Sarah Jessica Parker

Sarah Jessica Parker portrays Carrie Bradshaw on the television series, Sex and the City.

Biography
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television and theatre actress, and producer. She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City, for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Emmy Awards. She played the same role in the 2008 feature film version of the show, Sex and the City: The Movie and its sequel, Sex and the City 2, which is scheduled to open on May 28, 2010.

Parker in addition to television and theatre, has appeared in films like L.A. Story (1991), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Hocus Pocus (1993), along with co-star Bette Midler, Mars Attacks! (1996), State and Main (2000). More recently, Parker starred in The Family Stone (2005), Smart People (2008), and Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009).

Early life
Sarah Jessica Parker was born in Nelsonville, Ohio, the daughter of Barbara, a nursery school operator and teacher, and Steven Parker, an entrepreneur and journalist. She was one of eight children from her parents' marriage and her mother's second marriage after Barbara and Steven divorced (Parker's full siblings include actors Timothy Britten Parker and Pippin Parker). 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".

As a young girl, she trained in singing and ballet, soon being cast in the Broadway revival of William Archibald's 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 Parker attended Dwight Morrow High School.

Parker attended the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, the School of American Ballet, Dwight Morrow High School and the Professional Children's School, Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, California.

Acting career
Parker and four siblings appeared in a staging of The Sound of Music at the Muny in St. Louis, MO, 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 sitcom Square Pegs. The show lasted 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 1984's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, co-starring Helen Hunt. 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. Also in 1993, she starred as a police diver opposite Bruce Willis in film Striking Distance. The following year, she appeared opposite Johnny Depp in the critically acclaimed movie Ed Wood as Wood's girlfriend Dolores Fuller.

The film Miami Rhapsody, in 1995, saw her back on familiar territory with more romantic comedy material and a leading role. In 1996, she appeared in another Tim Burton-directed movie, Mars Attacks!, as well as in The First Wives Club and The Substance of Fire, in which she reprised her 1991 stage role. In 1997, she appeared as Francesca Lanfield, a washed-up former child actress, in the comedy Till 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. It is credited with turning Parker from simply an actress into a star and icon. 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".

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, at the time, Parker stated that it would likely never be made. Two years later, however, preparations were resumed, and the film was released on May 30, 2008. A Sequel began filming in August 2009 and will be realeased on 28 May 2010.

Later career
In addition to work in motion pictures and television, Parker is also a respected stage actor, having appeared in well-reviewed lead roles in the off-Broadway play Sylvia, alongside future 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 continued with the independent film Spinning Into Butter (which she also starred in), based on the Rebecca Gilman play. 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, US cable network Bravo announced it had picked up a reality show produced by Parker under the working title American Artist. As a self-described "art enthusiast", Parker's show will have 13 finalists of any age over 17. Parker's inspiration comes from her mother-in-law, whose artwork only became noticed after she died.

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.

Parker is also taking part in the American version of the hit UK television series Who Do You Think You Are? for NBC, in which celebrities trace their family trees. The executive producer is Lisa Kudrow and the series will feature herself, Kudrow, Susan Sarandon and others.

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 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 perfume in 2005, called "Lovely". In March 2007, Parker announced the launch of her own fashion line, Bitten, in partnership with discount clothing chain Steve & Barry's. The line, which features hundreds of clothing items and accessories under $20, launched on June 7, 2007, exclusively at Steve and Barry's. 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.

In February 2009, as part of the "Lovely" collection, Parker launched 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".

On May 19, 1997, she married actor Matthew Broderick, to whom she was introduced by one of her brothers at the Naked Angels theater company, where they both performed. The couple married in a civil ceremony in an historic synagogue on the Lower East Side of Manhattan that is no longer used as a house of worship. The couple's son James Wilkie Broderick was born on October 28, 2002. He was named after Broderick's father, the actor James Wilke Broderick and writer Wilkie Collins.

It was confirmed by their representatives on April 28, 2009 that Parker and Broderick were expecting twin girls through surrogacy in July.

Parker and Broderick's surrogate delivered their twin daughters, Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge, on June 22, 2009. Their middle names of "Elwell" and "Hodge" are from Parker's family. Marion weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces, while Tabitha was 6 pounds.

As of 2009, she lives in New York City with her husband, son, and daughters. The couple frequently attend the arts and 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. 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".

E! News confirms that prior to her appearance at the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star game, she had her signature mole removed.