Iconic Sex And The City star Sarah Jessica Parker turns 60 today – and it’s been 25 years since Carrie Bradshaw first hit out screens.
As actress Sarah Jessica Parker celebrates her 60th birthday today, it’s hard to believe it’s been more than 25 years since the tutu-wearing star filmed the opening credits of what would became a symbol of noughties television –Sex And The City, as reports OK!.
At the time, the Ohio-born actress was still relatively unknown to audiences outside of the US, but in the 27 years since, Sarah – or SJP as her fans affectionately call her – has become not only a global fashion icon in her own right (with an eclectic wardrobe that arguably outshines that of her SATC character Carrie Bradshaw), but an adoring mum-of-three, shoe designer, wine maker, book publisher, TV producer, documentary maker, and more.
READ MORE: SATC fans stunned as Carrie Bradshaw wedding dress spotted in charity shop for £15
It’s perhaps not surprising, then, that she only has achievements to celebrate as she reaches her milestone birthday. “I don’t really think about my age, I don’t see it as something to worry about,” she candidly told Vogue France [in January 2023]. “I don’t know if it’s denial or that I just don’t want to face reality.
“I don’t see the point of trying to suspend time. Of course, I do care about my appearance from time to time and I do want to look presentable when it’s appropriate. But in any case, I really can’t do much about what people think of my appearance.”
And while many of her counterparts, particularly in the world of Hollywood, try to fend off the inevitable signs of ageing with the help of a needle or scalpel, she won’t be joining them, because “I’m an actor, I have to move my eyebrows. I’m meant to be sharing emotions and communicating with my face.”
The fascination with Sarah’s looks and style is understandable, given that she spent six years playing Manhattan journalist Carrie, alongside Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis, in a show that had an undeniable and lasting impact on luxury fashion. Take Carrie’s Fendi Baguette bag for example. The Italian fashion house was said to be the first luxury label to lend its wares to the show’s costume designer, Patricia Field. A mugging scene – in which Carrie famously replied “it’s a Baguette”, when her assailant told her to hand over her “bag” – was later credited as the catalyst for its makers Fendi becoming part of the LVMH Group, in a deal worth more than $250million.
It was also a big turning point for the show, Sarah once said. “Having Carrie wear the Baguette was a defining moment for us, and marked the beginning of everything.” That “everything” is still very much ongoing. Last year, the oyster white tutu which Sarah wore in the opening credits smashed its $8,000 to $12,000 estimate at auction and was sold alongside a black velvet cocktail dress from Princess Diana ’s collection, and the dress worn by Princess Grace of Monaco to meet John F Kennedy at the White House.
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Carrie Bradshaw is credited as being one of the reasons Fendi was sold to the LVMH group for over $250 million(Image:
Sex And The City/Facebook
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The hammer fell on the 23in-waist skirt – originally found by the show’s costume designer, Patricia Field, in a bargain bin – at a whopping $52,000. “We were preparing to shoot the opening credits and I was in a [Garment District] showroom and pulled out this tulle skirt that was in a basket for five dollars,” Patricia wrote on the skirt’s certificate of authenticity. “I showed it to Sarah Jessica and she loved it.”
The four leads reprised their roles for two SATC films in 2008 and 2010, and later the TV revival And Just Like That…, without Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones. While Sarah’s career has been largely free of controversy, rumours of a so-called feud between her and Kim, 68, have refused to disappear. The New York Post ran a long article titled “Inside the mean-girls culture that destroyed SATC” in 2017, but the pair had remained relatively quiet up until that point.
Following the death of Kim’s brother Chris seven years ago, Sarah posted a condolence message on Instagram which did not land well with Kim, who responded, “Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now. Let me make this VERY clear. (If I haven’t already) You are not my family. You are not my friend” and linking to the Post article from the year before. Possibly giving her grieving former co-star the benefit of the doubt, Sarah stayed quiet once again, insisting afterwards she “would never speak poorly about Kim”, turning the focus back on what she wants the show to be known for – its monumental impact on culture, feminism and fashion.
Her love of the latter (she once wore 14 different outfits to host the MTV Movie Awards in 2000 and her Met Gala clothes are legendary) spans far beyond personal. She launched her own celebrity perfume called Lovely in 2005, started the SJP Collection, a footwear line at US department store chain Nordstrom which closed last August after 10 years, and, in 2018, she collaborated with online retailer Gilt for a Carrie Bradshaw-worthy range of bridal dresses.
But her talents extend far beyond fashion. She’s been producing a Invivo X SJP wine since 2019, and two years ago established her own book imprint, SJP Lit. There’s also the Pretty Matches production company she set up with producer Alison Benson, which made the Golden Globe-nominated series Divorce and the film Here And Now .
All this, on top of being a mum to the three children she shares with husband Matthew Broderick, 62, who she married in 1997, the year before SATC debuted. The acting power couple met in the early 90s through Sarah’s brothers, Timothy and Pippin, and have managed to weather the inevitable storms in a Hollywood marriage. Speaking about the first time they met, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off star Matthew said, “I was very struck by her. She was very special, somebody you wanted to look at. I think she was wearing a bright orange puffy coat. And white long johns in a sort of waffle material and Timberland boots. She was very stylish.”
Their eldest child, college student and aspiring actor James Wilkie Broderick, turned 22 in October, and his younger twin sisters, Marion Loretta Elwell Broderick and Tabitha Hodge Broderick are 15. Sarah, one of eight kids born to a nursery teacher mother and journalist father, has spoken of their difficulties conceiving after James, and why they opted to use a surrogate. “We tried and tried to get pregnant; it just was not to be,” she told US Vogue in 2010.
Last year, the actress said, “I’m a mother of three children and I’ve discovered that they don’t need you less as they get older — they need you more. That’s a dominant, joyful part of my life but it’s also the thing that’s most important.”
At 59, the actress made her much-anticipated West End theatre debut alongside her husband Matthew, appearing in Plaza Suite at the Savoy Theatre in London. In the play, set in suite 719 of New York City’s Plaza Hotel, the husband and wife duo portrayed three different couples – one in a rocky marriage, a second as reunited childhood sweethearts, and a third, two parents struggling with their soon-to-be wed daughter. On top of overwhelmingly positive reviews, Sarah also earned a Best Actress nomination at last year’s Olivier Awards, which ended up going to Succession actress Sarah Snook for her turn in The Picture Of Dorian Gray.
Asked about the experience of working with his wife on stage, a proud Matthew said, “I find her very easy to [work with] and I’m very impressed by her. I think she’s tremendously good…” Millions would no doubt agree with you, Matthew. Here’s to many more projects and a very happy birthday, Sarah.
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