| Carrie Bradshaw |
Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw |
| First appearance |
Sex and the City (episode 1.01) |
| Created by |
Candace Bushnell |
| Portrayed by |
Sarah Jessica Parker |
| Episode count |
94 |
| Information |
| Gender |
Female |
| Age |
41 |
| Date of birth |
October 10, 1966 |
| Occupation |
Writer |
| Spouse(s) |
John Big (boyfriend)
Aidan Shaw (ex-fiancé)
Jack Berger (ex-boyfriend)
Alexandr Petrovsky (ex-fiancé) |
Caroline Marie Bradshaw (born October 10, 1966) is
the fictional narrator of the HBO sitcom/drama Sex and the City played by actress Sarah Jessica Parker. She is a semi-autobiographical character created by Candace Bushnell, who published the book Sex and the
City based on her own columns in the New York Observer.
On the HBO series, Bradshaw is a New York newspaper
columnist, party girl, fashionista and later, freelance
writer for Vogue. Her weekly column, "Sex and the City," provides the title, story
lines, and narration for each episode.
In 2005, Carrie Bradshaw was listed as number 11 on Bravo's 100
Greatest TV Characters, beating out beloved characters like Buffy Summers,
Eric Cartman, Hawkeye Pierce and J.R. Ewing[1].
Character history
Carrie writes a weekly column for the fictional newspaper, The New York Star, called "Sex and the City." The columns
focus on Carrie's sexual escapades and those of her close friends. The column provides Carrie with a certain amount of notoriety
in New York; she is frequently recognised by people who read the column and is occasionally described as an icon. In the fifth season, a collection of her columns are compiled in a book.
She begins to write freelance articles for Vogue at the end of season four. Although she initially has trouble dealing with Enid
(Candice Bergen), her abrasive editor at Vogue,
she does find her feet and ends up befriending Enid.
She is an on-off smoker, enjoys cocktails, particularly Cosmopolitans - so much so that her character helped to popularize them - but she is, at heart,
an old-fashioned girl and is deeply romantic. She is on an endless search for true love, and refuses to settle for, as she puts
it, "anything less than butterflies." Despite this, she repeatedly expresses doubts that she is the type to get married and raise
a family.
Carrie is a resident of Manhattan, New York. She lives in
a brownstone on the Upper East Side at the fictional
address 245 East 73rd Street. She lives in this apartment throughout the series, and buys it in the fourth season. In the initial
episodes of the first season, Carrie's apartment is seen to be above a coffee shop somewhere near the vicinity of Madison Avenue
(despite its stated address). By approximately the fourth episode the usual facade of a series of brownstones adjacent to hers is
adopted, and remains that way throughout the series.
Little is mentioned about Carrie's life before the series, although she has been living in New York for about eighteen years.
In the fourth season, around her 35th birthday, Carrie states that her relationship with the city is "about 18 years", implying
she moved to New York when she was about 17 years old. It is mentioned that her father left her and her mother when she was five;
no siblings are ever mentioned. It is also revealed that Carrie had one abortion in the
1980s, when she was twenty-two years old. Though she had been dating for many years before meeting
Mr. Big in the first episode of the series, he is her first, and apparently, main love. She tells Charlotte York that she lost her virginity in the
11th grade.
Wardrobe
Carrie has been described as someone who "lives for fashion", and has confessed to buying Vogue instead of dinner. A known shoe fetishist with
an affinity for expensive designer shoes (notably Manolo Blahnik, but also
Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo), Carrie
claims she has spent over $40,000 on shoes alone. Her pairs seem to average around $450-500, and it is implied that she has at
least, if not more, than 100 unique pairs.
She frequently mixes vintage finds with haute
couture creating a quirky look that is both beautiful and eccentric. It is mentioned that Barneys and Saks Fifth Avenue are among her favorite places
to shop. Carrie equates taking a boyfriend to meet her parents with taking a boyfriend to meet the sales assistants at
Prada. Her friend Charlotte claims that Carrie
dragged her to eight shows at New York Fashion Week. Carrie once agreed to model for a
charity fashion show (featuring both "real people" and models) on the condition that she could keep the outfit, a
Dolce and Gabbana original. Carrie is also known to have worn Chanel, Christian Dior, Balenciaga,
Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Roberto Cavalli, Helmut Lang, Chloe, Marni, Marc Jacobs, Jean Paul Gaultier, Sonia Rykiel, Versace, Miu Miu,
Fendi, Missoni, Moschino,
Betsey Johnson, Oscar de la Renta and
Gucci, amongst others. Keep in mind, in real life Sarah Jessica Parker got to keep her entire
wardrobe from the all of the seasons.
Carrie's incredible wardrobe appears to make little sense for a writer on a modest income. (Although this changes later in
seasons 5 and 6 when her book becomes a success.) Indeed, many of the people around her comment that she cannot afford her
shopping addiction. Carrie occasionally maxes out credit cards, could not secure a loan on her
own due to poor savings as a result of extensive shopping, and has admitted her "shoe needs" have accounted for most of her
spending.
Carrie is particularly known for her addiction (calling it her "substance abuse problem" in one episode) to shoes. Notable
moments include where she is mugged near West Broadway and the bandit makes off with her Manolo
Blahnik pink suede strappy sandals which she purchased "half off at a sample sale!".
Relationships
"Mr. Big"
-
Main article: John Big
Aidan Shaw
Aidan Shaw, a Manhattan furniture designer (John Corbett), is her next serious boyfriend after Mr. Big. Their first relationship ends
when Carrie confesses her affair with Mr. Big on Charlotte's first wedding day.
Later in the series, they get back together again and become engaged. However, the engagement is broken when Carrie discovers she
is not ready to marry him and despite his better wishes, he is not willing to wait for her. During the sixth season premiere,
Carrie runs into Aidan on the street. She discovers that he has married a fellow furniture designer and has a son named Tate (who is played by Sarah Jessica Parker's real-life son). This scene ends with
one of the most memorable and touching moments between Carrie and Aidan (indeed, it marks John Corbett's last appearance in the
series) when they agree to go for a coffee and "catch up" after which Carrie states in voiceover that "there are some dates you
cannot wait to keep, and there are some you both know you will never keep". With Aidan looking on Carrie walks away, not looking
back, and it is implied that they have finally come to terms with the pain they caused each other.
Jack Berger
Following her relationship with Aidan, Carrie begins to date Jack Berger (Ron
Livingston), a writer with mixed degree of success. She meets him while discussing her upcoming book at her
publisher's (Amy Sedaris) office. He is a
novelist and becomes insecure of Carrie's newfound success as a writer after her book goes
international and she begins receiving high-sum royalties. After an initially rocky start (in which Berger must end his
relationship with his unseen original girlfriend, Lauren) they form a rather playful relationship and one which initially seems
to make Carrie very happy. As Carrie's success begins to mount, and particularly after Berger's second novel is not picked up for
publication, the relationship deteriorates, culminating in a 'break' between the two. Berger returns, professing his love for
Carrie and stating that he wishes to try again, but ends up leaving afterwards, in the middle of the night. Berger breaks up with
Carrie on a Post-it note which reads, "I'm sorry, I can't. Don't hate me." Berger is never
seen again.
Aleksandr Petrovsky
Carrie meets and begins a relationship with Aleksandr Petrovsky (Mikhail
Baryshnikov) in the sixth season. He is a rich, successful and older Russian artist.
Carrie enjoys the relationship but problems arise when she discovers he already has a daughter in her twenties and doesn't want
to have any more children. Carrie feels forced to choose between a long-term relationship with Petrovsky, and the possibility of
having children. She decides to stay in the relationship, despite mounting evidence that he will never be able to fully commit to
her emotionally as he is very self-involved, and even at one point claims that Carrie is "not his friend, she is his lover".
He asks Carrie to leave her job and life in New York and move with him to Paris. After some degree of convincing, she accepts
but is disappointed and confused upon her arrival. She doesn't speak French and
Petrovsky leaves her alone often tending to his own career. She leaves him and Paris in the series finale, thanking
him for everything he had shown her in their relationship, even though it could not work out.
See also
- Sex and the City characters
References
- ^ Bravo > 100 Greatest
TV Characters
External links
| Sex and the City |
Characters:
Carrie Bradshaw | Samantha Jones |
Charlotte York | Miranda Hobbes |
John Big | Steve Brady
Recurring Characters
|
| Episodes | Awards | DVDs |
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