Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actor and producer, with a portfolio of
television,
film, and
theater performances. She is best known for her role as
Carrie Bradshaw, a columnist, on the
HBO television series
Sex and the City, for which she won four
Golden Globe Awards, two
Screen Actors Guild Awards and two
Emmy Awards. She played the same role in the feature film version of the show, which was released on May 30, 2008. She also has three fragrances out, Lovely, Covet and Covet Full Bloom.
Biography
Early life
Parker was born in
Nelsonville, Ohio, the daughter of Barbara, a nursery school operator and teacher, and Steven Parker, an
entrepreneur and journalist.
[Sarah Jessica Parker Biography (1965-)] Her father, a native of
Brooklyn, was
Jewish, the original family surname being "Bar-Kahn" ("son of
Kohen"); Parker has said of herself, "I always just considered myself a Jew".
Parker's parents divorced early on in Parker's life and her mother remarried Paul Forste. Parker grew up with her mother,
stepfather, and seven
siblings (three from her parents' marriage, and four from her mother's second marriage).
As a young girl, she trained in singing and ballet, soon being cast in the
Broadway production of
The Innocents. Her family moved to
Cincinnati, Ohio, and then to
Dobbs Ferry, New York, near New York City, where Parker was developing her career as a child actress. In 1977, the family moved to the newly opened
planned community on
Roosevelt Island, in the
East River between
Manhattan and
Queens, and later to Manhattan proper; her parents later moved to
Englewood, New Jersey where she attended
Dwight Morrow High School.
[Klein, Alvin. "ACTRESS, 18, HAS SOME REGRETS", The New York Times, October 30, 1983. Accessed December 27, 2007. "Before attending Hollywood High School, she was a student at Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood... After living for a while on Roosevelt Island, between Manhattan and Queens, Mr. and Mrs. Forste bought a house in Englewood."]
Parker attended the
School for Creative and Performing Arts in
Cincinnati, the
School of American Ballet and the
Professional Children's School,
Hollywood High School in Los Angeles,
California, and later
Dwight Morrow High School.
Acting career
She and four siblings appeared in a revival of
The Sound of Music,
[1] and Parker went on to the new 1977-81 Broadway musical
Annie — first in the small role of "July," and then succeeding
Andrea McArdle and
Shelley Bruce in the lead role of the plucky
Depression-era orphan, beginning March 6, 1979. Parker held the role for a year.
In 1982, Parker was cast as the co-lead of the
CBS-TV sitcom Square Pegs. The show lasted only one season before being cancelled by the
network, but Parker's performance, as a shy, misfit teen who showed hidden depths, was critically well-received. In the three years that followed, she was cast in four films — the most significant of those being
Footloose in
1984 and
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, co-starring
Helen Hunt, in 1985.
In 1986, Parker appeared in the cult classic
Flight of the Navigator, a Disney science fiction film about a boy, David, who is
relativistically transported in time by an alien spacecraft eight years into the future without aging.
By the early 1990s, Parker's career was gaining momentum. In 1991, she appeared in a supporting role in the
romantic comedy,
L.A. Story; both the movie and her performance garnered positive reviews. The following year she landed an important starring role in the well-received film
Honeymoon in Vegas, co-starring
Nicolas Cage. Her
1993 role in the film
Hocus Pocus was a higher grosser at the box office but received negative reviews. The following year, she appeared opposite
Johnny Depp in the critically acclaimed movie
Ed Wood.
The film
Miami Rhapsody, in
1995, saw her back on familiar territory with more romantic comedy material and a leading role. She appeared in another
Tim Burton-directed movie,
Mars Attacks!, as well as
The First Wives Club and
The Substance of Fire, in which she reprised her 1991 stage role, in
1996. In 1997, she appeared as Francesca Lanfield, a washed-up former child actress, in the comedy
Til There Was You.
Sex and the City
The script for an
HBO drama/comedy series titled
Sex and the City was sent to Parker. The show's creator,
Darren Star, was determined that she be cast in his project. Despite some early doubts about being cast in a long-term television series, Parker agreed to star.
The show proved to be an instant success, raising Parker's profile considerably. Despite the show's increasingly risqué storylines, Parker retained the strict no-nudity clause in her contract throughout the show's six-season run. Parker became a producer for the show starting with its third season. In 2004, Parker won an
Emmy award for her lead role (after five consecutive losses). Parker stated in 2006 that she "will never do a television show again",
[ available at the [http://web.archive.org/web/20060323111952/www.365gay.com/entertainment/feature/022706feature.htm Internet Archive]] although she will co-executive produce a new
HBO series based on
Washingtonienne, but will not star in it.
After
Sex and the City ended in 2004, rumors of a film version circulated and it was revealed that a script had been completed for such a project. However, Parker commented that it would likely never be made.
Two years later, however, preparations were resumed, and the film was released throughout the world on May 30, 2008.
Later theater, film work and reality production
In addition to work in movies and television, Parker is also a respected stage actor, having appeared in well-reviewed lead roles in the 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.
In December 2005, Parker appeared in her first theatrical film in several years,
The Family Stone; she received a
Golden Globe nomination as
Best Actress - Comedy for the role. Her next film, the romantic comedy
Failure to Launch, co-starring
Matthew McConaughey, was released on March 10, 2006 and opened at #1 in the North American box office, grossing slightly over $24 million in its opening weekend,
despite mediocre reviews.
Parker's work as a producer continues with the
independent film Spinning Into Butter, based on the Rebecca Gilman play, which she will also star in. Parker was initially set to star in
Vacancy, along with her co-star from
The Family Stone,
Luke Wilson, but she dropped out in favor of other projects.
Kate Beckinsale later won the role.
On July 20, Bravo announced it had picked up a reality show produced by Parker under the working title "American Artist."
Parker is also producing a new comedy series for HBO called "Washingtonienne". The pilot is currently in production and will air in 2009. The show revolves around the lives of three smart and sophisticated friends, all working for powerful men on Capitol Hill.
Fashion industry
Parker is a fashion icon and has become very influential in the world of
fashion. In 2000, she hosted the
MTV Movie Awards and appeared in no fewer than 15 different costumes throughout the show.
She has also become the face of many of the world's biggest fashion brands through her work in a variety of advertising campaigns. In August 2003, Parker signed a highly lucrative deal with
Garnier to appear in television and print
advertising promoting their Nutrisse hair products. In 2004, she fronted an international campaign by
Gap, but her contract with the clothing giant was abruptly terminated in spring 2005 in favor of British soul singer
Joss Stone. A friend of Parker's commented to the press that, "Sarah's spring campaign for Gap has only just started, and she feels the announcement of her replacement in the same week that the new ads are appearing is a bit of a snub".
In addition to her advertising work, Parker released her own
fragrance in 2005 called "Lovely". In March 2007, Parker announced the launch of her own fashion line, Bitten,
[ bittensjp.com] in partnership with discount clothing chain
Steve & Barry's.
[Actress Sarah Jessica Parker is launching her own fashion line EnjoyFashion, March 14, 2007] The line, which features hundreds of clothing items and accessories under $20, launched on June 7, 2007, exclusively at Steve and Barry's.
[Bitten Revealed! Fashion Week Daily, March 13, 2007] In July 2007, following the enormous success of "Lovely," Parker released her second fragrance "Covet." In 2007 Parker was a guest on
Project Runway for the second challenge.
[caseofthecovetedbottle.com]
In February 2009, as part of the "Lovely" collection, Sarah Jessica Parker will launch a series of three new fragrances called "Dawn", "Endless" and "Twilight."
Personal life
Parker was romantically involved with actor
Robert Downey Jr. from 1984 until 1991. They met on the set of
Firstborn. Downey had a drug problem and this had a significant effect on their relationship; referring to that time in her life, Parker has said: "I believed I was the person holding him together".
As her career continued to blossom into the 1990s, she met journalist
John Kennedy Jr. and dated him for several months. She was also romantically linked to singer-songwriter
Joshua Kadison in the early 1990s, who described their tumultuous relationship and their cat Moses in the song "
Jessie" on the album
Painted Desert Serenade.
On May 19, 1997, she married actor
Matthew Broderick, to whom she was introduced by her brother at the
Naked Angels theater company where they both performed.
[For Naked Angels, the Party's Over. Time to Get Serious Again. The New York Times, May 14, 2006] The couple married in a
civil ceremony in a historic synagogue on the
Lower East Side of
Manhattan that is no longer used as a house of worship; both Parker and Broderick (who each have one Jewish parent) consider themselves to be "culturally Jewish."
Parker has also defended the state of
Israel. "I feel defensive when people say, 'How can Israel go in with tanks?'," she says, "What are they supposed to do? Children are being killed by people willing to strap bombs to their bodies and walk into the public market. So Israel's response to this is to protect its people."
The couple's first child, son James Wilkie Broderick, was born on October 28, 2002. He was named after Broderick's father, the actor
James Broderick. His middle name is that of author
Wilkie Collins, an author Broderick and Parker greatly admire.
Parker and Broderick live in New York City and frequent the arts. Parker and Broderick also spend a considerable amount of time in
County Donegal,
Ireland where Broderick spent his summers as a child. Parker is a prominent member of the Hollywood's Women's Political Committee and is
UNICEF's Representative for the Performing Arts; in 2006, she traveled to
Liberia as a UNICEF celebrity ambassador, and has commented that, "It's a place that gets little or no attention, so we're going to try and bring some attention to it."
She is currently a
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States.
As of 2008, she lives in New York City with her husband and son. All three are
left-handed.
E! News confirms that prior to her appearance at the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star game, she had her signature mole removed.
[Sarah Jessica Parker's Celebrity Mole Yahoo! News, July 16, 2008]
Awards
Golden Globes
- 2005: Nominee: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy - The Family Stone
- 2005: Nominee: Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series: Musical or Comedy - Sex and the City
- 2004: Winner: Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series: Musical or Comedy - Sex and the City
- 2003: Nominee: Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series: Musical or Comedy - Sex and the City
- 2002: Winner: Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series: Musical or Comedy - Sex and the City
- 2001: Winner: Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series: Musical or Comedy - Sex and the City
- 2000: Winner: Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series: Musical or Comedy - Sex and the City
- 1999: Nominee: Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series: Musical or Comedy - Sex and the City
Emmy Awards
- 2004: Winner: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2004: Nominee: Outstanding Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2003: Nominee: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2003: Nominee: Outstanding Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2002: Nominee: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2002: Nominee: Outstanding Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2001: Nominee: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2001: Winner: Outstanding Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2000: Nominee: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 1999: Nominee: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
Screen Actors Guild Awards
- 2005: Nominee: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2005: Nominee: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2004: Winner: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2003: Nominee: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2002: Nominee: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2002: Winner: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2001: Winner: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2001: Nominee: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
- 2000: Nominee: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series - Sex and the City
Filmography
