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  3. In Honor of Sarah Jessica Parker's Birthday: 25 Roles You Forgot She Played

In Honor of Sarah Jessica Parker's Birthday: 25 Roles You Forgot She Played

We all remember Carrie Bradshaw, but what about SanDeE*? Test your SJP-knowledge with a walk down memory lane to celebrate the Sex and the City star's 57th birthday

By Sophie Dodd Updated March 25, 2022 11:35 AM
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Looking Back at Sarah Jessica Parker's Career

Sarah Jessica Parker
Credit: New World Pictures/Getty; HBO / Courtesy Everett Collection; HBO

After six years of playing Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City (not including her role reprisals in the 2008 and 2010 SATC movies and the recent HBO Max revival And Just Like That ... ), Sarah Jessica Parker is often conflated with her Manolo Blahnik-hoarding character by fans — particularly those too young to be familiar with the rest of her oeuvre.

But with 45-plus years in the business and more than 60 acting credits under her belt according to IMDb, Parker has built quite the wide-ranging portfolio across both the big and small screens, and her roles BC (Before Carrie) and AD (After Deserting-Aidan) deserve some love — or at least some laughter — as well.  

In honor of her 57th birthday on March 25, we're looking back at some of SJP's most iconic roles, from Sarah Sanderson to SanDeE*. 

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Little Match Girl

THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL, possibly Sarah Jessica Parker, ca. 1970s
Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection

First, let's all take a minute to recognize how dang cute baby SJP was. At 9 years old, the Ohio native landed her first role in a locally produced NBC Christmas movie, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's story of the same name. 

Reminiscing on the role, Parker shared a throwback photo to Instagram in 2018, sharing that it was "when [her] love for acting was born." She added, "those were 5 very happy days."

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Annie

Sarah Jessica Parker with Sandy the dog in "Annie"
Credit: Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty

Three years after making her Broadway debut in 1976's revival of The Innocents, Parker landed the title role in the musical Annie.

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My Body, My Child

ABC's "My Body, My Child - TV Movie"
Credit: Walt Disney Television via Getty

Sixteen years before they were Carrie and Miranda, Parker and Cynthia Nixon played sisters in this 1982 TV movie that brought the topic of abortion to screens early on. 

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Square Pegs

Square Pegs, a CBS situation comedy, featuring (from left) Sarah Jessica Parker as Patty Greene and Amy Linker as Lauren Hutchinson
Credit: CBS via Getty

While this 1982 classic high school sitcom only lasted one season, it's worth including for Parker's bangs alone. As nerdy freshmen at Weemawee High School, Patty (Parker) and her best friend Lauren (Amy Linker) desperately tried to fit in with the cool crowd.

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Footloose

IPOL-GLOBE PHOTOS
Credit: IPOL-GLOBE PHOTOS

Parker initially turned down the role of Rusty in this 1984 cult classic, after she was asked to cut off her hair and dye it red to complement the character's name. 

"I was like, 'Oh God, my hair just grew back from Annie,' " the actress explained during PEOPLE's The Jess Cagle Interview in 2016.  

"I couldn't imagine cutting my hair off and dying it red again, and being a redhead didn't really suit me, so I passed, and they hired Tracy Nelson."

When things didn't work out with Nelson, they ultimately called Parker back and agreed not to change her hair. 

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Girls Just Want to Have Fun

SARAH JESSICA PARKER, HELEN HUNT, GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN, 1985
Credit: Alamy

Parker and Helen Hunt were an excellent combo in this absolutely bizarre and overall delightful '80s rom-com, which functioned partly as a coming-of-age movie and partly as an extended dance party.  

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A Year in the Life

David Oliver as Sam Gardner, Sarah Jessica Parker as Kay Ericson Gardner
Credit: NBCU Photo Bank

Parker's famous permed curls made their debut in this TV mini-series, further fueling the dominant hair trend of the decade. 

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L.A. Story

La Story, Sarah Jessica Parker, Steve Martin
Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock

"Big S, small A, small N, big D, small E, big E. And there's a little star at the end." As one of Steve Martin's several love interests in this 1991 movie, Parker played a very tan and very vapid model named - and more importantly, spelled -  SanDeE*. 

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In the Best Interest of the Children

Sarah Jessica Parker as Callie Cain, Susan Barnes as Donna Evans
Credit: Alice S. Hall/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

In this heartwrenching, if not over-dramatic, NBC fact-based drama, Parker played a young mother of five struggling with bipolar disorder who fights for custody over her children. 

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Honeymoon in Vegas

Honeymoon In Vegas, Nicolas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker
Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock

If Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas's jubilant Las Vegas wedding wasn't enough to inspire you to head over to the chapel, perhaps the nuptials (and beaded ensembles) of Parker's Betsy and Nicolas Cage's Jack might do the trick.

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Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy
Credit: Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock

Hopefully you didn't forget Parker's memorable turn as the wicked, boy-crazy Sarah Sanderson in this 1993 Disney Halloween classic — but if you did, your Spooky Season must-watch list just got a little bit longer. 

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Striking Distance

Bruce Willis, Sarah Jessica Parker Striking Distance - 1993
Credit: Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock

Parker's portfolio may be dominated by rom-coms, but 1993 saw her take on the role of homicide detective Tom Hardy's (Bruce Willis) partner-in-crime-solving in this thriller. 

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Ed Wood

Sarah Jessica Parker, Johnny Depp Ed Wood - 1994
Credit: Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock

Dolled up as Dolores Fuller, the girlfriend of low-budget filmmaker and Hollywood eccentric Ed Wood (played by Johnny Depp), Parker shared the screen and her clothes with her lover in this delightfully weird 1994 Tim Burton biopic. Worth it just to see Depp in her (very cute) cropped sweater and earrings. 

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Miami Rhapsody

Sarah Jessica Parker, Antonio Banderas Miami Rhapsody - 1995
Credit: Mike Weinstein/Hollywood/Cantaloupe/Kobal/Shutterstock

SJP's had quite the lineup of onscreen lovers throughout her career, and her dalliance with Antonio Banderas as the already-engaged and commitment-phobic Gwyn in this 1995 film was a particularly fun one.

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If Lucy Fell

Ben Stiller, Sarah Jessica Parker If Lucy Fell - 1996
Credit: Mpca/Tri-Star/Kobal/Shutterstock

Yes, that is Ben Stiller with dreadlocks, and yes, we are as shocked as you are. 1996 was a different time! 

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First Wives Club

Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler
Credit: Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

In this beloved star-studded comedy about three scorned women getting back at their ex-husbands, Parker nailed the role of Shelly, the young new love interest of Brenda's (Hocus Pocus costar Bette Midler) ex-husband.

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Mars Attacks!

Michael J. Fox, Sarah Jessica Parker Mars Attacks! - 1996
Credit: Bruce Talamon/Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock

In perhaps her most bizarre role, Parker played abducted talk show host Nathalie in her second Tim Burton-directed flick, which featured Martians wreaking havoc on Earth as well as some aspirational futuristic fashion.

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Mars Attacks!

Sarah Jessica Parker Mars Attacks! - 1996
Credit: ILM/Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock

This wacky movie gets two slides, because these are crazy times and we all needed to see an alien lurking behind Parker's floating embalmed head.

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Dudley Do-Right

Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker Dudley Do-Right - 1999
Credit: Doane Gregory/Davis Ent/Todd Singer Ent/Kobal/Shutterstock

In this goofy 1999 cartoon-based live-action comedy - Parker's first role after SATC premiered the previous year - the actress played the title character's (played by Brendan Fraser) childhood crush, and more importantly, wore this envy-inducing cape. 

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The Family Stone

Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker The Family Stone - 2005
Credit: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

This photo alone should be motive enough to watch (or re-watch) this movie. Is there anything more endearing than Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton and SJP cracking up together post-wipeout over a spilled Christmas dinner? (The answer is no, there is not.) 

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Failure to Launch

Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker
Credit: Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection

Hired as a "professional motivator" to help draw 35-year-old Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) out of living with his parents, Parker's Paula "simulates" a romantic relationship before falling for her target in this classic 2006 rom-com. 

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Spinning into Butter

SPINNING INTO BUTTER, Sarah Jessica Parker, 2007.

With brown hair and glasses, Parker looks nearly unrecognizable as a new dean of students in this high-stakes drama about racial tensions at a New England college based on Rebecca Gilman's play of the same name. 

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Smart People

Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker Smart People - 2008
Credit: Grosvenor Park Prods/Groundswell Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock

A professor dating his former student may be a bit of a tired trope at this point, but if you're going to do it, you might as well do it with Dennis Quaid and Parker. 

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I Don't Know How She Does It

Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan I Don't Know How She Does It - 2011
Credit: Weinstein Co/Kobal/Shutterstock

Overwhelmed by her constant efforts to balance her career and family life, Parker's Kate is tempted by her hunky new coworker (Mars Attacks! costar Pierce Brosnan) in this 2011 film that working moms everywhere can relate to (well, maybe not the flirting with Pierce Brosnan part, but you get the picture). 

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Divorce

Sarah Jessica Parker Divorce
Credit: HBO

The Queen of HBO returns! Twelve years after SATC ended, the Golden Globe winner starred in and executive produced Divorce on the network for three seasons, bringing the actress back into our lives on a weekly basis through the show's end in 2019. 

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Here and Now

HERE AND NOW, (aka BLUE NIGHT), Sarah Jessica Parker, 2018
Credit: Ambi Media Group /Courtesy Everett Collection

This 2018 drama saw Parker back on the big screen as a New York-based singer who spends the day wandering the city while contemplating her mortality after learning of a devastating diagnosis. 

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Sex and the City

Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall, 'An American Girl in Paris
Credit: HBO/ Courtesy: Everett Collection

I'll bet you couldn't help but wonder when I'd get around to Carrie Bradshaw. A bona fide cultural and style icon (not to mention the inspiration behind droves of young women moving to Manhattan in search of a writing gig that could pay for a walk-in closet full of ... actually, just a walk-in closet would be great), Carrie is not a role that's easily forgotten. 

SATC may have been a small screen gem, but it had a 'Big' (ha...) impact on Parker and her costars' careers, garnering 54 award nominations and several wins over the years. While some of the topics and references can seem dated or even offensive now, the beloved show, which ran from 1998-2004, pushed and broke the boundaries of mainstream television at the time with candid expressions of female sexuality and friendships. 

Parker brought the character — plus Miranda, Charlotte and some new faces — back in 2021 on the HBO Max revival, And Just Like That ... Though reviews were mixed, the series was recently renewed for a second season. 

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    1 of 28 Looking Back at Sarah Jessica Parker's Career
    2 of 28 Little Match Girl
    3 of 28 Annie
    4 of 28 My Body, My Child
    5 of 28 Square Pegs
    6 of 28 Footloose
    7 of 28 Girls Just Want to Have Fun
    8 of 28 A Year in the Life
    9 of 28 L.A. Story
    10 of 28 In the Best Interest of the Children
    11 of 28 Honeymoon in Vegas
    12 of 28 Hocus Pocus
    13 of 28 Striking Distance
    14 of 28 Ed Wood
    15 of 28 Miami Rhapsody
    16 of 28 If Lucy Fell
    17 of 28 First Wives Club
    18 of 28 Mars Attacks!
    19 of 28 Mars Attacks!
    20 of 28 Dudley Do-Right
    21 of 28 The Family Stone
    22 of 28 Failure to Launch
    23 of 28 Spinning into Butter
    24 of 28 Smart People
    25 of 28 I Don't Know How She Does It
    26 of 28 Divorce
    27 of 28 Here and Now
    28 of 28 Sex and the City

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    In Honor of Sarah Jessica Parker's Birthday: 25 Roles You Forgot She Played
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