Carrie Bradshaw

Carrie Bradshaw
Sex and the City character The Carrie Diaries character
Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw
First appearance	Print: "Love at the Bowery Bar, Part II" (1995) (The New York Observer) Television: "Sex and the City" (1998) (Sex and the City)
Created by	Candace Bushnell
Adapted by	Darren Star
Portrayed by	Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City, films, And Just Like That...) AnnaSophia Robb (The Carrie Diaries)
Television duration	1998–2004 2008 2010 2013–14 2021–
In-universe information
Full name	Caroline Marie Bradshaw
Nickname	Carrie
Occupation	Author Newspaper columnist for The New York Star Writer at Vogue magazine Podcast co-host
Family	Tom Bradshaw (father) Grace Bradshaw (mother; deceased) Dorrit Bradshaw (sister) Harriet Preston (mother-in-law) Melvin Preston (father-in-law)
Spouse	John James "Mr. Big" Preston ​ ​ (m. 2008; died 2021)​
Nationality	American

Caroline Marie "Carrie" Bradshaw is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO franchise Sex and the City, portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker. In the Sex and the City television and film series, Carrie is a columnist and fashionista who lives in New York City. Her weekly column, "Sex and the City", provides the narration for each episode.

Parker reprised the role in the films Sex and the City and Sex and the City 2, and the HBO Max series And Just Like That. Bushnell also authored the young adult novels The Carrie Diaries and Summer and the City featuring the character. The Carrie Diaries was adapted into a CW prequel series of the same name, with Carrie portrayed by Anna Sophia Robb.

Creation and newspaper column

Candace Bushnell created Carrie (who had no last name until the television series) as a semi-autobiographical character for her column "Sex and the City" in The New York Observer so her parents would not be aware that they were reading about her sex life. Carrie was introduced as Bushnell's friend, "a journalist in her mid-30’s", and was conceived around the lifestyle of "balancing small paychecks with access to glamour and wealth". Bushnell's columns were later compiled into the book Sex and the City. Bushnell worked with television producer Darren Star to adapt the columns for television.

Character overview

Career and writing

In the HBO franchise Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw writes a weekly column called "Sex and the City" for a fictional newspaper called The New York Star. The column centers on Carrie's personal experiences with dating and relations, as well as those of her close friends. It also includes her reflections on the dynamics between men and women in New York City. The column brings Carrie a degree of recognition in the city, some readers view her as an influential figure. In the third season, her column is optioned for a film produced by Matthew McConaughey and by the fifth season, a selection of her columns is published as a book. At the end of season four, Carrie begins to write freelance articles for Vogue.

Personality and character traits

Carrie is often led by her emotions, seeking validation and acceptance from romantic partners, such as Mr. Big, and from others. For example, she becomes fixated on a review her book received from book critic Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times. In season one, Carrie relies on Mr. Big to reassure her of her importance in his life. At times, Carrie displays self-centered behaviors but rarely acknowledges it unless her friends point it out. This blend of emotional vulnerability and humor, and exploration of issues like commitment within romantic relationship, make her a flawed but relatable character for viewers.

Carrie occasionally smokes, preferring Marlboro Lights when she does. During seasons 3 and 4, she attempts to quit smoking using a nicotine patch while dating Aidan. She enjoys cocktails, particularly cosmopolitans, and her character's affinity for them is known to have contributed to the drink's popularity.

Despite being realistic about the challenges of relationships and having endured numerous unsuccessful ones throughout the series, Carrie is a hopeless romantic, firmly refusing to settle for anything less than true love, even though she doubts her suitability for marriage and starting a family.

Background and early life

Little is mentioned about Carrie's life before the series. Carrie arrived in Manhattan on Wednesday, June 11, 1986 when she was approximately 21, given her age that is mentioned at other points in the series. She says in the movie that she's lived in Manhattan for 20 years (although she states at age 35 that she had been living there for a decade). In season 4, Carrie tells a photographer that she was so poor when she first moved to New York that she would purchase Vogue instead of dinner. It is known that her father left her and her mother when she was five, although no siblings are mentioned.

The Carrie Diaries

AnnaSophia Robb as teenaged Carrie Bradshaw in the Carrie Diaries TV series

A TV series was made after the production of Sex and the City, called The Carrie Diaries which featured Carrie's life as a teenager prior to her life in Sex and the City. It focused mainly on Carrie who lived with her father and younger sister, Dorrit.

Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City, recently released her new book, Summer and the City: A Carrie Diaries Novel as part of her young adult series that follows the Sex and the City characters as teenagers. This novel reveals that Carrie attended the prestigious Ivy League University, Brown, in the 1980s. It also reveals that she took summer classes at The New School. TV Guide described the young version of Carrie Bradshaw as "Even when she's trying to play adult in the city with her fashion-forward style and 'grown-up' conversations, she still exudes an aura that manages to be innocent, cute and self-confident at the same time."

Style and influence

Designers Worn by Carrie Bradshaw

Alexander McQueen, Anna Molinari, Balenciaga, Betsey Johnson, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Céline, Chanel, Chloé, Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix, Christian Louboutin, Diane von Fürstenberg, Fendi, Givenchy, Gucci, Heatherette, Helmut Lang, Hermès, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Jeremy Scott, Judith Leiber, Jil Sander, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton, Lanvin, Manolo Blahnik, Marc Jacobs, Marni, Missoni, Miu Miu, Moschino, Prada, Oscar de la Renta, Roberto Cavalli, Sonia Rykiel, Tom Ford, Yves Saint Laurent, Vera Wang, Valentino, Versace, Vivienne Westwood

Carrie's wardrobe in Sex and the City appears to be unaffordable for a writer on a moderate income, especially before she receives a book deal in Season Five. Her shopping addiction, particularly to expensive shoes, leads to maxed out credit cards, poor savings, and a bad credit rating. Carrie is known for her addiction to shoes, calling it her "substance abuse problem" in the episode "Power of Female Sex" in Season One. Notable moments are Carrie being mugged and losing her Fendi Baguette clutch and Manolo Blahnik sandals, a scene known for bringing baguette bags into fashion.

Carrie has been described as someone who lives for fashion, and has confessed to buying Vogue instead of dinner.

A known shoe lover with a penchant for expensive designer shoes, Miranda once estimated that Carrie has spent over $40,000 on shoes. Her shoes seem to average at least $400 a pair (according to Miranda), and it is implied that she has at least 100 unique pairs. It is mentioned that Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's, and Saks Fifth Avenue are among her favorite places to shop.

Apartment

Carrie Bradshaw's apartment is a setting frequently used in Sex and the City, the films Sex and the City and Sex and the City 2, and the first two seasons of And Just Like That. It was referred to as, "one of TV's most iconic apartments" by Architectural Digest. It is a brownstone apartment located in New York City's Upper East Side at the fictional address of 245 E. 73rd Street. She had been living in the apartment since the beginning of the series, and states in And Just Like That... she moved into the apartment at age 29, and had occupied it for 25 years. The apartment first appears in the pilot episode "Sex and the City" with a noticeably different layout; following the series being picked up by HBO it was redesigned and the second episode, "Models and Mortals", introduces the layout seen throughout the rest of the series.

The townhouse used as the exterior of Carrie Bradshaw's apartment complex in Sex and the City.

Carrie's apartment is mentioned as being rent controlled and costing her $750 a month. In the fourth season, the apartment building becomes a co-op, requiring her to either purchase it or move out. Carrie's boyfriend Aiden Shaw purchases it and the adjacent unit, intending to merge them into a larger apartment, but she breaks up with him shortly after. He gives her the opportunity to purchase the apartment from him at cost, but she is unable to afford the down payment until her friend Charlotte York sells her engagement ring and loans her the money.

In the film Sex and the City, Carrie sells the apartment after her engagement to Mr. Big to contribute to the purchase of a large penthouse apartment on Fifth Avenue with him. After Big stands her up at their wedding, Carrie buys back the apartment, moves back into it and gives it an extensive renovation. In Sex and the City 2, following her marriage to Big, Carrie has moved into a larger apartment on Fifth Avenue with him but still owns the apartment and periodically uses it as a workspace.

In And Just Like That, Carrie still owns the apartment as a pied-à-terre and has given it another renovation. Following Big's death, she feels uneasiness in the Fifth Avenue apartment they shared and sells it and moves back into her old apartment. The series also shows the never-before-seen lobby and downstairs apartment in the complex. In the second season, Carrie resumes her relationship with Aidan but he refuses to enter the apartment because it rekindles memories of their previous failed relationship and his attempt to turn it into a shared home. Carrie purchases a townhouse in Gramercy Park and sells the apartment to her former downstairs neighbor, Lisette.

Design and filming

The exterior of the apartment building was shot at various brownstones before settling at 66 Perry Street in the third season, which was used for the remainder of the series because of its ornate staircase. The exterior, sometimes called the "Bradshaw brownstone", is a popular tourist destination in the West Village, which has led to residents complaining about frequent visitors. Owners have hung chains from the stairs to prevent people from posing for photos on the stairs and requested the address be blurred on Google Maps.

The interior of Carrie's apartment was a set built at Silvercup Studios in Queens, and was designed by Sex and the City's production designer Jeremy Conway. It prominently featured mint green walls and wood mid-century modern furniture found at flea markets around New York City, which were selected to contrast with her designer clothing. In the first film, the apartment receives a major renovation which featured white and metallic furniture and blue walls. Sarah Jessica Parker later stated she disliked the new design. For And Just Like That, a new apartment interior set was built at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn. Production designer Miguel López-Castillo worked with Parker to design the interior, which featured blue pastel walls and blue carnation wallpaper, and includes furniture pieces from the original series kept in storage by Parker.

Relationships

"Mr. Big" John James Preston

Main article: Mr. Big (Sex and the City)

"Mr. Big" or "Big", portrayed by Chris Noth, is the main love interest in Carrie Bradshaw's life throughout the television series Sex and the City. He appears in the first episode, when Carrie meets him by chance on the street. He is a wealthy, charming but arrogant man who is divorced from a publishing executive. He and Carrie begin dating, but she soon becomes frustrated with his unwillingness to commit to her, including continuing to date other women and declining to introduce her to his mother. They break up at the end of the first season when he is unable to tell Carrie that she is "the one."

In the second season, Carrie and Big reignite their relationship and grow closer, with Big even telling Carrie he loves her. His commitment issues continue to be a problem, though, culminating in Big announcing his work may require him to move to Paris for several months. Carrie is furious that Big did not consider how this may affect their relationship and when he expresses indifference to the possibility of her coming with him, they break up again. Months later, she encounters him with a much younger new girlfriend, Natasha, and attempts to form a friendship with him, but is stunned and angered when he reveals that he and Natasha are engaged, despite his claims that he never wanted to get married again.

Carrie is devastated by Big's marriage to Natasha, but is able to recover and eventually move on with Aidan Shaw. Big quickly becomes unhappy in his marriage and tells Carrie he loves her and made a mistake. They have an affair, which ends when Natasha discovers them and is injured pursuing Carrie out of their apartment. Weeks later, Carrie and Big meet and acknowledge that they're wrong for each other and decide to remain friends. Carrie and Big continue to have a not entirely platonic friendship for the rest of the series. Big moves to Napa, California at the end of the fifth season, but periodically checks in with Carrie via phone, sometimes engaging in phone sex. In the sixth season, Big returns to New York for a heart operation. As he recovers, he suggests to Carrie that they stop playing games and consider spending their lives together. In the morning, however, he resumes his cool and noncommittal demeanor. This incident propels Carrie to cut Big out of her life--she stops taking his calls, and does not tell him when she chooses to move to Paris with her boyfriend, Aleksandr Petrovsky.

Having not heard from Carrie for months, Big approaches her outside her apartment before she leaves for Paris. Carrie shouts at him for playing with her emotions and tells him she wants nothing more to do with him. Big consults with Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha, who know Carrie is unhappy and Paris and still loves Big, and advise him to go after her. They reunite in Paris, where Big declares his love for Carrie. In the final moments of the series, Big's real name, John, is revealed on Carrie's phone as he calls to tell her he is moving back to New York.

In the film Sex and the City, Carrie and Big buy an extravagant apartment and make plans to get married. They initially plan a small wedding, but Carrie begins to make the event more lavish after being gifted an expensive Vivenne Westwood wedding dress. Big becomes increasingly distressed by the "circus" the wedding is becoming and the attention they are receiving, sparking his previous fears of commitment. On their wedding day, Big panics and leaves Carrie at the altar, but quickly regains his senses and tries to go back and proceed with the ceremony. Carrie reacts furiously and shouts at him in the street. Big sends Carrie several love letters, sent via email, over the next several months, which she does not receive until nearly a year later. When she does read them, they reconcile and marry in a simple ceremony at City Hall.

In the sequel, Sex and the City 2, Carrie and Big's marriage has become stagnant, as Carrie is frustrated that Big is uninterested in going out and prefers to stay in and eat take-out most evenings. Big suggests easing the tension by spending two days apart each week so they look forward to seeing each other, which frightens Carrie. During a trip to Abu Dhabi with the girls, Carrie runs into her ex-fiance, Aidan Shaw, and they kiss. When Carrie confesses this to Big, he is deeply troubled but ultimately chooses to forgive Carrie. They reaffirm their commitment to one another with new wedding vows. To symbolize their renewed connection, Big gifts Carrie a black diamond ring.

In And Just Like That..., Carrie and Big are happily married. In the series premiere, Carrie goes to a recital for Charlotte's eldest daughter and returns to discover Big suffering from a heart attack. He dies in Carrie's arms, leaving her devastated. His funeral is held during the next episode, and Carrie struggles to move on--eventually selling their apartment and penning a book on grief.

Aidan Shaw

Aidan Shaw (John Corbett), a Manhattan furniture designer, meets Carrie in his furniture shop. They begin seeing each other and quickly become serious. Aidan is starkly different from Big in that he is fully willing to commit to Carrie and open about his feelings for her. He encourages Carrie to quit smoking, which she struggles to do. They break up when Carrie reveals that she had a weeks-long affair with Big, her married ex-boyfriend.

Months later, Carrie encounters Aidan again at the opening for the bar he opened with Miranda's ex, Steve. He is cordial but somewhat cold with Carrie. She asks him to get back together, but Aidan is deeply hesitant because Carrie broke his heart. He ultimately decides to give their relationship another shot, but is initially unable to let go of his anger about her infidelity. He resents Carrie continuing to have a friendship with Big, but after a confrontation at Aidan's country house he and Big overcome their differences.

Aidan proposes to Carrie, who is uncertain but accepts. He purchases her apartment and the one next door to create a larger living space for both of them, but Carrie becomes anxious and avoidant when he pushes her to make wedding plans. Carrie confesses she doesn't feel ready to get married and Aidan is willing to put the wedding off, but soon begins pushing again, inadvertently revealing that he is motivated by his fear that Carrie will cheat again.

Aidan moves out of the apartment and offers to sell Carrie her apartment at cost. The next year, she runs into Aidan on the street and discovers he's married another furniture designer, Kathy, and has an infant son, Tate. They part on friendly terms.

In Sex and the City 2, Carrie encounters Aidan in Abu Dhabi, where he is on a business trip. They go to dinner to catch up and, despite both being married, share a kiss.

In And Just Like That... Carrie, now widowed, and Aidan, now divorced, reunite in New York. They rekindle their relationship in Manhattan, and Carrie visits Aidan's three sons, Tate, Homer and Wyatt, in Virginia, though the youngest, Wyatt, dislikes Carrie. She sells her old apartment, which Aidan was unwilling to enter due to bad memories, and purchases a new one big enough for the two of them as well as for Aidan's sons. However, Aidan and Carrie choose to put their relationship on hold until his children are in college after an incident with Wyatt makes Aidan realize he needs to be a more present father.

Jack Berger

Carrie meets novelist Jack Berger (Ron Livingston) at her publisher's office. They have a playful and flirtatious rapport, which is halted when he reveals he has a serious girlfriend. They are reunited in the Hamptons weeks later, where Berger reveals that his relationship has ended. Nonetheless, he shows clear hesitation to begin seeing Carrie. He overcomes his fears and they soon begin dating.

Despite strong chemistry, Carrie and Berger initially have trouble connecting sexually. They overcome this, but Berger's insecurities about the failure of his novel soon become clear. He shuts down when Carrie makes a minor criticism of the book, and lashes out when she confronts him.

Their relationship continues to struggle, with the two frequently bickering in between moments of genuine happiness. Things come to a head when Carrie's book is sold in France, while Berger's option for his second novel is dropped. After an argument in a restaurant in front of Charlotte, they decide to take a break. Carrie resolves to end the relationship, but Berger returns and tells her he loves her and doesn't want to give up on them. In the morning, she discovers Berger is gone, having left a Post-it note which reads, "I'm sorry, I can't. Don't hate me." Carrie is infuriated and refuses to mourn the relationship, but does confront Berger's friend at a club that night, calling his method of breaking up with her rude and pathetic.

Aleksandr Petrovsky

In Season Six, Carrie meets and begins dating Aleksandr Petrovsky (Mikhail Baryshnikov), a rich, successful, and older Russian artist. She initially intends for their relationship to be only sexual, but the two grow closer and begin seeing each other exclusively.

Alex is compassionate and open with Carrie about his feelings for her, which she finds refreshing. However, he is also shown to be mercurial, rejecting Carrie and her friends when he struggles to confidently produce work for an upcoming art show. The two come to a crossroads when Alex reveals he has a daughter, Chloe, in her early 20s and is not interested in becoming a father again so late in life. Carrie, still uncertain about becoming a mother, decides to continue with the relationship despite this and they become more serious. Alex asks Carrie to move with him to Paris, where he has an upcoming show.

Carrie struggles to decide whether to leave New York, especially after Miranda expresses disapproval of Alex, but ultimately chooses to go. However, once she arrives she finds herself lonely and neglected, as she only knows a little French and Alex is frequently busy preparing for his art show. Things come to a head when Alex begs Carrie to blow off a party with her French fans to accompany him to an early showing of his work and emotionally support him. He abandons her immediately, and they later argue over what they both want and need from a relationship, agreeing to break up. Carrie is then reunited with Big in Paris and returns to New York.

Lovers

Sebastian Kydd

Carrie shares an on-and-off relationship with Sebastian Kydd that began with their first kiss at 15 and continued on throughout the first two seasons of The Carrie Diaries. The relationship ended after Sebastian moves to California while Carrie stays in Manhattan.

George Silver

Carrie's second boyfriend, George, is someone she meets during her internship at a law firm. Carrie ends the relationship when George forces himself onto her.

Adam Weaver

Carrie's third boyfriend, Adam Weaver, appears in Season 2 of The Carrie Diaries after meeting through Carrie's job at Interview Magazine. The relationship ends when Weaver is critical of Carrie's work, and later writes a hurtful article about her.

Capote Duncan

According to Candace Bushnell's book, Summer and the City, Capote Duncan was Carrie's classmate in The New School. At the beginning, Carrie hated him because of his arrogance but at the end of the book, it was said that he's the person with whom Carrie lost her virginity.

Bernard Singer

In Summer and the City, Bernard Singer is a famous writer with whom Carrie has a brief relationship with, only to realize that Bernard does not love Carrie and that she loves Capote Duncan.

Bibliography

Books:

• Sex and the City (a collection of her columns)
• MEN-hattan
• A Single Life
• Love Letters
• I Do! Do I?
• Loved and Lost

Cultural impact

Critical reception to Carrie Bradshaw tended to be positive during the show's run and in the years immediately thereafter. In 2004, Carrie Bradshaw was listed as number 11 on Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters. In 2009 The Guardian named Bradshaw as an icon of the decade, stating that "Carrie Bradshaw did as much to shift the culture around certain women's issues as real-life female groundbreakers." In 2010, Carrie Bradshaw was listed as the 2nd in TV Guide's list "25 Greatest TV Characters of All-Time". AOL ranked her the 41st Most Memorable Female TV Character. TV Guide named her the most fashionable TV character. Her relationship with Mr. Big was included in TV Guide's list of the best TV couples of all time. Parker received one Emmy Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards for her performance.

In retrospective analysis of the show, critics have generally reassessed Carrie Bradshaw as an unsympathetic protagonist, despite the show's portrayal of her as a positive figure. In 2013, Glamour magazine called Carrie "the worst" character on the show, saying that "her brattiness and self-absorption eclipsed her redeeming qualities and even her awesome shoes." In a 2010 retrospective about the previous two decades in pop culture, ABC News named Carrie one of the ten worst characters of the past twenty years, calling her a "snippy, self-righteous Manhattan snob" and citing the character's actions in Sex and the City 2 as evidence that she was beyond personal growth or redemption. The New Yorker, looking back on the show a decade after it went off the air, felt that while the character began as a "happy, curious explorer, out companionably smoking with modellizers," from the second season on she "spun out, becoming anxious, obsessive, and, despite her charm, wildly self-centered." A 2021 article in Vox cited Carrie as an example of "main character syndrome", saying, "two Carries Bradshaw exist: The flirty, quirky one we're supposed to follow through her ups and downs and the sociopathic psychic vampire who leaves her boyfriends as husks of their former selves and bullies her girlfriends for unconditional (financial!) support, all while refusing to let them have even one moment in the sun."

External links

• Official Sex and the City homepage Archived 2018-11-25 at the Wayback Machine