Sex and the City characters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sex and the City was a popular American cable television program based on the novel of the same name by Candace Bushnell. It was originally broadcast on the HBO network from 1998 until 2004. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the sex lives of four female best friends, three of whom are in their mid-to-late thirties, and one of whom is in her forties. Along with these four women, there were numerous minor and recurring characters, including their current and ex-boyfriends/husbands/lovers, as well as many cameo appearances.
There is also a 2008 film adaptation.
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[edit] Main characters
[edit] Carrie Bradshaw
Carrie Bradshaw (born January 30, 1965) is the literal voice of the show as each episode is structured around her train of thought while writing her weekly column, "Sex and the City," for the fictitious newspaper, The New York Star. A member of the New York glitterati, she is a club/bar/restaurant staple who is known for her unique fashion sense - violently yoking together various styles into one outfit (It is not uncommon for her to pair inexpensive vintage clothing pieces with high-end couture). A self-proclaimed shoe fetishist, she focuses most of her attention (and bank account) on designer footwear, primarily Manolo Blahniks, though she has been known to wear Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo ,as well. Known to frequently go on shopping sprees, Carrie pays a lot of attention to her constantly evolving personal style, which is very high on her priority list; her style is one not fettered by professional dress codes or personal self-effacement. Even though she relies only upon her income as a freelance weekly newspaper columnist, she is often guilty of overspending her limit and maxing out her credit card in a single shopping trip. To some viewers, her lack of shoe-shopping self-control and overall seemingly immature spending habits might be a flaw, and her money-management misadventures follow her through a few episodes of the series. However, her priorities are later brought into perspective when she is forced to either buy her once rent-controlled apartment when the building goes co-op, or move out. Carrie does finally acquire a mortgage by supplementing her income, having to take on other writing assignments to do so because she doesn't want to move (she also takes a sizeable loan from Charlotte - in the form of her engagement ring to Trey - to pay for the down payment). Her apartment is another source of pride; it's an open-planned studio in an Upper East Side brownstone that is certainly enviable for its stabilized rent, space, large closet, and good location. The apartment, which she eventually purchases back from ex Aidan in the fourth season, is her home for the entire run of the series. In later seasons, her essays are collected as a book and she begins taking assignments from other publications, like Vogue and New York Magazine. Played by Sarah Jessica Parker.
| “ | The only thing I've ever successfully made in the kitchen is a mess. And several small fires. | ” |
[edit] Charlotte York
Charlotte York (born July 14, 1966), is an art dealer and Smith College graduate with a wealthy Connecticut blue-blooded upbringing. She is the most conservative and traditional of the group; the one who places the most emphasis on emotional love as opposed to lust, and is always searching for her "knight in shining armor." As the youngest of the group, she's also the most idealistic about love and romance. Presenting a more straightforward attitude about relationships, usually based around "the rules" of love and dating, she often scoffs at the lewder, more libertine antics that the show presents (primarily by way of Samantha). Despite her conservative outlook, she has been known to make concessions (while married) that even surprise her sexually-freer girlfriends (such as her level of dirty talk, oral sex in public and "tuchus-lingus"). Charlotte gives up her career shortly after her first marriage, divorces upon irreconcilable differences around in vitro fertilization and receives a Park Avenue apartment in her divorce settlement. She eventually remarries to her less-than-perfect, yet good-hearted divorce lawyer, Harry Goldenblatt, after converting to Judaism Together they adopt a daughter from China in the last episode. Played by Kristin Davis
| “ | If you had a patient who had a very very slim chance of living, would that be good news? Would you tell the family, "Buck up, he's got a shot in hell? | ” |
[edit] Miranda Hobbes
Miranda Hobbes (born August 23, 1965), is a career-minded lawyer with extremely cynical views on relationships and men. A Harvard University graduate from Philadelphia, she is Carrie's best friend, confidante, and voice of reason. In the early seasons, she is portrayed as masculine and borderline misandric, but this image softens over the years, particularly after she becomes pregnant by her on again-off again boyfriend, Steve Brady, whom she eventually marries. The birth of her son, Brady, brings up new issues for her type A, workaholic personality, but she soon finds a way to balance career, being single, and motherhood. Of the four women, she is the first to purchase an apartment, (an indicator of her success), which she gives up in the final season when she moves into a Brooklyn townhouse to make room for her growing family. Played by Cynthia Nixon
| “ | Do any of you have a completely unremarkable friend or maybe a houseplant I could go to dinner with on Saturday night?. | ” |
[edit] Samantha Jones
Samantha Jones (born December 4, 1958), the oldest of the group, is an independent publicist and a seductress who avoids emotional involvement at all costs, while satisfying every possible carnal desire imaginable. She believes that she has had "hundreds" of soulmates and insists that her sexual partners leave "an hour after I climax." In season 3, she moves from her full-service Upper East Side apartment to an expensive loft in the then-burgeoning Meatpacking District. Over the course of the show, Samantha does have a handful of real relationships, but they are more unconventional than those of her friends. These include a lesbian relationship with Brazilian painter Maria, played by Sonia Braga. Played by Kim Cattrall.
| “ | Sex with an ex can be depressing. If it's good, you don't have it anymore; if it's bad, you just had sex with an ex. | ” |
[edit] Recurring characters
[edit] Friends
- Stanford Blatch (Willie Garson), often referred to as the show's "Fifth Lady," is Carrie's best friend outside of the three women. A gay talent agent from an aristocratic family with a sense of style parallel only to Carrie's, viewers receive the impression that they have a long-standing relationship built within their younger, wilder days in the New York City club and bar scene in the 1980s. He had said that they have been friends since Carrie was riding the subways and wearing Candie's. The only supporting character to receive his own storylines on occasion, Stanford represents the show's most constant gay point of view to sex on the show, generally based around the physical insecurities and inadequacies of someone who does not "have that gay look." In the last two seasons of the show, he is partnered with Broadway dancer Marcus Adente.
- Anthony Marentino (Mario Cantone) is a Sicilian-American event planner who becomes close to Charlotte after styling her first wedding — he goes on to style Charlotte's H&G photo shoot, her second wedding and Carrie's book release party. He is not self-effacing like Stanford and freely doles out blunt, sometimes bawdy, advice to Charlotte. (For instance: Upon hearing that she hadn't had sex since her divorce, he exclaims: "If you don't put something 'in there' soon, it'll grow over!"). In Season 4, Episode 50, Charlotte tries to set up Anthony and Stanford. Neither finds each other a suitable date partners; resentment and competition ensue for the entire show run. However, in the film the two are seen kissing at a New Year's Eve party.
- Magda (Lynn Cohen), the Ukrainian housekeeper nanny who was introduced in the third season becomes an ersatz mother figure and a thorn in Miranda's side. Her attempts to push traditional marriage/motherhood attitudes on Miranda are both subtle (buying her a rolling pin "To make pies. It's good for a woman to make pies.") and intrusive (replacing her vibrator with a statuette of The Virgin Mary). Magda comes to accept Miranda's lifestyle choices and continues working for Miranda, even when she and Steve move to Brooklyn. Although Miranda is reluctant to accept help, Magda makes life manageable for Miranda after the birth of Brady by serving as both a housekeeper and a nanny.
[edit] Relationships
The main characters all went on dates or had sex with characters who appeared in only one episode, or small story arcs spanning two or three episodes, but the characters listed below are the focus of multiple episodes that form story arcs significant to the show's continuity. In most cases, these characters have played large roles in as many as two story arcs. In a farewell episode, it is stated that being a guy in this show "takes some balls" – this is referring to the way men are sometimes portrayed in this show.
[edit] Carrie's boyfriends
- Mr. Big (Chris Noth), referred to by Carrie and her friends simply as "Big," both excites and eludes Carrie throughout the run of the show, as she always believes he is the man for her, but many times, he's not able to fulfill her emotional needs. A wealthy financier (Samantha calls him "the next Donald Trump" in the pilot), Big is based on New York publisher Ron Galotti[citation needed]. Carrie and Big's on again, off again relationship begins and ends in season one and then a second time in season two. After two years of commitment issues and emotional unavailability, Mr. Big marries a twenty-something Ralph Lauren executive named Natasha (Bridget Moynahan). Within seven months of his marriage he begins to pine after Carrie and starts to have an affair with her, until Natasha catches them and Carrie breaks it off out of guilt. After divorcing Natasha, Big and Carrie become friends, with their sexual history always lying just beneath the surface. He eventually moves to the Napa Valley in California, but is visited once by Carrie while on her book tour, and he returns to New York a year after that for an angioplasty. In the end of the series, he returns to tell Carrie he is ready to commit to her, but is brutally rebuffed. He doesn't give up, and, after the blessing of Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda, tries to re-claim her love one last time in Paris. In the end, the two prepare for an open, honest relationship in New York. The writers claim that the use of a moniker instead of an actual name was a symbol for the character's emotional unavailability. Curiously, there were several instances in the course of the series that almost revealed Big's first name, such as when Carrie tried to introduce Big and Natasha to Aidan at a furniture expo, but ends up spilling coffee on Big due to her nervousness, thus spoiling the mystery. But in the final episode of the series, Big's real name is revealed to the audience as "John" when he calls Carrie about his move back to New York from California. In the movie, it is revealed that John's full name is John James Preston.
- Aidan Shaw (John Corbett) is Carrie's other long-term boyfriend. He is a sweet, good-natured furniture designer and Mr. Big's emotional opposite. At first Carrie is put off by their seemingly perfect relationship, but over time works through her issues of emotional unavailability. However, Aidan ends "it" when she comes clean about her affair with Big. They get back together a year later, eventually move in together and she accepts his marriage proposal before they realize that, ultimately, she cannot meet his needs and they break up for good. It is later revealed that Aidan marries and has a son, Tate.
- Jack Berger (Ron Livingston) is Carrie's intellectual counterpart, a sardonic humorist writer whose career is cooling down just as Carrie's is heating up. Theirs is a relationship of witty banter and common thoughts, but everything falls apart when his defeated attitude clashes with her success. Carrie learns, when it comes to relationships, Berger's talk is just that. He memorably breaks up with her on a Post-It: "I'm sorry, I can't, don't hate me."
- Aleksandr Petrovsky (Mikhail Baryshnikov), referred to by Carrie occasionally as "The Russian," is a famous artist who becomes Carrie's lover in the final season. He sweeps her off her feet with huge romantic gestures and shows her the foreign pockets of New York that she has never seen before. Her relationship with him brings up all sorts of questions in Carrie's mind about finding love past "a certain age" and whether or not she wants children. When he's preparing to return to Paris for a solo exhibit he invites Carrie to come live with him, which, after several deliberations (and one fight) with her friends, she does. After spending some time there, she realizes that he will never reciprocate the level of emotional involvement that she offers because his life and career will always come first.
[edit] Charlotte's husbands
- Dr. Trey MacDougal (Kyle MacLachlan) fits Charlotte's knight in shining armor archetype to a tee; a Scottish American heart surgeon from family money. Their whirlwind engagement and a fairy tale wedding stop cold with a sexless honeymoon, brought on by Trey's impotence and his domineering and meddling mother Bunny. After a brief separation, they reunite with a healthy sex life only to discover that Charlotte has difficulty getting pregnant. Eventually, their disagreements on whether or not to pursue in vitro fertilization lead to divorce.
- Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler) is Charlotte's Jewish divorce lawyer who is incredibly attracted to her from the beginning. She is not attracted to him initially, but tries to pursue a sex-only relationship with him, which leads to one of exclusivity and love as opposed to her relationship with Trey, which was reversed in this aspect. After her conversion to Judaism and one big argument that sends them in separate directions for a few weeks, the two marry and begin trying to have/adopt a child. In the end, they are approved for a Chinese adoption and adopt a girl. In the film, Charlotte finally becomes pregnant by Harry and gives birth to a baby girl. Their adopted daughter is named Lily and their biological daughter is named Rose.
[edit] Miranda's boyfriends
- Skipper Johnston (Ben Weber) is a geeky, sensitive twenty-something web designer whom Carrie introduces to Miranda. From the moment they meet, Skipper is enamored with her, but Miranda is unimpressed and irritated by him, calling him "Skippy". They date for a short time, before Miranda breaks up with him due to "being in different places".
- Steve Brady (David Eigenberg) is a bartender who has an unconventional on-again, off-again relationship with Miranda. Having been stood up by Carrie, Miranda meets Steve unexpectedly at the bar at which he works. She takes the encounter as a one night stand and reacts callously to his suggestion that they see each other in the future. Their differences in income, aspirations and status, as well as their attitudes about living together and having kids are the catalysts for their break ups. Over the course of the show Miranda puts Steve through a fair amount of emotional tumult. However he looks beneath her cynical exterior and finds her softer side while at the same time choosing his battles carefully. In season four he opens his own bar, called Scout, and accidentally gets Miranda pregnant (despite losing a testicle to cancer and Miranda having only one functioning ovary). They decide to raise the child (Brady Hobbes) together even though they broke up before his birth. However, they are back together towards the end of Season Six. They have a small intimate wedding ceremony and he convinces her to move to a house in Brooklyn.
- Dr. Robert Leeds (Blair Underwood) is a sports medicine doctor who moves into Miranda's building during season six. He is the seemingly perfect man: successful, sexy, and utterly devoted to her. Robert and Miranda have lots of fun and great chemistry, but when the time comes she is unable to declare her love for him, in part because she still loves Steve.
[edit] Samantha's lovers
Samantha was usually highly promiscuous, and had many lovers over the course of the series, usually only lasting one episode a piece. Some of the more memorable include:
- James (James Goodwin) is a man Samantha meets while out by herself at a jazz club. She makes a conscious effort to not sleep with him until she gets to know him first. When they finally do have sex, she discovers that he is under-endowed to the point that she cannot enjoy herself. (His fully erect penis is 3" long.) She begins pulling away physically and cannot bring herself to tell him – until she is faced with the prospect of couples counseling.
- Maria Diega Reyes (Sonia Braga) is a sensual lesbian artist that Samantha meets at a solo exhibit while admiring her work. Maria is immediately attracted to her, but since Samantha doesn't believe in relationships they try to maintain a friendship. The chemistry proves to be too strong and it isn't too long before Samantha is introducing her lesbian lover to her stunned friends. At first, Samantha has a great time "getting an education" as Maria teaches her about lesbian sex and how to make an emotional connection while making love. Unfortunately, Samantha begins to grow uncomfortable when the relationship talk starts to replace the sexual activity and Maria is equally uncomfortable with Samantha's sexual history. The two separate, after they have sex with a strap-on.
- Richard Wright (James Remar) is a successful hotel magnate who doesn't believe in monogamy until he meets Samantha. He seduces her, and when their no-strings-attached sexual relationship begins to escalate, both parties struggle to keep their emotional distance. Eventually, they give in and attempt exclusivity, but, being a stranger to monogamy, Samantha is plagued by suspicion at every turn. When she does catch him cheating, after putting on a wig and spying on him, she breaks up with him, but eventually takes him back after he begs for her forgiveness. In the end, Samantha still has her doubts about Richard, and breaks up with him. Towards the end of the series, Richard re-surfaces, admitting that Samantha was the best thing that ever happened to him. But after having sex with him, she rejects him for Smith Jerrod.
- Jerry Jerrod/Smith Jerrod (Jason Lewis) is a young waiter Samantha seduces in a trendy restaurant called "Raw". She tries to maintain her usual sex-only relationship with him, but he slowly pushes for something more. He is a wannabe actor whose career Samantha jump starts using her PR connections (including changing his name to "Smith Jerrod" from "Jerry Jerrod"), getting him a modeling job that turns into a film role. Just when she thinks Smith's age and experiences aren't enough for her, he gives her unconditional support during her fight with breast cancer. In the final episode, Smith flies back from a film set in Canada just to tell her that he loves her, which she counters with "You have meant more to me than any man I've ever known," which, for Samantha, is a far greater statement.
[edit] Cameos
As Sex and the City gained popularity, a number of celebrities had cameos on the show, some playing themselves and some playing characters. These include the following:
- Timothy Olyphant as Sam in Valley of the Twenty-Something Guys
- Donald Trump as himself in "The Man, The Myth, The Viagra"
- Tamara Tunie as Eileen in The Cheating Curve
- Carrie Preston as Madeline Dunn in The Chicken Dance
- Dan Futterman as Stephan in Evolution
- Will Arnett as Jack in "La Douleur Exquise!"
- Jon Bon Jovi as Seth in "Games People Play"
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Debbie in "Escape from New York"
- Matthew McConaughey as himself in "Escape from New York"
- Vince Vaughn as Keith Travers in "Sex and Another City"
- Carrie Fisher as herself in "Sex and Another City"
- Hugh Hefner as himself in "Sex and Another City"
- Margaret Cho as Lynn Cameron in "The Real Me"
- Alan Cumming as O in "The Real Me"
- Heidi Klum as herself in "The Real Me"
- Ed Koch as himself in "The Real Me"
- Tony Hale as Tiger in "The Real Me"
- Kevyn Aucoin as himself in "The Real Me
- Anthony DeSando as Siddhartha in "The Drought"
- Chris Tardio as Matt in "Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl"
- Lucy Liu as herself in "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda"
- Ron Rifkin as Julian in "A "Vogue" Idea"
- Candice Bergen as Enid Mead (later changed to Enid Frick) in "A "Vogue" Idea", "Plus One is the Loneliest Number" and "Splat!"
- Amy Sedaris as Courteney Masterson in "Unoriginal Sin", "Cover Girl", and "Plus One is the Loneliest Number"
- Molly Shannon as Lily Martin in "Unoriginal Sin", "Cover Girl", and "The Big Journey"
- Isaac Mizrahi as himself in "Plus One is the Loneliest Number"
- Heather Graham as herself in "Critical Condition"
- Nathan Lane as Bobby Fine in "I Love a Charade"
- Jennifer Coolidge as Victoria in "The Perfect Present"
- Tatum O'Neal as Kyra in "A Woman's Right to Shoes"
- Linda Evangelista as Saleswoman in A Woman's Right to Shoes
- La La (entertainer) as herself in The Post-it Always Sticks Twice
- Michael Showalter as Billy in The Post-it Always Sticks Twice
- David Duchovny as Jeremy in "Boy, Interrupted"
- Geri Halliwell as Phoebe in "Boy, Interrupted"
- Julia Sweeney as Nun in Catch-38
- Michael Patrick King as Mental Patient in "Boy, Interrupted"
- Kristen Johnston as Lexi Featherston in "Splat!"
- Carole Bouquet as Juliette in "An American Girl in Paris, Part Deux"
- Alanis Morissette as Dawn, who makes out with Carrie, in "Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl"
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