Carrie Bradshaw
Encyclopedia
Carrie Preston is the fictional narrator and lead character of the HBO sitcom/drama
Sex and the City
, portrayed 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
, fashionista
, and later, freelance writer for Vogue
and a published author. Her weekly column, "Sex and the City," provides the title, storylines, and narration for each episode.
In 2005, 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."
It provides Carrie with a certain amount of recognition in the city. People who read her column occasionally describe her as their icon
. In the third season, her column is optioned for a film starring a fictionalized Matthew McConaughey
. In the fifth season, some of her columns are compiled into a book.
At the end of season four, Carrie begins to write freelance articles for Vogue
. Although she initially has trouble dealing with Enid (Candice Bergen
), her abrasive editor
at Vogue, she does find her feet and ends up befriending her.
Carrie is notoriously led by her emotions. She seeks acceptance (a door key, bathroom cabinet space) from Mr. Big and others (she obsesses over the review her book received from book critic Michiko Kakutani
in The New York Times
). "Just tell me I'm the one" she urges Mr. Big at the end of Season 1, saying she has little faith in the relationship and needs reassurance.
She often behaves in a selfish manner (as seen during her adulterous affair) but unless her self-involvement is pointed out by friends, she is apt to blame this on her tendency to get 'Carried Away', a phrase coined by Mr. Big in Season 2. The result is a flawed but relatable character due to the self-deprecating humor with which she tackles stereotypical issues within male–female relationships (commitment
being the running theme).
Carrie is an on-again, off-again smoker, and when she smokes she is mostly seen with Marlboro Lights. She tries to quit in seasons 3 and 4 using the Nicotine patch
while she is dating Aidan. She enjoys cocktails (particularly cosmopolitans
—her character's fondness for them helped to popularize the drink). 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 the borough of Manhattan
in New York City
. She lives in a brownstone
on the Upper East Side
at the fictional house number of 245, on East 73rd Street, between Park and Madison. 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.
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. The first episode also features a different apartment from the one used for the next 93 episodes and the movies. In the real life, the building with the famous stairs is 66 Perry Street, N.Y.C (West Village, Manhattan).
Little is mentioned about Carrie's life before the series. Carrie arrived in Manhattan on Tuesday, June 11, 1986 when she was approximately 21 years old, given her age that is mentioned at other points in the series. She says in the movie that she's lived in her apartment for 20 years, meaning she lived in the city five years before moving to that location.
She is most likely from a non-high class background, as Stanford Blatch mentions that she wore Candie's
and took the subway when she first moved to the city. In season four, 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 mentioned that her father left her and her mother when she was five; no siblings are directly mentioned except for when Carrie tells Aleksandr Petrovsky (played by Mikhail Baryshnikov) in Season 6, "One" (episode 12) that the person who first answered the phone was her sister; whether or not a sister really exists is never confirmed. It is also revealed that Carrie had one abortion
in 1988 after a one-night stand
with a waiter when she was 22 years old.
After running into Mr. Big at church with his mother, she says she was "brought up in the church of 'be nice to people and don't speak with your mouth full'", implying that she does not belong to any official religion. Though she had been dating for many years before meeting (and nicknaming) Mr. Big in the first episode of the series, he is her first great love, the man she thinks may be her soulmate.
She tells Charlotte that she lost her virginity
in Seth Bateman's smelly rec room
on the ping pong table in the 11th grade
. In Season 6 ("Boy Interrupted"), Carrie meets up with another boyfriend from high school named Jeremy (David Duchovny
). Carrie states that she never had sex with this high school boyfriend because they were young and wanted to wait.
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.
instead of dinner. A known shoe lover
with a penchant for expensive designer shoes (notably Manolo Blahnik
s, but also Christian Louboutin
s and Jimmy Choo
s), 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.
She frequently mixes kitschy vintage
finds with high-end labels. It is mentioned that Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman
, 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's 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. The plan backfired when Carrie's dress was replaced by jeweled silk underwear.
Carrie is also known to have worn Alexander McQueen
, Anna Molinari, Balenciaga
, Betsey Johnson
, Chanel
, Chloé
, Christian Dior
, Christian Louboutin
, Diane von Fürstenberg
, Fendi
, Givenchy
, Gucci
, Heatherette
, Helmut Lang
, Hermès
, Jean Paul Gaultier, Jeremy Scott
, Louis Vuitton
, Manolo Blahnik
, Marc Jacobs
, Marni
, Missoni
, Miu Miu
, Moschino
, Prada
, Oscar de la Renta
, Roberto Cavalli
, Shiatzy Chen
, Sonia Rykiel
, Tom Ford
, Vera Wang
, Versace, Vivienne Westwood
, among others.
Carrie's incredible wardrobe appears to be unrealistically unaffordable for a writer on a consistent, yet moderate income (at least until season 5, at which time she is given a book offer. By the time of the films she appears to be more affluent, though that may be because of her husband's wealth.) 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 and a bad credit rating as a result of extensive shopping, and has admitted her "shoe needs" have accounted for most of her spending. In one episode she wryly comments that she might "literally be the woman who lived in her shoe".
Carrie is particularly known for her addiction to shoes, calling it her "substance abuse problem" in the episode "Power of Female Sex" in Season One. Notable couture moments include an incident when she is mugged near West Broadway and the bandit makes off with her Fendi
Baguette clutch and Manolo Blahnik
pink suede strappy sandals, which she purchased "half off at a sample sale!", adding that they are her favorite shoes.
In season 3 she chases after the Staten Island ferry and ends up missing it after slipping out of her shoe, yelling, "Wait, I lost my Choo!". In 'A Woman's Right To Shoes' she unashamedly asks for reimbursement from a friend after a pair of Manolo's are stolen at that friend's party due to her friend's insistence upon no shoes inside the house.
Carrie notes the hypocrisy
in the fact that the friend, who 'shoe shames' her ("it was your choice to buy shoes that expensive") is rewarded over the years with thousands of dollars worth of gifts for her life choices (baby showers, engagement presents, wedding gifts, etc.), whereas single women do not have their life choices celebrated ("Hallmark don't make a 'congratulations-you-didn't-marry-the-wrong-guy card'!") and so comes to the conclusion that it is okay to spend that much on oneself, specifically one's shoes, to make the single girl's walk through life a little more fun.
) is Carrie's central love interest throughout the series and recurring romantic foil
- his continual romantic ambiguity and Carrie's diffidence about confronting him over it highlight Carrie's fears, insecurities, and emotional needs.
"Big" is introduced as a wealthy man who runs into Carrie on the street, knocking her purse askew such that a large number of condoms fall out, embarrassing Carrie. He later spots her at a party and gives her a ride in his limo. Their relationship runs the length of the series. At the start, she was intimidated and awed by him, and immediately gives him the nickname "Mr. Big". However, eventually Carrie and Big share a friendly and often passionate intimacy, yet he remains (in producer Michael Patrick King
's words), "always slightly out of reach." Mr. Big's name is never mentioned until the last episode of the final season, where it is revealed to be John via Carrie's cell phone caller ID. His full name is finally uncovered in the movie as John James Preston.
They break up for the first time due to Mr. Big's inability to be emotionally intimate with Carrie. They reunite but split again when Big announces that he is moving to Paris because of work. When he returns to the United States, he and Carrie bump into each other unexpectedly in the Hamptons. Upon his return, we discover that he is engaged to a young woman named Natasha, who was working for Ralph Lauren in Paris. Unsurprisingly, Carrie struggles to come to terms with Big's decision and moves on, beginning a relationship with Aidan Shaw. However, Carrie cannot put Big behind her and they have an affair, which she confesses to Aidan moments before Charlotte's wedding. Carrie and Big continue a close, sometimes sexual, always flirtatious friendship until the final episode. Here we witness a romantic display of love and affection when Big whispers the sorely awaited words to Carrie—"you're the one."
At the start of the movie Sex and the City Carrie and Big, in a businesslike fashion, decide to marry, simply and at City Hall. However, the wedding plans balloon into something very elaborate and just before the ceremony, Big is overwhelmed by the media attention and the number of guests, and flees. He immediately realises his mistake but the damage is done. Carrie, hurt and betrayed, blocks all communication, unknowingly ignoring his love letters and apologetic emails. Finally, they unintentionally meet, come to terms with each other, reaffirm their feelings, and privately marry at City Hall (the way Mr. Big had originally envisioned).
During the second movie, Carrie and Big's passion has waned. Carrie begins to feel that their marriage has lost its "sparkle" as Big enjoys spending nights eating in and watching TV. Carrie feels the urge to escape to her old apartment for two days to do some writing and enjoy some time to herself, and is surprised when Big picks her up for dinner, and feels the romance re-enter their marriage. Big then suggests to Carrie they spend two days a week apart, to enjoy their own time, which he feels is what is giving their marriage new life. Carrie, somewhat hurt and resistant, reluctantly agrees, and then travels to Abu Dhabi
with Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. While in Abu Dhabi, Carrie learns how important a marriage can be when her butler tells her how hurt he is to be separated from his wife. Carrie also reunites with her old flame, Aidan Shaw, whom she meets in a chance encounter at an Abu Dhabi market. Carrie feels distressed due to a bad review of her new book in the New Yorker, and meets Aidan for dinner. The two of them reconnect, and briefly kiss. Carrie immediately regrets it and asks her friends for advice on whether to tell Big. Samantha tells Carrie not to mention it as it was a minor incident, but Carrie is too broken up to let it slide, and tells Big straight away. Big is hurt, and Carrie worries that Big will go from wanting two days off, to seven days off. Upon Carrie's arrival back in New York, she is upset that Big isn't home and hasn't called her back. That night, he gets home and Carrie and Big talk about their marriage, Big tells Carrie to stop worrying that they will become a tired, boring old married couple, and they take new wedding vows for each other. Big forgives Carrie and gives her a diamond ring (to make up for his earlier unromantic anniversary gift, a flatscreen TV) to really show the world she's off the market. As their marriage grows out of the "terrible twos" Big and Carrie seem very happy and relaxed with each other, now that they are both making an effort, and due to the ring Big gave her, they have the sparkle back.
designer Aidan Shaw (John Corbett) is Carrie's next serious boyfriend after the painful break-up with Mr. Big. Carrie met him through her friend Stanford Blatch. Their first relationship ends when Carrie confesses, on Charlotte and Trey's wedding day, that she had an affair with Mr. Big. Later in the series, Carrie and Aidan get back together and become engaged. However, the engagement is broken when Carrie discovers she is not ready to marry him, and he is not willing to wait for her. Further hurt is caused when Carrie realizes Aidan only wants to marry her because he still doesn't trust her. Aidan hoped that by marrying Carrie, it would show the world she was his. During the sixth season premiere, Carrie runs into Aidan on the street. She discovers that he has married a fellow furniture designer
, Cathy, and has a son named Tate (played by Sarah Jessica Parker's son). The two agree to meet for coffee; 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." In the film Sex and the City 2
, a chance encounter between Aidan and Carrie in Abu Dhabi
is a major plot point. While shopping at a local market with Miranda in Abu Dhabi, Carrie and Aidan encounter each other, they make a plan to catch up over dinner, and in a moment of passion, share a brief kiss. Carrie becomes emotionally distraught over this and confesses the kiss to Big. After taking his time coming to terms with this revelation and understanding Carrie's mistake was because of her domestic crisis of faith, he forgives her.
), a novelist with a mixed degree of success. She meets him while discussing her upcoming book at her publisher's (Amy Sedaris
) office. That day, Carrie and Berger go for a walk, in which Carrie gets a strawberry milkshake from McDonalds. Berger states to her, "How can anyone order strawberry after the age of eleven?", and Carrie obviously likes his sense of humor. However, when she asks him to be her "Plus One" at her party, he states he has a girlfriend. After an initially rocky start (in which Berger must break ties with his ex-girlfriend, Lauren), they form a rather playful relationship, and one that initially seems to make Carrie very happy. Berger is particularly notable for uttering the line "He's just not that into you," as a response to Miranda wondering why a recent date has not called her. The line inspired a book and later a film by Sex and the City writers.
As Carrie's success begins to mount, and particularly after Berger's second novel is not picked up for publication, the relationship deteriorates. Berger feels insecure about Carrie's newfound success as a writer after her book goes international and she begins receiving high-sum royalties. They fight frequently, culminating in a 'break' between the two. Berger returns, professing his love for Carrie, and stating that he wishes to try again. However, he ends up leaving later, in the middle of the night, breaking up with Carrie on a Post-it note
which reads, "I'm sorry, I can't. Don't hate me." After this hasty departure, Berger is referenced in only one more episode—after Carrie runs into his friends at a bar, she regrets leaving Berger an angry message (through his friends), stating that his break-up method was rude and pathetic.
), in the sixth season. He is a rich, successful, and older Russia
n artist. Carrie enjoys the relationship, but problems arise when she discovers that he already has a daughter in her twenties, and he doesn't want any more children. To ensure this, he has had a vasectomy
. Carrie feels forced to choose between a long-term relationship with Petrovsky and the possibility of having children. She wonders if his love will be enough to compensate for the lack of 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 a very self-involved artist, and even at one point he claims that Carrie is "not his friend", but his lover.
He asks Carrie to leave her job and life in New York and move with him to Paris, where he has a museum show. After some degree of convincing, she accepts, giving up her job, her apartment, and her friends. But she finds herself to be lonely, disappointed, and confused upon her arrival, waiting for hours to meet with him, while he forgets his dates with her. She doesn't speak French
well, and Petrovsky often leaves her alone in order to tend to his own career. His ex-wife warns Carrie that the relationship will be all about him. Meanwhile, Carrie has no friends there, but things start to look up when she meets some fans of her book, and she agrees to meet them at a cafe. However, a very anxious and panicking Alex begs her to accompany him to his museum show preview, and she agrees. But once there, he deserts her and seems to forget about her, and she realizes he doesn't need her. She rushes to meet with the fans, but they have left and mangled her book in the wake of her standing them up. In the series finale, after Alex slaps her (accidentally), Carrie leaves him, realizing his emotional shortcomings and his inability to give her an appropriate amount of attention. While in the lobby of the hotel trying to secure a room of her own, she runs into Mr. Big
, who in contrast runs to defend her against Aleksandr. He has finally decided that she is "the one" and pursued her to Paris with the encouragement of her friends. Carrie returns with Mr. Big to New York City
.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, portrayed by actress Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
. She is a semi-autobiographical character created by Candace Bushnell
Candace Bushnell
Candace Bushnell is an American author and columnist based in New York City. She is best known for writing a column that was anthologized in a book, Sex and the City, which in turn became the basis for a popular television series and its subsequent film adaptations.-Personal life:Bushnell was born...
, who published the book Sex and the City
Sex and the City (book)
Sex and the City is a collection of essays by Candace Bushnell based on her and her friends' lifestyles. It was first published in 1997, and re-published in 2001, 2006, and in 2008 as a 10th anniversary movie tie-in edition....
, based on her own columns in the New York Observer
New York Observer
The New York Observer is a weekly newspaper first published in New York City on September 22, 1987, by Arthur L. Carter, a very successful former investment banker with publishing interests. The Observer focuses on the city's culture, real estate, the media, politics and the entertainment and...
. On the HBO series, Bradshaw is a New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
, fashionista
Fashionista
Fashionista or fashionistas may refer to*Fashionista , an Australian TV series*Fashionistas, an American pornographic film*The Fashionistas, minor villains in the Kim Possible series*Fashion victim, an avid follower of fashion...
, and later, freelance writer for Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
and a published author. Her weekly column, "Sex and the City," provides the title, storylines, and narration for each episode.
In 2005, Carrie Bradshaw was listed as number 11 on Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters. In 2009 The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
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."
Character history and personality
Carrie writes a weekly column called "Sex and the City" for the fictional newspaper, The New York Star. The column focuses on Carrie's sexual escapades and those of her close friends, as well as musings about the relationships between men and women, dating, and New York.It provides Carrie with a certain amount of recognition in the city. People who read her column occasionally describe her as their icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
. In the third season, her column is optioned for a film starring a fictionalized Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
. In the fifth season, some of her columns are compiled into a book.
At the end of season four, Carrie begins to write freelance articles for Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
. Although she initially has trouble dealing with Enid (Candice Bergen
Candice Bergen
Candice Patricia Bergen is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy Murphy Brown , for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal...
), her abrasive editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
at Vogue, she does find her feet and ends up befriending her.
Carrie is notoriously led by her emotions. She seeks acceptance (a door key, bathroom cabinet space) from Mr. Big and others (she obsesses over the review her book received from book critic Michiko Kakutani
Michiko Kakutani
is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The New York Times and is considered by many to be a leading literary critic in the United States.-Life and career:...
in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
). "Just tell me I'm the one" she urges Mr. Big at the end of Season 1, saying she has little faith in the relationship and needs reassurance.
She often behaves in a selfish manner (as seen during her adulterous affair) but unless her self-involvement is pointed out by friends, she is apt to blame this on her tendency to get 'Carried Away', a phrase coined by Mr. Big in Season 2. The result is a flawed but relatable character due to the self-deprecating humor with which she tackles stereotypical issues within male–female relationships (commitment
Commitment
Commitment may refer to:*Promise, or personal commitment*Contract, a legally binding exchange of promises*Brand commitment*Involuntary commitment, the use of legal means or forms to commit a person to a mental hospital, insane asylum or psychiatric ward...
being the running theme).
Carrie is an on-again, off-again smoker, and when she smokes she is mostly seen with Marlboro Lights. She tries to quit in seasons 3 and 4 using the Nicotine patch
Nicotine patch
A nicotine patch is a transdermal patch that releases nicotine into the body through the skin. It is used as an aid in nicotine replacement therapy , a process for smoking cessation. The first published study of the pharmacokinetics of a transdermal nicotine patch in humans was authored by Jed E....
while she is dating Aidan. She enjoys cocktails (particularly cosmopolitans
Cosmopolitan (cocktail)
A cosmopolitan is a cocktail made with vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice, and freshly squeezed lime juice or sweetened lime juice. Informally, it is referred to as a Cosmo.-History:...
—her character's fondness for them helped to popularize the drink). 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 the borough of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She lives in a brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
on the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
at the fictional house number of 245, on East 73rd Street, between Park and Madison. 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.
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. The first episode also features a different apartment from the one used for the next 93 episodes and the movies. In the real life, the building with the famous stairs is 66 Perry Street, N.Y.C (West Village, Manhattan).
Little is mentioned about Carrie's life before the series. Carrie arrived in Manhattan on Tuesday, June 11, 1986 when she was approximately 21 years old, given her age that is mentioned at other points in the series. She says in the movie that she's lived in her apartment for 20 years, meaning she lived in the city five years before moving to that location.
She is most likely from a non-high class background, as Stanford Blatch mentions that she wore Candie's
Candie's
Candie's is a clothing brand started in 1981. Originally a Charles Cole "El Greco" line of shoes, the brand was purchased by Iconix Brand Group in 1993. Since 2005, Kohl's Department Stores has had exclusive rights to the Candie's brand in all departments except shoes.Candie's sells juniors'...
and took the subway when she first moved to the city. In season four, Carrie tells a photographer that she was so poor when she first moved to New York that she would purchase Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
instead of dinner.
It is mentioned that her father left her and her mother when she was five; no siblings are directly mentioned except for when Carrie tells Aleksandr Petrovsky (played by Mikhail Baryshnikov) in Season 6, "One" (episode 12) that the person who first answered the phone was her sister; whether or not a sister really exists is never confirmed. It is also revealed that Carrie had one abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
in 1988 after a one-night stand
One-night stand
Originally, a one-night stand was a single theatre performance, usually by a guest performer on tour, as opposed to an ongoing engagement. Today, however, the term is more commonly defined as a single sexual encounter, in which neither participant has any intention or expectation of a relationship...
with a waiter when she was 22 years old.
After running into Mr. Big at church with his mother, she says she was "brought up in the church of 'be nice to people and don't speak with your mouth full'", implying that she does not belong to any official religion. Though she had been dating for many years before meeting (and nicknaming) Mr. Big in the first episode of the series, he is her first great love, the man she thinks may be her soulmate.
She tells Charlotte that she lost her virginity
Virginity
Virginity refers to the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. There are cultural and religious traditions which place special value and significance on this state, especially in the case of unmarried females, associated with notions of personal purity, honor and worth...
in Seth Bateman's smelly rec room
Recreation room
A recreation room is a room used for a variety of purposes, such as parties, games and other everyday or casual use. The term is common in the United States and Canada, but is less common in the United Kingdom where the preferred term is games room...
on the ping pong table in the 11th grade
Eleventh grade
Eleventh Grade is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16 or 17 years of age, depending on the country and the students' birthdays.-Brazil:...
. In Season 6 ("Boy Interrupted"), Carrie meets up with another boyfriend from high school named Jeremy (David Duchovny
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
). Carrie states that she never had sex with this high school boyfriend because they were young and wanted to wait.
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.
Wardrobe
Carrie has been described as someone who lives for fashion, and has confessed to buying VogueVogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
instead of dinner. A known shoe lover
Conspicuous consumption
Conspicuous consumption is spending on goods and services acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying income or wealth. In the mind of a conspicuous consumer, such display serves as a means of attaining or maintaining social status....
with a penchant for expensive designer shoes (notably Manolo Blahnik
Manolo Blahnik
Manuel "Manolo" Blahnik Rodríguez CBE, , is a Spanish fashion designer and founder of the self-named, high-end shoe brand.-Biography:Born to a Czech father and a Spanish mother and born and raised in the Canary Islands , Blahnik graduated from the University of Geneva in 1965 and studied art in Paris...
s, but also Christian Louboutin
Christian Louboutin
Christian Louboutin is a French footwear designer whose father is cabinetmaker Roger Louboutin and homemaker mother Irene. His siblings include three sisters, no brothers. Landscape architect Louis Benech has been his partner since 1997. Louboutin launched his line of high-end women's shoes in...
s and Jimmy Choo
Jimmy Choo
Dato' Jimmy Choo, OBE, born Choo Yeang Keat, is a Malaysian fashion designer based in London, United Kingdom. He is best known for founding Jimmy Choo Ltd that became known for its handmade women's shoes....
s), 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.
She frequently mixes kitschy vintage
Vintage clothing
Vintage clothing is a generic term for new or second hand garments originating from a previous era. The phrase is also used in connection with a retail outlet, e.g...
finds with high-end labels. It is mentioned that Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman is a luxury goods department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son Andrew Goodman....
, and Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
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
Prada
Prada S.p.A. is an Italian fashion label specializing in luxury goods for men and women , founded by Mario Prada.-Foundations:...
. Her friend Charlotte claims that Carrie dragged her to eight shows at New York's Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week
The semi-annual New York Fashion Week, branded Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek in 2009, is held in February and September of each year in New York City. It is one of four major fashion weeks held around the world .-History:The first New York Fashion Week, then called Press Week, was the world's first...
.
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. The plan backfired when Carrie's dress was replaced by jeweled silk underwear.
Carrie is also known to have worn Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen (brand)
Alexander McQueen is a luxury fashion house founded by designer Alexander McQueen . Its current creative director is Sarah Burton.-History:...
, Anna Molinari, Balenciaga
Balenciaga
Balenciaga is a fashion house founded by Cristóbal Balenciaga, a Basque designer, born in the Basque Country, Spain. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "the master of us all" by Christian Dior. His bubble skirts and odd, feminine, yet ultra-modern...
, Betsey Johnson
Betsey Johnson
Betsey Johnson is an American fashion designer best known for her feminine and whimsical designs. Many of her designs are considered "over the top" and embellished...
, Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
, Chloé
Chloé
Chloé is a French fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. Its headquarters is in Paris.-History:Gaby Aghion was born in Alexandria, Egypt in the year 1921...
, Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
, Christian Louboutin
Christian Louboutin
Christian Louboutin is a French footwear designer whose father is cabinetmaker Roger Louboutin and homemaker mother Irene. His siblings include three sisters, no brothers. Landscape architect Louis Benech has been his partner since 1997. Louboutin launched his line of high-end women's shoes in...
, Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg, formerly Princess Diane of Fürstenberg , is a Belgian-American fashion designer best known for her iconic wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as the wife of Prince Egon of Fürstenberg...
, Fendi
Fendi
Fendi is an Italian high fashion house best known for its "baguette" handbags. It was launched in 1925 as a fur and leather shop in Rome, but today is a multinational luxury goods brand owned by LVMH...
, Givenchy
Givenchy
Givenchy is a French brand of clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics with Parfums Givenchy.The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter...
, Gucci
Gucci
The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...
, Heatherette
Heatherette
Heatherette is a fashion company and design house run by and former Club Kid Richie Rich, located in New York City. Heatherette came out with a bang in 1999 when they began collaborating on t-shirts and leather goods as a hobby on their living room floor...
, Helmut Lang
Helmut Lang (fashion brand)
The Helmut Lang fashion brand was created by Austrian fashion designer Helmut Lang in 1986. One of fashion’s most independent and visionary minds, Helmut Lang’s utilitarian designs came to define the 90’s...
, Hermès
Hermès
Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès is a French high fashion house established in 1837, today specializing in leather, lifestyle accessories, perfumery, luxury goods, and ready-to-wear...
, Jean Paul Gaultier, Jeremy Scott
Jeremy Scott
Jeremy Scott is an American fashion designer born in Kansas City, Missouri. He attended the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, for fashion design...
, Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
, Manolo Blahnik
Manolo Blahnik
Manuel "Manolo" Blahnik Rodríguez CBE, , is a Spanish fashion designer and founder of the self-named, high-end shoe brand.-Biography:Born to a Czech father and a Spanish mother and born and raised in the Canary Islands , Blahnik graduated from the University of Geneva in 1965 and studied art in Paris...
, Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for Marc Jacobs, as well as Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, with more than 200 retail stores in 60 countries. He has been the creative director of the French design house Louis Vuitton since 1997...
, Marni
Marni (clothing)
Marni is an Italian fashion label founded by Consuelo Castiglioni in 1994, who remains as the label's designer.-History:The fashion line started in 1994, when Castiglioni became known for her contributions to the design of fur, stemming from her husband's family fur business...
, Missoni
Missoni
Missoni is an Italian fashion house based in Varese. It is famous for its unique knitwear, made from a variety of fabrics in colourful patterns. The company was founded by Ottavio and Rosita Missoni in 1953.-Brands:...
, Miu Miu
Miu Miu
Miu Miu is a high fashion brand from the Prada fashion house, opened in 1993 and headed by Miuccia Prada. The name of the collection is taken from Miuccia Prada’s nickname.-Stores:...
, Moschino
Moschino
Moschino is an Italian fashion design house and manufacturer of women's, men's and children's fashion.-History:The brand was originally created in 1983 by the late Franco Moschino...
, Prada
Prada
Prada S.p.A. is an Italian fashion label specializing in luxury goods for men and women , founded by Mario Prada.-Foundations:...
, Oscar de la Renta
Oscar de la Renta
Oscar de la Renta is one of the world's leading fashion designers. He was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1973.-Career:...
, Roberto Cavalli
Roberto Cavalli
Roberto Cavalli is an Italian fashion designer from Florence.-Biography:Roberto Cavalli was born in Florence, Tuscany. His grandfather, Giuseppe Rossi, was a member of the Macchiaioli Movement, whose work is exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery. Cavalli decided to enroll at the local Art Institute,...
, Shiatzy Chen
Shiatzy Chen
Shiatzy Chen is a Taiwanese fashion house, whose founder and brand innovator Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia is often referred to as the Chanel of Taiwan,and is the eponym of her luxury goods brand. She was born in 1951 in Changhua, Taiwan and founded the company in 1978...
, Sonia Rykiel
Sonia Rykiel
Sonia Rykiel née Flis is a French fashion designer.Ethnically a Polish-Romanian Jew, Sonia Rykiel was born in Neuilly a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, the eldest of five daughters of a Polish mother and a Romanian father. At the age of 17, she was employed to dress the window...
, Tom Ford
Tom Ford
Thomas Carlyle "Tom" Ford is an American fashion designer and film director. He gained international fame for his turnaround of the Gucci fashion house and the creation of the Tom Ford label before directing the Oscar-nominated film A Single Man.-Early life :Tom Ford was born August 27, 1961 in...
, Vera Wang
Vera Wang
Vera Ellen Wang is a Chinese American fashion designer based in New York City and former figure skater. She is known for her wide clientele of couture bridesmaid gowns and wedding gown collections.-Personal life:...
, Versace, Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood
Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.-Early life:...
, among others.
Carrie's incredible wardrobe appears to be unrealistically unaffordable for a writer on a consistent, yet moderate income (at least until season 5, at which time she is given a book offer. By the time of the films she appears to be more affluent, though that may be because of her husband's wealth.) Indeed, many of the people around her comment that she cannot afford her shopping addiction
Oniomania
Oniomania is the technical term for the compulsive desire to shop, more commonly referred to as compulsive shopping, shopping addiction, shopaholism, compulsive buying or CB...
.
Carrie occasionally maxes out credit cards, could not secure a loan on her own due to poor savings and a bad credit rating as a result of extensive shopping, and has admitted her "shoe needs" have accounted for most of her spending. In one episode she wryly comments that she might "literally be the woman who lived in her shoe".
Carrie is particularly known for her addiction to shoes, calling it her "substance abuse problem" in the episode "Power of Female Sex" in Season One. Notable couture moments include an incident when she is mugged near West Broadway and the bandit makes off with her Fendi
Fendi
Fendi is an Italian high fashion house best known for its "baguette" handbags. It was launched in 1925 as a fur and leather shop in Rome, but today is a multinational luxury goods brand owned by LVMH...
Baguette clutch and Manolo Blahnik
Manolo Blahnik
Manuel "Manolo" Blahnik Rodríguez CBE, , is a Spanish fashion designer and founder of the self-named, high-end shoe brand.-Biography:Born to a Czech father and a Spanish mother and born and raised in the Canary Islands , Blahnik graduated from the University of Geneva in 1965 and studied art in Paris...
pink suede strappy sandals, which she purchased "half off at a sample sale!", adding that they are her favorite shoes.
In season 3 she chases after the Staten Island ferry and ends up missing it after slipping out of her shoe, yelling, "Wait, I lost my Choo!". In 'A Woman's Right To Shoes' she unashamedly asks for reimbursement from a friend after a pair of Manolo's are stolen at that friend's party due to her friend's insistence upon no shoes inside the house.
Carrie notes the hypocrisy
Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie....
in the fact that the friend, who 'shoe shames' her ("it was your choice to buy shoes that expensive") is rewarded over the years with thousands of dollars worth of gifts for her life choices (baby showers, engagement presents, wedding gifts, etc.), whereas single women do not have their life choices celebrated ("Hallmark don't make a 'congratulations-you-didn't-marry-the-wrong-guy card'!") and so comes to the conclusion that it is okay to spend that much on oneself, specifically one's shoes, to make the single girl's walk through life a little more fun.
"Mr. Big"
Introduced in the first episode and closing the final episode, "Mr. Big" (Chris NothChris Noth
Christopher David "Chris" Noth is an American actor. He is known for long-running television roles as Det. Mike Logan on the police procedural and legal drama television series, Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and as Big on Sex and the City. For the latter role, he has been...
) is Carrie's central love interest throughout the series and recurring romantic foil
Foil (literature)
In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of another character....
- his continual romantic ambiguity and Carrie's diffidence about confronting him over it highlight Carrie's fears, insecurities, and emotional needs.
"Big" is introduced as a wealthy man who runs into Carrie on the street, knocking her purse askew such that a large number of condoms fall out, embarrassing Carrie. He later spots her at a party and gives her a ride in his limo. Their relationship runs the length of the series. At the start, she was intimidated and awed by him, and immediately gives him the nickname "Mr. Big". However, eventually Carrie and Big share a friendly and often passionate intimacy, yet he remains (in producer Michael Patrick King
Michael Patrick King
Michael Patrick King is an American director, writer and producer for television shows.-Life and career:King was born to an Irish American family in Scranton, Pennsylvania and was raised as a Roman Catholic...
's words), "always slightly out of reach." Mr. Big's name is never mentioned until the last episode of the final season, where it is revealed to be John via Carrie's cell phone caller ID. His full name is finally uncovered in the movie as John James Preston.
They break up for the first time due to Mr. Big's inability to be emotionally intimate with Carrie. They reunite but split again when Big announces that he is moving to Paris because of work. When he returns to the United States, he and Carrie bump into each other unexpectedly in the Hamptons. Upon his return, we discover that he is engaged to a young woman named Natasha, who was working for Ralph Lauren in Paris. Unsurprisingly, Carrie struggles to come to terms with Big's decision and moves on, beginning a relationship with Aidan Shaw. However, Carrie cannot put Big behind her and they have an affair, which she confesses to Aidan moments before Charlotte's wedding. Carrie and Big continue a close, sometimes sexual, always flirtatious friendship until the final episode. Here we witness a romantic display of love and affection when Big whispers the sorely awaited words to Carrie—"you're the one."
At the start of the movie Sex and the City Carrie and Big, in a businesslike fashion, decide to marry, simply and at City Hall. However, the wedding plans balloon into something very elaborate and just before the ceremony, Big is overwhelmed by the media attention and the number of guests, and flees. He immediately realises his mistake but the damage is done. Carrie, hurt and betrayed, blocks all communication, unknowingly ignoring his love letters and apologetic emails. Finally, they unintentionally meet, come to terms with each other, reaffirm their feelings, and privately marry at City Hall (the way Mr. Big had originally envisioned).
During the second movie, Carrie and Big's passion has waned. Carrie begins to feel that their marriage has lost its "sparkle" as Big enjoys spending nights eating in and watching TV. Carrie feels the urge to escape to her old apartment for two days to do some writing and enjoy some time to herself, and is surprised when Big picks her up for dinner, and feels the romance re-enter their marriage. Big then suggests to Carrie they spend two days a week apart, to enjoy their own time, which he feels is what is giving their marriage new life. Carrie, somewhat hurt and resistant, reluctantly agrees, and then travels to Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
with Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. While in Abu Dhabi, Carrie learns how important a marriage can be when her butler tells her how hurt he is to be separated from his wife. Carrie also reunites with her old flame, Aidan Shaw, whom she meets in a chance encounter at an Abu Dhabi market. Carrie feels distressed due to a bad review of her new book in the New Yorker, and meets Aidan for dinner. The two of them reconnect, and briefly kiss. Carrie immediately regrets it and asks her friends for advice on whether to tell Big. Samantha tells Carrie not to mention it as it was a minor incident, but Carrie is too broken up to let it slide, and tells Big straight away. Big is hurt, and Carrie worries that Big will go from wanting two days off, to seven days off. Upon Carrie's arrival back in New York, she is upset that Big isn't home and hasn't called her back. That night, he gets home and Carrie and Big talk about their marriage, Big tells Carrie to stop worrying that they will become a tired, boring old married couple, and they take new wedding vows for each other. Big forgives Carrie and gives her a diamond ring (to make up for his earlier unromantic anniversary gift, a flatscreen TV) to really show the world she's off the market. As their marriage grows out of the "terrible twos" Big and Carrie seem very happy and relaxed with each other, now that they are both making an effort, and due to the ring Big gave her, they have the sparkle back.
Aidan Shaw
Manhattan furnitureFurniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
designer Aidan Shaw (John Corbett) is Carrie's next serious boyfriend after the painful break-up with Mr. Big. Carrie met him through her friend Stanford Blatch. Their first relationship ends when Carrie confesses, on Charlotte and Trey's wedding day, that she had an affair with Mr. Big. Later in the series, Carrie and Aidan get back together and become engaged. However, the engagement is broken when Carrie discovers she is not ready to marry him, and he is not willing to wait for her. Further hurt is caused when Carrie realizes Aidan only wants to marry her because he still doesn't trust her. Aidan hoped that by marrying Carrie, it would show the world she was his. During the sixth season premiere, Carrie runs into Aidan on the street. She discovers that he has married a fellow furniture designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
, Cathy, and has a son named Tate (played by Sarah Jessica Parker's son). The two agree to meet for coffee; 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." In the film Sex and the City 2
Sex and the City 2
Sex and the City 2 is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Patrick King. It is the sequel to the 2008 film Sex and the City, which is based on the HBO TV series of the same name....
, a chance encounter between Aidan and Carrie in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
is a major plot point. While shopping at a local market with Miranda in Abu Dhabi, Carrie and Aidan encounter each other, they make a plan to catch up over dinner, and in a moment of passion, share a brief kiss. Carrie becomes emotionally distraught over this and confesses the kiss to Big. After taking his time coming to terms with this revelation and understanding Carrie's mistake was because of her domestic crisis of faith, he forgives her.
Jack Berger
Following the end of her relationship with Aidan, Carrie begins to date Jack Berger (Ron LivingstonRon Livingston
Ronald Joseph "Ron" Livingston is an American film and television actor. His roles include a disaffected corporate employee in the film Office Space, a sardonic writer in a short-term relationship with Carrie Bradshaw in the TV show Sex and the City, and Captain Lewis Nixon in the miniseries...
), a novelist with a mixed degree of success. She meets him while discussing her upcoming book at her publisher's (Amy Sedaris
Amy Sedaris
Amy Louise Sedaris is an American actress, author, and comedian. She is known for playing the character Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central television series Strangers with Candy. Sedaris regularly collaborates with her older brother, humorist and author David Sedaris...
) office. That day, Carrie and Berger go for a walk, in which Carrie gets a strawberry milkshake from McDonalds. Berger states to her, "How can anyone order strawberry after the age of eleven?", and Carrie obviously likes his sense of humor. However, when she asks him to be her "Plus One" at her party, he states he has a girlfriend. After an initially rocky start (in which Berger must break ties with his ex-girlfriend, Lauren), they form a rather playful relationship, and one that initially seems to make Carrie very happy. Berger is particularly notable for uttering the line "He's just not that into you," as a response to Miranda wondering why a recent date has not called her. The line inspired a book and later a film by Sex and the City writers.
As Carrie's success begins to mount, and particularly after Berger's second novel is not picked up for publication, the relationship deteriorates. Berger feels insecure about Carrie's newfound success as a writer after her book goes international and she begins receiving high-sum royalties. They fight frequently, culminating in a 'break' between the two. Berger returns, professing his love for Carrie, and stating that he wishes to try again. However, he ends up leaving later, in the middle of the night, breaking up with Carrie on a Post-it note
Post-it note
A Post-it note is a piece of stationery with a re-adherable strip of adhesive on the back, designed for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. Although now available in a wide range of colours, shapes, and sizes, Post-it notes are most commonly a square, canary yellow in colour...
which reads, "I'm sorry, I can't. Don't hate me." After this hasty departure, Berger is referenced in only one more episode—after Carrie runs into his friends at a bar, she regrets leaving Berger an angry message (through his friends), stating that his break-up method was rude and pathetic.
Aleksandr Petrovsky
Next, Carrie meets and begins a relationship with Aleksandr Petrovsky (rus. Aлeкcaндp Пeтpoвcкй) (Mikhail BaryshnikovMikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...
), in the sixth season. He is a rich, successful, and older Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n artist. Carrie enjoys the relationship, but problems arise when she discovers that he already has a daughter in her twenties, and he doesn't want any more children. To ensure this, he has had a vasectomy
Vasectomy
Vasectomy is a surgical procedure for male sterilization and/or permanent birth control. During the procedure, the vasa deferentia of a man are severed, and then tied/sealed in a manner such to prevent sperm from entering into the seminal stream...
. Carrie feels forced to choose between a long-term relationship with Petrovsky and the possibility of having children. She wonders if his love will be enough to compensate for the lack of 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 a very self-involved artist, and even at one point he claims that Carrie is "not his friend", but his lover.
He asks Carrie to leave her job and life in New York and move with him to Paris, where he has a museum show. After some degree of convincing, she accepts, giving up her job, her apartment, and her friends. But she finds herself to be lonely, disappointed, and confused upon her arrival, waiting for hours to meet with him, while he forgets his dates with her. She doesn't speak French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
well, and Petrovsky often leaves her alone in order to tend to his own career. His ex-wife warns Carrie that the relationship will be all about him. Meanwhile, Carrie has no friends there, but things start to look up when she meets some fans of her book, and she agrees to meet them at a cafe. However, a very anxious and panicking Alex begs her to accompany him to his museum show preview, and she agrees. But once there, he deserts her and seems to forget about her, and she realizes he doesn't need her. She rushes to meet with the fans, but they have left and mangled her book in the wake of her standing them up. In the series finale, after Alex slaps her (accidentally), Carrie leaves him, realizing his emotional shortcomings and his inability to give her an appropriate amount of attention. While in the lobby of the hotel trying to secure a room of her own, she runs into Mr. Big
Mr. Big (Sex and the City)
"Mr. Big" is a fictional character in the HBO series Sex and the City, portrayed by Chris Noth. The character's name is mentioned in the pilot episode but not used throughout the series until the last episode, when his first name is shown on Carries mobile. His full name is John James Preston...
, who in contrast runs to defend her against Aleksandr. He has finally decided that she is "the one" and pursued her to Paris with the encouragement of her friends. Carrie returns with Mr. Big to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.