LimeFile: Sarah Jessica Parker
The Short Story: Sarah Jessica Parker
Birthday: March 25, 1965
Hometown: Nelsonville, Ohio
Famous For: Her once-in-a-lifetime role as Carrie Bradshaw in HBO's long-running series Sex and the City; her unique and boundary-pushing sense of style; the mole on her shin; her marriage to Matthew Broderick
Quick Scoop: Won 4 Golden Globes and 2 Emmys for playing Carrie Bradshaw in Sex in the City; she is currently filming Sex and the City 2; played the lead role in the Broadway production of Annie as a child; had twin girls earlier this year through a surrogate
Awards: 2004 Emmy Awards: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Sex and the City. 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 Golden Globe Awards: Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series, Sex and the City. 2001 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, Sex and the City.
Biography
Sarah Jessica Parker was born in Nelsonville, Ohio on March 25, 1965 to Steven and Barbara Parker, a journalist and nursery school teacher respectively. She is one of 8 kids from her parent's marriage and her mother's remarriage. She was raised Jewish.
As a little girl, Parker began taking ballet and singing classes. Her family moved from Ohio to New York and then to New Jersey in an effort to help Parker's acting career. She attended several schools growing up including Dwight Morrow High School, the School for Creative and Performing Arts, the School of American Ballet, the Professional Children's School, and Hollywood High School.
Parker's first role was in a Broadway revival of The Innocents. She and some of her siblings then appeared in a St. Louis performance of The Sound of Music. Parker then snagged a role in the Broadway musical Annie. She was first cast in the minor role of July but later was cast in the lead role as orphan Annie in 1979. She played the lead character for one year.
Over the next few years, Parker started auditioning for television roles. After appearing on a couple episodes of 3-2-1 Contact, she landed a lead role on the CBS series Square Pegs. It lasted just one year before being canceled though Parker received critical praise for her role.
The next year, Parker was cast in the feature film Footloose as Rusty. She garnered lots of attention that in turn helped her land several more roles over the next few years including Girls Just Want to Have Fun with Helen Hunt, Flight of the Navigator, and Firstborn with Robert Downey Jr.
In the early ‘90s, Parker made a string of movies including the 1991 film L.A. Story with Steve Martin, the 1992 flick Honeymoon in Vegas with Nicholas Cage, the 1993 film Hocus Pocus, the 1993 movie Striking Distance with Bruce Willis. In 1992 she starred opposite Johnny Depp in the critically acclaimed movie Ed Wood.
Over the course of the next three years, Parker had a lead role in Miami Rhapsody with Antonia Banderas and smaller roles in the ensemble movies Mars Attack! and The First Wives Club. She also starred in the 1997 film Til There Was You.
In 1998, Sarah Jessica Parker accepted a role on the new HBO series Sex and the City about four women living and playing in New York City. She played the lead character Carrie Bradshaw alongside Charlotte York (Kristen Davis), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Mr. Big (Chris Noth). The show was an immediate success and ran for 6 seasons on the cable network. The show won 7 Emmy Awards and 8 Golden Globe Awards. Beginning in season three, Parker also became an executive producer on the show.
When Sex and the City ended in 2004, Parker returned to movies and theater. She starred in the 2005 film The Family Stone with Diane Keaton and Luke Wilson and the 2006 film Failure to Launch opposite Matthew McConaughey. In 2008, she starred in the independent film Smart People with Ellen Page and Dennis Quaid. In late 2009, Parker's latest film Did You Hear About the Morgans? with Hugh Grant will hit theaters.
The biggest film Parker has done to date is Sex and the City: The Movie released in 2008. After years of speculation, the film continuation of the hit HBO series was finally made. Starring the original cast from the show, the movie made over $400 million worldwide - far exceeding expectations. The cast is currently shooting the sequel, Sex and the City 2, in Manhattan for a 2010 theatrical release.
In addition to acting, Parker has been the face of several advertising including Garner Hair Color and The Gap. She also released five women's fragrances: Lovely, Covet, Dawn, Endless, and Twilight. This year, she's producing a new series for HBO called Washingtonienne that chronicles three young women living in Washington DC.
Through her career, Parker has dated many actors in Hollywood including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Penn, and Nicholas Cage. She also dated John F. Kennedy Jr. She married actor Matthew Broderick on May 19, 1997. The two have a son, James Wilke Broderick, born on October 28, 2002. And earlier this year on April 28, 2009, they had twin girls through a surrogate: Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge.
Latest Stories Featuring Sarah Jessica Parker
- Kim Cattrall Arrives For 'Sex and the City 2'
- Sex and the City 2 Filming Drawing Tons of Fans
- Sex and the City Fashion is Back!
- 'Sex And The City 2' Starts Filming
- Sarah Jessica Parker steps out with Hugh Grant in NY
- Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Catrall At Odds Again
