Is Grandmama Wednesday's Paternal or Maternal Grandmother? Season 2 Fact-Check
By Alexander Ross
Why do so many casual viewers believe Grandmama is Gomez's mother? The confusion stems entirely from Barry Sonnenfeld's 1991 cult-classic film, The Addams Family, and its 1993 sequel, Addams Family Values. In those films, Judith Malina and later Carol Kane played Grandmama as Gomez's mother, establishing a running gag about Morticia being an in-law who tolerated her presence. That dynamic stuck firmly in pop culture memory.
| Adaptation Era | Grandmama Identity | Relationship to Wednesday |
|---|---|---|
| 1938, 1964 New Yorker Cartoons | Original Charles Addams Lore (Unnamed elder) | Ambiguous elder living in household |
| 1964, 1966 Television Series | Grandmama Addams (Blossom Rock) & Granny Frump (Margaret Hamilton) | Grandmama is Paternal; Granny Frump is Maternal |
| 1991, 1993 Paramount Films | Grandmama Addams (Judith Malina / Carol Kane) | Paternal Grandmother (Gomez's Mother) |
| 2019, 2021 Animated Features | Grandma Addams (Bette Midler) | Paternal Grandmother (Gomez's Mother) |
| 2022, Present Netflix Series | Grandmama Hester Frump (Joanna Lumley) | Maternal Grandmother (Morticia's Mother) |
By reverting Hester Frump to Morticia's lineage, the creators intentionally decoupled their narrative from the 1990s cinema canon. The show instead mines the richer, fractured history of the Frumps, introducing complex maternal expectations that contrast sharply with Gomez's unconditional adoration of his daughter.
Alexander Ross has covered the video game industry for a decade, writing deep dives on game design, esports tournaments, VR developments, and gaming culture.
