Sarah Jessica Parker is one of the most culturally influential actresses of her generation, a performer whose decade as Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City reshaped television drama, the fashion industry, and the conversation around what a female-led series could look like. She broke through with L.A. Story (1991) and went on to a career that includes Ed Wood (1994), Hocus Pocus (1993), and The First Wives Club (1996), before four Golden Globe wins and the global phenomenon of Sex and the City (1998) made her one of the most recognizable actresses on the planet. Her return to the role in And Just Like That (2021) demonstrated both the loyalty of the audience she built and her own continued investment in a character she has now inhabited across three decades.

On screen, Parker operates with a nervous, quicksilver energy that makes her most interesting in roles that ask her to be funny and a little brittle at the same time. The distinctive face, the curly hair that became as much a part of Carrie Bradshaw’s identity as the shoes, and a physicality that communicates anxiety and aspiration in equal measure give her a screen presence that resists easy categorization. She remains one of the few actresses whose name above the title functions as a genuine promise to a specific and devoted audience.