Biography
American actress Sarah Jessica Parker rose from child stardom on Broadway to become a fashion and feminist icon with her portrayal of Carrie Bradshaw on "Sex and the City" (HBO, 1998-2004). A native of Nelsonville, Ohio, she trained in both acting and ballet dancing as a child. At 11 years-old, she was cast in Howard Pinter's Broadway production of "The Innocents," but the show lasted just 12 performances. However, she then moved on to appear in the hit Broadway musical "Annie," eventually taking over the lead. She made her television debut on the educational program "3-2-1 Contact" (PBS, 1980-92), before being cast as one of the leads in the cult classic "Square Pegs" (CBS, 1982-83). After the show ended, she notched supporting film roles in the teen-themed "Footloose" (1984) and "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (1985). She continued alternating between films and television for the next several years, including appearing as a regular on the TV dramas "A Year in the Life" (NBC, 1986-88) and "Equal Justice" (ABC, 1990-91). She graduated to more adult roles when she appeared as Steve Martin's energetic young girlfriend in "LA Story" (1991). That kicked off a run of high-profile film roles in comedies such as "Honeymoon in Vegas" (1992), "Hocus Pocus" (1993), and "Ed Wood" (1994). She would continue racking up film roles until a return to television provided her with her signature role. Based on Candace Bushnell's writings as a columnist for the New York Observer, "Sex and the City" became a cultural sensation. As writer Bradshaw, Parker joined with Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, and Kim Cattrall to form one of the best-loved casts in television history. Besides the television run, the series spawned a pair of big screen follow-ups, "Sex and the City" (2008) and "Sex and the City" (2010). After the show ended, the actress went back to working more in film, with roles in studio fare like "Failure to Launch" (2006), with Matthew McConaughey, and "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" (2009), opposite Hugh Grant. She returned to television with a story arc on "Glee" (Fox, 2009-15) playing a Vogue executive that Chris Colfer's Kurt worked under. Parker then struck a deal with HBO to executive produce and star in "Divorce" (HBO, 2016-). She played Frances, the estranged suburbanite wife of Thomas Haden Church as the pair try to work through the after-effects of their failed marriage. She later starred with Renee Zellweger in Fabien Constant's drama "Here and Now" (2018).
