A former child performer who played "Annie" in the hit Broadway musical for two years (1978-80) before segueing smoothly to a busy and varied acting career, Sarah Jessica Parker has worked steadily and demonstrated her range and skill on stage and screens big and small. A petite blonde with flowing curls, bright eyes and a wide smile, Parker saw her image change considerably through the years, from her portrayal of bookish bean-pole Patty Greene on the above-average schoolgirl sitcom "Square Pegs" (CBS, 1982-83) to that of freewheeling relationships columnist Carrie Bradshaw, a single thirtysomething navigating Manhattan's dating jungle, on HBO's acclaimed series "Sex and the City" (1998- ). 

While "Square Pegs" marked Parker's first taste of nationwide notice, she actually made her television debut a decade earlier, with a role as "The Little Match Girl" in an NBC television production. The young actress followed up with stage work, making her debut in "The Innocents" in 1976, directed by Harold Pinter. She followed up with "Annie" after her family relocated to the New York area and played the sister of future "Sex and the City" co-star and fellow Drama Dept. member Cynthia Nixon in the TV-movie "My Body, My Child" (1982) starring Vanessa Redgrave.

Parker made the move to features beginning in 1979, when she appeared in "Rich Kids". Five years later, she took on roles in "Footloose", "Firstborn" and "Somewhere Tomorrow" and continued to appear in TV movies in the interim including co-starring roles in ABC's "The Almost Royal Family" (1984) and CBS' "Going For the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story" (1985). Parker was particularly effervescent in her lead role opposite Helen Hunt as a young teen who wants to enter a dance contest against the wishes of her reactionary father in the musical comedy "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (1985). She was featured the following year in "Flight of the Navigator", her last film for six years and her last teenage role. 

Later that year Parker made her first entry into adult roles, cast in the role of newlywed Kay Ericson Gardner, an ebullient young woman who marries into the family around which the NBC miniseries and subsequent weekly drama "A Year in the Life" centered. While the series was critically heralded, it failed to capture a large enough audience for NBC to order a second season. Parker kept busy with telefilms and stage work (including a three character part in Wendy Wasserstein's Off-Broadway hit "The Heidi Chronicles") before landing the role of driven attorney JoAnn Harris on ABC's legal drama "Equal Justice". Like "A Year in the Life", this acclaimed series didn't last beyond its premiere season.

Previously cast mostly as a cerebral or earnest characters, Parker won acclaim for her deftly comic portrayal of the flaky, pirouetting SanDeE*, stealing every scene opposite Steve Martin in "L.A. Story" (1991). She moved up to leading lady status for "Honeymoon in Vegas" (1992), and played the sexiest of three kooky witches in the Disney comic fantasy "Hocus Pocus" (1993). Again proving her versatility, Parker was featured opposite Bruce Willis in the actioner "Striking Distance" and played against Johnny Depp's "Ed Wood" as his leading lady and love interest Dolores Fuller in Tim Burton's affectionate biopic of the odd director. The actress continued on this upward trajectory and had one of her best roles as a young woman afraid of commitment in "Miami Rhapsody" (1995). 

The following year, she returned to Broadway to co-star with future husband Matthew Broderick in the musical revival "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". Parker did a spate of film work that saw 1996 release as well, playing Dan Hedaya's obnoxious social climbing girlfriend in "The First Wives Club", a flamboyant TV host in Burton's "Mars Attacks!", the nurse stuck between battling doctors Gene Hackman and Hugh Grant in "Extreme Measures", a single therapist looking for love in "If Lucy Fell", and the daughter of a Jewish publisher in the film version of "The Substance of Fire" (a role which she previously played on stage). She starred in the revival of "Once Upon a Mattress" (1996-1997), enjoying the role although the reviews were lackluster, and returned to features in 1997 with a mirthful role in the comedy "'Til There Was You", the prolific and successful former child actress ironically cast as an unfulfilled and spoiled former child star.

In 1998, Parker returned to series television in the smart HBO comedy "Sex and the City,” earning acclaim for her turn as the staunchly independent but emotionally needy Carrie. Although the series followed a very specific group of women with excessive lifestyles drastically unlike those of the audience, the universal themes of sex, love and friendship struck a familiar chord with viewers, who enjoyed the series' candor and heart. Starring alongside Kim Cattral, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, Parker excelled as the center of the ensemble, and earned numerous awards nominations for her nuanced portrayal of the extroverted but introspective columnist--she would take home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2001, and collect Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004. 

She would at last win the Emmy for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy in 2004 for the beloved series' final season. Thanks to her trend-setting character's fashion savvy, Parker also become one of Hollywood's hottest style icons of the late 1990s and early 2000s, known for her excellent taste, avant garde accessories and always fabulous footwear. A planned film version of the series was scuttled in 2004, reportedly due to friction with co-star Kim Cattrall.

Less memorable than her TV persona, however, were her big-screen turns during the series' runs, including a stint as Nell Fenwick in the failed live action adaptation of the enduring cartoon "Dudley Do-Right" (1999). Parker was well cast in the ensemble of David Mamet's minor comedy "State and Main" (2000) as a self-obsessed, manipulative actress, followed by a leading turn in the little seen romantic comedy whodunnit “Life Without Dick” (2002), a straight-to-video romantic comedy about a woman who unwittingly falls in love with a hit man (Harry Connick, Jr.) hired to kill her obnoxious boyfriend (Johnny Knoxville). Parker next appeared in “The Family Stone” (2005), playing the high-powered girlfriend of the eldest son in a bohemian family who’s brought to their annual holiday gathering and causes awkwardness, confusion and ultimately hostility.

• Born:
  on 03/25/1965 in Nelsonville, Ohio
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Producer, Singer, Ballerina, Waitress

Family

• Brother: Pippin Parker. born c. 1961; member of Naked Angels theater group
• Brother: Timothy Britten Parker. born in 1962; appeared with sister on Broadway in 1976 in "The Innocents" directed by Harold Pinter; member of Naked Angels theater group; featured in the original cast of the Broadway musical "Rent"
• Father: Stephen Parker. divorced from Parker's mother
• Half-brother: Aaron Forste. younger
• Half-brother: Andrew Forste. younger
• Half-sister: Alegra Forste. younger
• Half-sister: Megan Forste. younger
• Mother: Barbara Forste. divorced from Parker's father; married Paul Forste in 1969
• Sister: Rachel Parker. born c. 1963
• Son: James Wilkie Broderick. born October 28, 2002; father Matthew Broderick
• Step-father: Paul Forste. married Parker's mother in 1969

Significant Others

• Companion: John F Kennedy. dated briefly
• Companion: Nicolas Cage. had one-year relationship c. 1991
• Companion: Robert Downey. while filming "Firstborn" (1984); together from c. 1984 until they separated in August 1991

Milestones

• 1973 Made TV debut in NBC's "The Little Match Girl" (date approximate)
• 1976 Broadway debut, "The Innocents", directed by Harold Pinter; brother Timothy Britten Parker also featured
• 1978 Joined the Broadway cast of the musical "Annie" (based on the "Little Orphan Annie" comic strip) as one of the orphans; later played the title role for two years (until 1980)
• 1979 Made film debut in the feature "Rich Kids"
• 1982 Starred as awkward, bespectacled teen Patty Greene on the CBS TV sitcom, "Square Pegs"
• 1982 Appeared in the TV-movie "My Body, My Child" (ABC)
• 1984 Had supporting roles in "Footloose" and "Firstborn"
• 1984 Played first leading role in a feature in "Somewhere Tomorrow"
• 1984 Starred in the ABC TV-movie "The Almost Royal Family"
• 1985 Co-starred in the CBS TV-movie "Going For the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story"
• 1985 Starred alongside Helen Hunt in the teen comedy feature "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
• 1986 Last feature film for five years, "Flight of the Navigator"
• 1988 Starred in the CBS fact-based miniseries "Dadah Is Death", the story of Australian youths sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug smuggling
• 1989 Acted Off-Broadway in Wendy Wasserstein's play, "The Heidi Chronicles"
• 1989 Starred in "Life Under Water" (PBS), an "American Playhouse" presentation starring Keanu Reeves; also featured in the gripping TV-movies "Twist of Fate" (NBC) and "The Ryan White Story" (ABC)
• 1991 Returned to Off-Broadway in Jon Robin Baitz's play, "The Substance of Fire"
• 1991 Returned to features with a supporting role as flighty SanDeE* in "L.A. Story", written by and starring Steve Martin
• 1992 Starred in the NBC TV-movie "In the Best Interest of the Children"
• 1992 Starred opposite Nicolas Cage in the comedy "Honeymoon in Vegas"
• 1993 Co-starred as a young witch in the supernatural comedy "Hocus Pocus"
• 1993 Starred opposite Bruce Willis in the actioner "Striking Distance"
• 1994 Played Dolores Fuller, star of Edward D Wood Jr films, in "Ed Wood", Tim Burton's affectionate biopic of the outlandish director
• 1995 Played the title role of dog "Sylvia" in A.R. Gurney's Off-Broadway play
• 1995 Starred as a woman uneasy about commitment given the prediliction for unfaithfulness she sees in her family in the Woody Allen-influenced comedy "Miami Rhapsody"
• 1996 Had memorable supporting roles in "The First Wives Club", "Mars Attacks!" and "Extreme Measures"
• 1996 Narrated the documentary "A Life Apart: Hasidism in America"
• 1996 Recreated stage role in feature version of "The Substance of Fire"
• 1996 Returned to Broadway to co-star with Matthew Broderick in revival of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying"
• 1996 Starred as a single therapist facing a jump off the Brooklyn Bridge if she doesn't find love by thirty in "If Lucy Fell"
• 1997 Acted in the CBS TV adaptation of Neil Simon's "The Sunshine Boys" (filmed in 1995)
• 1997 Played a spoiled former child star both bringing together and standing between star-crossed lovers Dylan McDermott and Jeanne Tripplehorn in the romantic comedy "'Til There Was You"
• 1998 Portrayed New York relationships columnist Carrie Bradshaw, a single thirtysomething living the high life and looking for love, in HBO's acclaimed series "Sex and the City"; became a producer as of 1999; garnered Emmy (1999, 2002, 2003), Golden Globe (2002, 2004) and SAG (2005) nominations for Best Actress in a Comedy Series
• 1999 Played Nell Fenwick, the title character's love interest in the live action adaptation of "Dudley Do-Right"
• 2000 Appeared in the ensemble of David Mamet's comedy "State and Main" as an actress who refuses to do an agreed upon topless scene
• 2001 Did voice-over commercials for Priceline
• 2001 Starred in the off-Broadway play "Wonder of the World"
• 2004 Represented the Gap in a marketing campaign, featured in a series of TV spots and print ads
• 2005 Cast as Dermot Mulroney's uptight girlfriend in "The Family Stone" opposite Diane Keaton; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress
• 2005 Signed a two-year deal with HBO to develop and produce series and other programming for the premium cable channel through her production company Pretty Matches Productions
• 2006 Co-starred with Matthew McConaughey in "Failure to Launch", a romantic comedy directed by Tom Dey
• 2007 Set to reprise the character of Carrie Bradshaw for "Sex and the City: The Movie" (lensed 2007)
• Family moved to the greater New York City area, settling first on Roosevelt Island and later in Englewood, New Jersey
• Moved to New York City; appeared with the American Ballet Theatre and sang with the Metropolitan Opera in productions including "Hansel and Gretel", "Cavaleria Rusticana", "Pagliacci" and "Parade"
• Played Kay Ericson Gardner in the NBC miniseries and subsequent spin-off series, "A Year in the Life"
• Played attorney JoAnn Harris on "Equal Justice", a TV drama series set in a district attorney's office
• Produced and starred in the upcoming movie version of Rebecca Gilman's play "Spinning Into Butter" (lensed 2005)
• Raised in Cincinnati, Ohio; danced with Cincinnati Ballet
• Starred in Broadway revival of "Once Upon a Mattress"

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