secretary, disillusioning Ben and making him distrustful of male figures in his life. Through joining the Indian guides (a boy-scout knock off) which they initially both find to be dumb and stupid, as well as fighting off a pair of goons who are after Jack's head because he's prosecuting their boss, the two bond as a step-father and son and Jack is allowed to marry Ben's mother.

* ''Film/ManOfTheHouse'' (1995) is about a good [[GenderFlip stepfather]] who goes out of his way to gain his step-child's trust and acceptance. In the film, lawyer Jack proposes to Ben's mother some time after her husband ran off with his secretary, disillusioning Ben and making him distrustful of male figures in his life. Through joining the Indian guides (a boy-scout knock off) which they initially both find to be dumb and stupid, as well as fighting off a pair of goons who are after Jack's head because he's prosecuting their boss, the two bond as a step-father and son and Jack is allowed to marry Ben's mother.

* Addressed in ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'': Morgan is fretful about the prospect of getting a stepmother because her only knowledge of them comes from fairytales like "Literature/SnowWhite" and "Literature/{{Cinderella}}". However, both her father's initial girlfriend, Nancy, and his new love interest, Giselle, are very friendly and supportive of her.

* In ''Film/NannyMcPhee'', Evangeline is the Brown family's scullery maid who settle's fights between his children. The children and Evangeline talk about why they're acting out and she tries to help. Their father, Cedric Brown, hasn't paid attention to them since their mother died but they don't want a stepmother because of the fairy tales. By the end of the movie, Cedric and Evangeline marry.

* When Tim Drake's father marries Dana Winters in ''[[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin]]'', she helps Tim and his father to resolve disputes by going out of her way to get Tim's side of the story when his father refuses to allow him to speak for himself and jumps to conclusions and by reminding Jack that he said he was going to spend more time with Tim. She and Tim get along great and she regularly acts as a voice of reason for him with his father but she never becomes very close to Tim due to his age when she becomes a part of the family and her untimely death.
* ''ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}'': Colonel Jacob Kane remarries when his daughter(s) are adults. She is really invested in being a part of her child's/niece's life, and goes out of her way to be helpful.

* ''Film/{{Stepmom}}'' is all about a woman trying to bond with her boyfriend's leery children and to make peace with his former wife.
* In ''Film/NannyMcPhee'', Evangeline is the Brown family's scullery maid who settle's fights between his children. The children and Evangeline talk about why they're acting out and she tries to help. Their father, Cedric Brown, hasn't paid attention to them since their mother died but they don't want a stepmother because of the fairy tales. By the end of the movie, Cedric and Evangeline marry.

* When her stepsons Erik and Agnar are killed by king Eystein Beli, Aslaug of ''Literature/TheSagaOfRagnarLodbrok'' weeps a single tear of blood for them (which is a lot, as she never cries), and afterwards persuades her biological sons to avenge their stepbrothers. She even personally leads and army against Eystein, which eventually defeats and kills the latter.
* In book 5 of ''Literature/GestaDanorum'', the sorceress Kraka, second wife to a Norwegian lord, cooks a meal for both her stepson Erik and her own son Roller, but prepares Roller's share with the slaver of a magical snake which will make him smarter and luckier. But Erik and Roller swap plates, and the spell is upon Erik instead. Rather than being angry at Erik, Kraka decides that from now on, Erik should be the leader of the brothers. She also promises that her magic will aid Erik whenever he calls her name, and helps him in outwitting King Gotar of Norway. When Gotar's assassins attack Erik in his bed, he calls out his stepmother's name, whereupon a shield happens to fall from the rafters, covering his body and saving his life.
* In the Old Icelandic ''Saga of Bosi and Herraud'', the brothers Bosi and Smid are after their mother's death raised by their father's magically skilled concubine, Busla. When Bosi incurs King Hring's wrath and awaits his execution, Busla persuades the king to let Bosi live by demonstrating her magic powers and threatening to lay a terrible curse on the king. Later, when Bosi and Smid are hard-pressed in battle against the sorcerous King Harek of Bjarmaland, Busla comes to their aid in the shape of a giant bird, saving her stepsons again at the cost of her own life.

* ''Literature/MercyThompson'' who is beloved by Jesse, the daughter of her hot, werewolf neighbor Adam. Jesse looks up to Mercy like a CoolBigSis, and likes Mercy even more when [[HappilyMarried Adam and Mercy end up dating and then marrying]].
* Not official yet, but Cady, from the ''Arcadia Bell Series'' by Jenn Bennet has a great relationship with her boyfriend Lon's teenage son, Jupe, who sees her like a CoolBigSis.
* Plot summary of an incidental story from an old children's book: "Billy" is a very young boy who has two questions, "Where's mummy?" and "When is she coming home?" but nobody seems able to answer him. After a while, he hears rumors that someone special is coming to stay. Billy decides it must be mummy coming home at last, but when his father comes in the front door, it's with a different woman. Billy is horribly disappointed, but then the woman treats his feelings seriously and gently, telling him that if he likes, she will try to be his mummy until "mummy comes home, or you go to her". Some years later, Billy has learned that she is a "stepmother", and when another boy says that stepmothers are always horrible, Billy wants to fight him!
* In ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'' novel, Prince Humperdinck has stepmother that he calls evil because all fairy tale stepmothers are. In reality she's very nice, the most beloved person in the kingdom (perhaps second only to Buttercup).
* The Creator/RayBradbury short story "I Sing the Body Electric". A robot nanny is brought in as a therapist to help children complete the grieving process for their dead mother.

* ''[[Literature/ATaleOf A Tale of the Wicked Queen]]'' is a PerspectiveFlip prequel to Disney's ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs''. It's shown that the Evil Queen started out as a kind and loving step-mother who adored her step-daughter like she was her biological child. Eventually, she warped into ''the'' evil step-mother.

* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'', the Evil Queen, who was previously Snow White's evil stepmother, adopts a baby named Henry and raises him as her own. While she never goes beyond becoming an AntiVillain, her love for Henry brings out her redeeming values and plays a large role in her eventual EnemyMine truce with Snow White.

* ''Series/RaisingHope'': Once Jimmy and Sabrina marry she is this to Jimmy's daughter Hope. Eventually she adopts Hope. She actually showed maternal instincts for Hope way before she became Jimmy's girlfriend/wife when she saved Hope from a gun toting mama. Sabrina also tries real hard to make sure Hope has a good childhood.

* On ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', Felicity Smoak is arguably a better parent to William than his father Oliver Queen (partially because William has less baggage with her than he does with the father he partially worries is going to get himself killed and partially blames for the death of his mother).

* Halfway into ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'', Lois begins dating a doctor. Carl gets quite attached to Dave easily. His older sister Ginger is a bit more apprehensive at first. She at one point has a fairy-tale ImagineSpot where he was a [[WickedStepmother wicked stepfather]], and later [[TheBully Miranda]] tries to instill worries in her about Dave being her new father. Eventually Ginger does warm up to Dave too. Lois and Dave eventually end up engaged and the finale is about their wedding.

* In "Fosters", though generally taken a relatively secondary role, Lena fully intends to and does play a positive parental role in Brandon, her stepson's life.

* In ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' Season 3, Kate is this towards Mariana and Gabriel. Right in the beginning she tells Jarvi how much she loves them and they will also often refer to her as mom. She also survived 5 years protecting them from zombie hordes.

Cue the Good Stepmother, a stepmother who ends up making the life of their stepchildren ''better''. Far from plotting to get her stepchildren out of the way to secure the family fortune for herself, she instead acts as a mentor or protector to her stepchildren and shows genuine affection for them. Plots usually feature Good Stepmothers as supporting characters who help their fosterlings (the protagonists) succeed in life and "make their fortune".

To fill this role, the Good Stepmother is exceptionally clever and resourceful. Often there is even something supernatural about her, making her somewhat similar to a FairyGodmother. This tale type also likes to take elements of the well-known WickedStepmother stereotype and turn it on its head--for example, the Good Stepmother is quite frequently an actual witch; but one who uses her powers for the benefit of their stepchildren.

The stepchildren do not have to be actual children. More typically they are teenagers or young adults. Because of that, the Good Stepmother is ''not'' always a ParentalSubstitute. If the stepmother has children of their own, they will get along well with the children of the first wife, and may even form a team. Good Stepmothers are also the norm in {{dom com}}s which feature a blended family. Often, there will be an episode dealing with how the stepchildren fear or expect their stepmother to be wicked, and are then proven wrong.

Wouldn't be uncommon for the Good Stepmother to want to secure a ''portion'' of the fortune for herself. In such a case, the fortune might actually be better maintained, and she'll spend her share wisely.

* In ''Anime/DeathParade'', Yousuke's mother was very abusive and neglectful to him and when she eventually abandoned him and his father, his father remarried and Yousuke's stepmother was a very kind and loving parent in contrast with his real mother. Sadly, Yousuke never accepted her and became depressed [[spoiler:to the point of [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]]. In fact, [[DeadAllAlong in the afterlife]], his biggest regret was that he never got the chance to call his loving stepmother "Mom".]]

* Addressed in ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'': Morgan is fretful about the prospect of getting a stepmother because her only knowledge of them comes from fairytales like "Literature/SnowWhite" and "Literature/{{Cinderella}}". However, both her father's initial girlfriend Nancy and new love interest Giselle are very friendly and supportive of her.

* In ''Film/NannyMcphee'', Evangeline is the Brown family's scullery maid who settle's fights between his children. The children and Evangeline talk about why they're acting out and she tries to help. Their father, Cedric Brown, hasn't paid attention to them since their mother died but they don't want a stepmother because of the fairy tales. By the end of the movie Cedric and Evangeline marry.
* ''Film/ManOfTheHouse'' (1995) is about a good [[GenderFlip Step-Father]] who goes out of his way to gain his step-child's trust and acceptance. In the film, lawyer Jack proposes to Ben's mother some time after her husband ran off with his secretary, disillusioning Ben and making him distrustful of male figures in his life. Through joining the Indian guides (a boy-scout knock off) which they initially both find to be dumb and stupid, as well as fighting off a pair of goons who are after Jack's head because he's prosecuting their boss, the two bond as a step-father and son and Jack is allowed to marry Ben's mother.

* On ''Series/TheBradyBunch'', Carol did such a good job raising the boys, the fact that she was a stepmother was never even mentioned except in one episode (season 1, #10) when Bobby, after watching ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'' on TV, and being told to clean out the fireplace, convinced himself that Carol was a Wicked Stepmother. His use of the word "step"mother eventually provoked this reply:
-->'''Carol''': The only steps in this house are those ''(points to staircase)'', which go right up to your bedroom.

** David, Chloe's future step-father, ''tries'' to be this trope (if only for Joyce's sake), but is DoomedByCanon to have a very strained relationship with her by the time of [[VideoGame/LifeIsStrange the original game]] where he fits much better into [[WickedStepfather the other trope]] (although not [[NotQuiteTheRightThing without his redeeming qualities]]).

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'', Chuckie initially worries that Kira will be like the stepmother from "Literature/{{Cinderella}}". She's actually quite nice and caring. One episode even has her adopting him legally (and likewise, Chas adopted Kimi).
* Halfway into ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'' Lois begins dating a doctor. Carl gets quite attached to Dave easily. His older sister Ginger is a bit more apprehensive at first. She at one point has a fairy-tale ImagineSpot where he was a [[WickedStepmother wicked step-father]], and later [[TheBully Miranda]] tries to instill worries in her about Dave being her new father. Eventually Ginger does warm up to Dave too. Lois and Dave eventually end up engaged and the finale is about their wedding.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'', Sofia's mother Miranda marries King Roland II and is a kind and loving stepmother to his children Amber and James. Though she acknowledges there aren't many stories with good stepmothers, so it drives her to be as good as she can.

RollingUpdates, feel free to edit the draft to add what it left
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