HBO’sSex and the Citycontinues to resonate with generations of viewers for its exploration of female friendships and sexuality. Recently,Sex and the Citybecame a streaming hityet again on Netflix. The show’s famously complicated protagonist,Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), is based on real-life columnist Candace Bushnell, who also wrote about sex and relationships, and even used the name Carrie as a pseudonym in her column. A number of ensemblecast members ofSex and the City,including Mr. Big, also have real-life counterparts.
While writing the real “Sex and The City” column forThe New York Observerfrom 1994-1996, Candace Bushnell was allegedly in a tumultuous relationship with Ron Galotti, a publishing executive behindGQandTalkmagazines.Unlike Carrie, Bushnell did not end up with Galottiand instead married principal ballet dancer Charles Askegard in 2002. The couple went on to divorce in 2012, marking yet another difference between Carrie Bradshaw’s ending and Bushnell’s personal life.
Carrie Bradshaw Is Based On Candace Bushnell
Both Bushnell And Bradshaw Are Fashionable Blondes Who Take New York By Storm
Similar to Carrie Bradshaw, Candace Bushnell moved to New York City in the 1970s, where she once frequented Studio 54 and became acquainted with the New York social scene. Bushnell later pennedThe Carrie Diariesto provide insight into Carrie Bradshaw’s teenage years, which were adapted for television. Anna Sophia Robb played the titular role of Carrie, with Austin Butler as her love interest, Sebastian Kydd. Similar to Bushnell’s upbringing in Connecticut, the author set Carrie’s childhood in the same state.
Sex And The City: Carrie & Mr. Big’s Relationship Timeline
Between the original HBO series, the movies, and the revival, Sex and the City’s Carrie and Big had a long, turbulent romantic relationship timeline.
Both the real Candace Bushnell and the fictional Carrie Bradshaw areinvolved in the high fashion world outside of their writing careers. InSex And The City,Carrie briefly works as a fashion contributor atVogue.Bushnell has written about fashion throughout her career and contributed a piece toHarper’s Bazaarin 2018 regarding the ageless nature of personal style. Bushnell wrote,“This is what fashion is about right now: breaking the rules about age-appropriate dressing for women ‘of a certain age.’ And it’s not just happening on the red carpet”(viaHarper’s Bazaar).
Other Sex And The City Characters Based On Real People
Mr. Big (Chris Noth), whose real name was revealed to be John James Preston at the conclusion ofSex and the City, is also based on a real person. While Bushnell penned her famous column forThe New York Observer,she was reportedly in a relationship with a Mr. Big-esque man. Ron Galotti was a publishing executive for a variety of large media imprints, fromGQtoTalkand more. In the show, Big is a wealthy financier.
Bushnell’s life went very differently, and she did not marry her answer to Mr. Big.
Mr. Big and Carrie have a notorious on-again, off-again relationshipthroughout the six seasons ofSex and the City.Their turbulent relationship ends marriages and relationships on both sides, and causes rifts in her friendships. By theend ofSex and the City, Big follows Carrie to Paris and professes his love for her, finally recognizing that she is his best match. Bushnell’s life went very differently, and she did not marry her answer to Mr. Big like viewers see Carrie do in the 2008Sex and the Citymovie.
Carrie Bradshaw’s signature girl gang of Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) are allloosely based on Bushnell’s real circle of friends, who were all referred to in her column. However, the show’s sequelAnd Just Like Thatshows a rift has developed between Samantha and Carrie, while Bushnell confirmed in 2022 that the real-life Samantha is still in her life (viaMarie Claire).
Candace Bushnell’s Involvement In Sex And The City Explained
The Writer Was A Part Of The Show’s Earliest Seasons
Candace Bushnell was involved in the show’s early development and the writing in the show’s earliest seasons.Sex and the Citywas produced by Darren Star, who continues to co-produceAnd Just Like Thatopposite series star Sarah Jessica Parker. Bushnell’s involvement dwindled inSex and the City’s latter seasons, and she is not involved with the production ofAnd Just Like That.
The 8 Sex And The City Moments That Defined The Show
Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha had countless memorable moments on Sex and the City, but a handful defined Darren Star’s HBO series.
Sex and the City’s earlier seasons notably see Carrie Bradshaw interviewing sources and conducting research on unique topics within the sex and relationships sphere for her column. The show’s later seasons abandoned the interview format,likely in the absence of Bushnell’s journalistic background.AsSex and the Cityprogresses, the column comes to rely more on Carrie and her friends' personal experiences rather than interviews with strangers.
And Just Like Thatfollows Carrie reconnecting with her ex-boyfriend, Aidan Shaw (John Corbett), following the death of Mr. Big, whileMiranda navigates her sexualityafter her divorce and Charlotte finds a work-life balance between her family and her career. Carrie is still in New York City, and instead of a column, she has a sex podcast.Bushnell most recently penned her 2019 bookIs There Still Sex In The City?and now splits her time between New York City and the Hamptons, and does not have a podcast. WhileSex and the Citytook plenty of inspiration from reality, it also took creative liberties in its characters' stories.
Sex and the City
Cast
Sex in the City follows Carrie Bradshaw, a New York writer who finds inspiration for her column from the genuine, emotional, and often humorous exploits of life in the city. Joined by best friends Miranda Hobbes, Charlotte York, and Samantha Jones, Sex and the City follows the ups and downs of the characters' romantic relationships, being single, sex, and friendship as 30-something women.
