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Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Manhattan sex-columnist Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO series Sex and the City.
The fourth of eight children, Parker was born in Nelsonville, Ohio. She was raised in Cincinnati and began to study and perform with the Cincinnati Ballet when she was eight, at which age she also appeared on television in a local broadcast of The Little Match Girl.
In 1977, her family moved to Englewood, New Jersey. She continued her ballet studies at the American Ballet Theatre, which gave her the opportunity to appear in works such as The Nutcracker and La Sylphide, the latter of which was a production starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland.
Parker was cast in a Broadway production of The Innocents, directed by Harold Pinter and starring Claire Bloom. In 1978, she was cast as an orphan Annie, and within a year she took over the title role.
Rear left, in Square Pegs, circa 1982She first came to national attention in the 1982 sitcom Square Pegs, garnering critical acclaim in a show which lasted a single season. She followed that role with appearances in films such as Footloose, Girls Just Want to Have Fun and L.A. Story.
More substantial film roles soon followed, including a role opposite Nicolas Cage in Honeymoon in Vegas, in which she had an opportunity to display her comedic talent. She had roles in Hocus Pocus, Striking Distance (opposite Bruce Willis), and Ed Wood (1994), with Johnny Depp. A big Woody Allen fan, she starred opposite the renowned filmmaker in the TV movie The Sunshine Boys in 1995, and in that same year, she landed a starring role in the big screen Miami Rhapsody.
The year 1996 saw roles in The First Wives Club, If Lucy Fell, and Mars Attacks!. In 1999, she starred in Dudley-Do-Right, opposite Brendan Fraser, and in 2000, she had a role in David Mamet's State and Main.
While performing in movies, Parker continued her career on stage, with a lead role as a dog in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway play Sylvia, and Broadway roles in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (with Matthew Broderick), and the Tony Award-nominated Once Upon a Mattress in the role originated by Carol Burnett.
Sex and the City, which ended in 2004, ran for six seasons. The series focused on the lives and sexual escapades of four Manhattan career women. For her role as Carrie Bradshaw, she received both Emmy and Golden Globe awards as Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance. In the second season, Parker became an executive producer of the series.
Through Sex and the City Parker was influential in starting of fashion trends. Her sense of style carries over into her private life as well, and she is often cited as one of the best dressed at red-carpet events. In early 2004, shortly after the last season of Sex and the City ended, she signed USD 38 million, multi-year contract with The Gap to promote its casual wear and star in ad campaigns, but The Gap cancelled it in early 2005 and announced she would be replaced by 17-year-old British soul singer Joss Stone.
Parker is a National Ambassador for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. |
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