Sarah Jessica Parker

Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an internationally recognized Emmy-winning American Actress with an extensive portfolio of both television and movie work. Most famous of all her roles is that of Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City which began in 1998 and ended in 2004. In addition to her acting work, she is National Ambassador for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

Career

Publicity Still from the late 1980's
With co-stars of Honeymoon in VegasParker got her first big break as an actress in 1982 when she was cast in the CBS sitcom Square Pegs. Playing Patty Green - an awkward teen trying to be cool but not quite managing it - she won critical acclaim. The short lived show lasted only one season before being cancelled by the network but it had been a valuable kick start to Parker's career. In the two years that followed, she was cast in four films - the most significant of those being Footloose in 1984. The remainder of the 1980s was filled with TV Specials and largely mediocre movies - but at least she had steady work and Parker was becoming a much respected actress, if not a publically recognised one.

By the early 1990s her career was gaining momentum. In 1991 she appeared in the Romantic Comedy L.A. Story - both the movie and her performance garnered some positive reviews. The following year she landed an important starring role in Honeymoon in Vegas in which she starred with Nicholas Cage and once again, Parker and the movie were a big hit with the public. A less successful comedy came the following year (1993) in the shape of Hocus Pocus, in which she played opposite Bette Midler. The same year she starred in a different kind of film - this time an action/thriller titled Striking Distance. The next year saw her star opposite Johnny Depp in the classic movie Ed Wood - consistantly listed as one of the finest movies of the 1990's this was her biggest break yet. Miami Rhapsody in 1995 saw her back on familiar territory with more Romantic Comedy material and a leading role. 1996 was a busy year as she had leading roles in six movies, with the most important of them being Mars Attacks! which was one of the most commercially successful pictures of the year.

After a quiet 1997, Sarah Jessica Parker's career was about to sky rocket. The script for an HBO Drama/Comedy series titled Sex and the City had been sent to her and the show's creator Darren Star was determined to bag her as his star of the project. He didn't need to convince her much, Parker adored the script and she quickly signed up to the ambitious project. Before long her co-stars - Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall and Kristin Davis were in place and work on the pilot began.

GAP Print Ad from Spring 2005The first season of the show proved to be an almost instant success and the show's refreshingly honest approach to sex - and indeed the humour of sex - struck a chord with viewers. During the production of Sex and the City's fifth season, Parker was also working on romantic comedy Life Without Dick. It didn't matter when that picture flopped at the box office - by that time Sarah Jessica Parker had made the transition from "Promising Newcomer" of the 90's to bona fida superstar.

Her transition to status of "Superstar" was helped along by her influence in the world of fashion. With a natural sense of style second to none, Sarah Jessica Parker quickly became one of the worlds most stylish and adored celebrities. But her status as one of the world's "Best Dressed" is certainly not an indication of a lack of greater talent. In addition to work in movie and television, she is also a very highly respected Stage Actress. Lead roles as a dog in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway play Sylvia, alongside husband Matthew Broderick in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and the Tony Award-nominated Once Upon a Mattress as Princess Winifred the Woebegone are some of her most critically acclaimed performances. After the international smash hit Sex and the City bid its final farewell in 2004 and after six seasons she won an Emmy award for her role as Carrie Bradshaw. Her first project after Sex and the City was an unexpected one. In 2005 she had a small role in the Sundance Film Festival movie Strangers with Candy - far from the glitz and glamour of her flagship TV series, the movie was about a recovering drug addict. But her career has not been without failure. In the Spring of 2005 her status as a leading style icon took a knock when American fashion giant GAP axed her from their advertising campaign. She was replaced by relative unknown Joss Stone - a British Soul Singer.

Personal life

Parker and Son, James
Parker and Broderick - Dublin, 2004The fourth of eight children, Sarah Jessica Parker was born in Nelsonville, Ohio on the March 25th, 1965 to a Jewish American mother and a father of English descent. As a young girl, she trained in singing and ballet and was soon cast in the Broadway production of The Innocents. Her family moved to New Jersey at this time to better support her dreams of becoming a star. After a run of promising performances in several increasingly important films and television shows she met actor Robert Downey Jr. and lived with him for seven years between 1984 and 1991. As her career continued to blossom into the 1990s, she met John Kennedy Jr. and dated him for several months.

In May 1997, she married actor Matthew Broderick. Shortly after she began work on what would be her biggest role yet as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City and before the end of the following year she had become an international superstar. Parker and Broderick's child, James, was born five years later on October 28th, 2002. Parker is a prominent member of the Hollywood's Women's Political Committee and is Unicef's Representative for the Performing Arts. Currently, she lives in New York City with her husband and son.

Trivia

When hosting the MTV Movie Awards in 2000, changed into 15 different costumes throughout the show.
Has said that she prefers British Comedy - with shows such as Fawlty Towers and Absolutely Fabulous listed as her favourites.
Had a strict "No Nudity" clause in her contract for Sex and the City.
After filming the Pilot Episode of Sex and the City, as much as she liked the show, Parker hatched a plan with her agent to get out of doing the show - she was terrified of being locked into the show for the rest of her career. After speaking with the shows creator Darren Star she decided to stay on.
After 5 consecutive losses, she finally won an Emmy for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series" in 2004.
Many gambling and betting establishments stopped taking bets on her walking away with an Emmy in 2004 because it was so widely predicted she would.
Appeared several times on "Shalom Sesame", the Israeli version of Sesame Street.
In August of 2003, re-negotiated her contract with Nutrisse Hair Products to appear in Print and Television adverts. The sum she received is rumoured to be in the seven figure range.
Son James was born at Lenox Hill Hospital, Manhattan on October 28th 2002.
Was introduced to Matthew Broderick by her brother.
She was mocked on an episode of Family Guy about censorship. Peter Griffin says "they let Sarah Jessica Parker's face on TV and she looks like a foot".

Quotes

"You can't do four movies and be good to everybody and be flying all night and shooting all day with a different wig and then be going to sing on Broadway without feeling a little tired. You endlessly feel you're letting somebody down."
"Derek Jeter is off the disabled list and Chuck Knoblauch is not throwing the ball away. All is right with the world."
"I don't judge others. I say if you feel good with what you're doing, let your freak flag fly."
"I'm very, very concerned about the Bush presidency. I'm worried about the kinds of cuts in domestic programs that mean something to a lot of people, including members of my family, who depend on certain things from the government."
"I know that he (Matthew Broderick) doesn't have his laundry done, and that he hasn't had a hot meal in days. That stuff weighs on my mind.

Awards

1999: Golden Globe - Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Series - Sex and the City
2000: Golden Globe - Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Series - Sex and the City
2005: Emmy - Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City

Selected Filmography

Footloose (1984)
Girls Just Want To Have Fun (1985)
Flight of the Navigator (1986)
L.A. Story (1991)
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Striking Distance (1993)
Ed Wood (1994)
The First Wives Club (1996)
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Dudley Do-Right (1999)
State and Main (2000)
The Family Stone (2005)

Selected TV Work

Square Pegs (1982-1983)
Dadah is Death (1988)
Equal Justice (1990)
The Sunshine Boys (1995)
Sex and the City (1998-2004)