If you’ve missed missed Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda, you may want to what the Sex and the City cast looks like now to see how much the actors—and their characters—have changed over the years.
Sex and the City premiered in 1998 and ran for six seasons until its finale in 2004. The show, which was based on Candace Bushnell’s 1997 book of the same title
, followed four women in their 30s and 40s—Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis)—and their sex lives in New York City. The show went on to win four Emmy Awards (including Outstanding Comedy Series in 2001) and release two movies, Sex and the City: The Movie in 2008 and Sex and the City 2 in 2010.
In January 2021, HBO announced that a Sex and the City reboot, titled And Just Like That…A New Chapter in Sex and the City, was in the works for HBO Max. The reboot sees the return of each of the main cast members—except Cattrall, who confirmed in 2017 that she had retired as Samantha amid her feud with SJP. “Woke 2 a @MailOnline (poop emoji) storm! The only ‘DEMAND’ I ever made was that I didn’t want to do a 3rd film….& that was back in 2016,” Cattrall tweeted at the time after rumors that she was the reason a third Sex and the City movie was cancelled. In an interview with Piers Morgan at the time, Cattrall also confirmed her feud with SJP and claimed her co-star “could have been nicer” when they worked together on the original Sex and the City series and two movies. “We’ve never been friends,” she said. “We’ve been colleagues and, in some ways, it’s a very healthy place to be.” She continued, “I don’t know what her problem is. I never have.”
See the Sex and the City cast then and now
It’s no secret that there’s been a lot that’s happened behind-the-scenes of Sex and the City since the show’s finale more than 20 years ago. But what does the Sex and the City cast look like then and now? Read on for how much the Sex and the City cast has changed and what characters like Charlotte and Miranda’s kids look like all grown up.
Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw)
Sarah Jessica Parker was 33 years old when Sex and the City premiered in 1998 and introduced viewers to Carrie Bradshaw, a dating columnist and the HBO series’ narrator and main protagonist. SJP, who starred on all six seasons of Sex and the City and two movies, served as an executive producer on the show’s final three seasons and both films. After the end of Sex and the City, Parker—who starred in movies like Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Hocus Pocus and The First Wives Club before SATC made her a household name—went on to act in romantic comedies like New Year’s Eve and I Don’t Know How She Does It, as well as lead her second HBO show, Divorce, which ran for three seasons. She also launched her own shoe line SJP Collection, in 2014, as well as her own wine label, Invivo X, in 2019.
SJP was 56 years old when Sex and the City‘s HBO Max reboot, And Just Like That (for which she also served as an executive producer), premiered in 2021. In an interview with HBO in 2018, SJP opened up about how Carrie changed the way women were written on television. “Carrie was writing about sexual politics and relationships, and men and women’s roles socially, so the conversations were often about intimacy and the role it plays in these women’s lives,” she said. “That’s what was so new—it involved language that made it new for women to be having these conversations. What was equally as important as the sex, is the way they were sharing and revealing truths of their lives.Carrie was writing about sexual politics and relationships, and men and women’s roles socially, so the conversations were often about intimacy and the role it plays in these women’s lives. That’s what was so new—it involved language that made it new for women to be having these conversations. What was equally as important as the sex, is the way they were sharing and revealing truths of their lives.”
Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbes)
Image: Courtesy of HBO. HBO Max.
Cynthia Nixon was 32 years old when Sex and the City premiered in 1998. She was the youngest main cast member. Nixon starred as Miranda Hobbes—a lawyer and one of the four main characters on the HBO series—for all six seasons and two movies. She was 55 years old when And Just Like That, on which she serves as an executive producer alongside Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis, premiered in 2021. After the end of Sex and the City, Nixon starred in shows like The Big C and Ratched. She also ran for governor of New York in 2018 but lost in the democratic primary to incumbent Andrew Cuomo. In an interview with Newsweek in 2021, Nixon revealed that she “never” thought she’d be cast as Miranda Hobbes, let alone return to her role in a Sex and the City reboot.
“I’m the person who hasn’t seen this at any step. I never expected I would get cast, I never expected it would really be a hit, much less the hit that it is, I never expected that we would make a film, then make another film, or that we would come back now,” she said. “I don’t know where Sarah Jessica would place herself on this trajectory, but I think, in my mind anyway, Kristin Davis is the person who has always believed. People would ask me, and I’d be like, ‘I don’t think so. Maybe 1 percent chance. I don’t see it.’”
Kristin Davis (Charlotte York)
Image: Courtesy of HBO. HBO Max.
Kristin Davis was 33 years old when Sex and the City premiered in 1998. She starred as Charlotte York, an art dealer and one of the HBO series’ four main characters, for all six seasons and two movies. She was 56 years old when And Just Like That—for which she serves as an executive producer alongside Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon—premiered in 2021. Since the end of Sex and the City, Davis has starred in movies like Holiday in the Wild and Deadly Illusions. In an interview on the Today show in 2021, Davis explained why Sex and the City is still relevant so many years later. “It’s very much now in terms of the conversations that we’re having culturally now are different than back then, of course, and it’s moving forward,” she said. “Life is unexpected and things happen to you and you come in contact with new people and they change your life in way and you expand hopefully and grow with it, or maybe you don’t. Life is not over when you turn 50.”
Kim Cattrall (Samantha Jones)
Image: Courtesy of HBO.
Kim Cattrall was 41 years old when Sex and the City premiered in 1998. She starred as Samantha Jones, a publicist and one of the four main characters, for all six seasons of the HBO series and two movies. While she didn’t return for And Just Like That, Cattrall was 54 years old when the second Sex and the City movie—and her last time as Samantha—came out. In an interview with Piers Morgan in 2017, Cattrall explained why she decided to turn down a third Sex and the City movie and retire as Samantha. “Not for me. That was part of turning 60. That was a very clear moment of, how many years do I have left and what do I want to do with it? What haven’t I done? I feel that the show was the best when it was the series and the bonus was the two movies,” she said.
“The answer was simply thank you, but no, I’m good,” she continued. “This isn’t about more money. It’s not about more scenes. It’s not about any of those things. This is about a clear decision, an empowered decision in my life to end one chapter and start another,” she said. “It’s a great part. I played it past the finish line and then some, and I loved it.” Since the end of Sex and the City, Cattrall has starred in shows like Filthy Rich and How I Met Your Father.
Chris Noth (Mr. Big)
Image: Courtesy of HBO. HBO Max.
Chris Noth was 43 years old when Sex and the City premiered in 1998. He starred as Mr. Big a.k.a. John James Preston—an entrepreneur financier and Carrie’s main love interest—for all six seasons and two movies. He was 67 years old when And Just Like That premiered. Since then end of Sex and the City, Noth has starred in shows like The Good Wife and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Noth told The Guardian in 2021 that it was an adjustment when Sex and the City became a “cultural phenomenon.”
“Initially, when the show became a cultural phenomenon, I was really annoyed by it, because I don’t like to be called a character’s name on the street and actors don’t like [characters] sticking to them,” he said. “But eventually I thought: ‘Just stop resisting this because it’s not going away. People, for some reason, will always relate you to that part, so just let what you resist persist.’ And if I can be a small part of what people think of as New York City, that’s a really lovely thing.”
Willie Garson (Stanford Blatch)
Image: Courtesy of HBO. HBO Max.
Willie Garson was 34 years old when Sex and the City premiered in 1998. He starred as Stanford Blatch, Carrie’s best friend, for 27 episodes throughout the HBO series, as well as the two Sex and the City movies. On September 21, 2021, news broke that Garson had died from pancreatic cancer. He was 57 years old. Before his death, Garson—who had starred on shows like White Collar and Hawaii Five-0—filmed part of And Just Like That.
“All I can say right now is that it’s as if a scoop has been taken out of me this week, and I don’t expect it to be filled. In time, my body will grow accustomed to this new architecture, but now I feel truly blue,” Sarah Jessica Parker told Vogue in 2021 after Garson’s death. “It’s such a loss, and I think about how I’ll miss the joy of these relationships. I think about Willie and the show and how much we laughed. And I guess despite everything, that’s the headline: There’s so much good in the world, and we were all so lucky to be together, doing something we loved.”
David Eigenberg (Steve Brady)
Image: Courtesy of HBO. HBO Max.
David Eigenberg made his debut as Steve Brady—a bartender and Miranda’s main love interest—in season 2 of Sex and the City. He was 35 years old at the time. He starred in 41 episodes throughout the series and the two Sex and the City movies. After the end of Sex and the City, Eigenberg acted in shows like Chicago Fire. He was 57 years old when And Just Like That premiered in 2021. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2008, Eigenberg opened up about how he’s become known as Steve. “In the public eye, I certainly get seen as Steve, and once in a while someone knows my real name. One of the last nights before [my wife and I] made the decision to do it, we were sitting [at our] fifth anniversary dinner,” he said. “These three women were sitting at this table next to us, and they flipped out. My wife was like, ‘David, for that reason alone, you have to do it.’”
Evan Handler (Harry Goldenblatt)
Image: Courtesy of HBO. HBO Max.
Evan Handler made his debut as Harry Goldenblatt—a lawyer and Charlotte’s husband—in season five of Sex and the City. He was 37 years old at the time. He starred in 18 episodes through seasons five and six, as well as the two Sex and the City movies. After Sex and the City, Handler starred in shows like Californication. He was 60 years old when And Just Like That premiered. In an interview with Marie Claire in 2008, Kristin Davis revealed that Harry was described as an “ugly guy.” “At first, they wrote, ‘Charlotte marries this ugly guy.’ And I said, I hope you’re not going to put that in the description for the actor, like, ‘Must be really ugly.’” she said. Handler added, “At the audition, it was the bagel-eating scene and they just kept shoving a cupcake into my mouth.”
Mario Cantone (Anthony Marantino)
Image: Courtesy of HBO. HBO Max.
Mario Cantone made his debut as Anthony Marantino, a wedding planner and Charlotte’s best friend, in season 3 of Sex and the City. He was 41 years old at the time. He starred in 12 episodes throughout the series, as well as the franchise’s two movies. He was 61 years old when And Just Like That premiered in 2021. When the third Sex and the City movie was cancelled in 2017, Cantone told Wendy Williams on The Wendy Williams Show that he didn’t want to get involved in the rumored drama around Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker. “I didn’t call anybody. I do not get involved. I step back. Whatever their negotiations are, whatever they spoke about. Whatever happened. I don’t know, all I know is it’s not happening,” he said. “And I’d like to tip over this table like my mother did when she was angry because she was Italian and really pissed off!”
Alexandra & Parker Fong; Cathy Ang (Lily Goldenblatt)
Image: Courtesy of HBO. HBO Max.
Twins Alexandra and Parker Fong played Lily Goldenblatt—Charlotte and Harry’s adopted daughter from China—in the two Sex and the City movies, which premiered in 2008 and 2010. (Charlotte and Harry adopted Lily at the end of season 6 after fertility issues.) Cathy Ang played Lily in And Just Like That, which premiered in 2021. Ang told Cosmopolitan in 2021 that she didn’t know how big of a character Lily would be until after she auditioned. “I didn’t understand how big it was because I hadn’t watched it, and so once I got the audition…this was the wrong thing to do, but…I watched the movies first. And then once I got the role, I binged the show in, like, a week,” she said.
She continued, “I think if I had watched it as a teen, I wouldn’t have understood as many of the problems they ran into, because I was just a little bit unaware. So I appreciated that I waited because it would have felt more foreign to me before, but now I could relate to these characters.”
Liliana & Sabrina Pizzuto; Savanna Mae & Sienna Cheryl Dezio; Alexa Swinton (Rose Goldenblatt)
Image: Courtesy of HBO. HBO Max.
Charlotte and Harry welcomed their second daughter, Rose Goldenblatt, in 2008’s Sex and the City: The Movie. Two sets of twins—Liliana and Sabrina Pizzuto, and Savanna Mae and Sienna Cheryl Dezio—played Rose in the second Sex and the City movie. Alexa Swinton starred as an older Rose in And Just Like That, which premiered in 2021.
Joseph Pupo & Niall Cunningham (Brady Hobbes)
Image: Courtesy of HBO. HBO Max.
Joseph Pupo played Brady Hobbes, Miranda and Steve’s son, in the two Sex and the City movie. Miranda and Steve welcomed Brady, their only child together, at the end of season 4. Niall Cunningham starred as an older version of Brady in And Just Like That, which premiered in 2021.
And Just Like That is available to stream on HBO Max. Here’s how to watch it for free.
Image: Courtesy of Gallery Books.
For more about And Just Like That and Sex and the City, read HBO’s official companion book, Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell. The book, written by dating columnist and screenwriter Amy Sohn, is filled with behind-the-scenes secrets from Sex and the City‘s six seasons and details on the real-life stories that inspired the show’s shocking episodes. The book also includes 750 full-color photographs from filming the series, as well as an introduction written by none other than Sarah Jessica Parker. With fun facts on how many dates Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda really went on to never-been-told secrets about Carrie’s most outrageous (and fabulous) outfits, Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell is a must-read for any SATC superfan.
