Sarah Jessica Parker pregnant was a sight to behold in 2002 – and now again, in 2024.
Netflix has just debuted the entire Sex and the City series on the streaming platform, making the beloved HBO show accessible to a brand new generation.
And just like that, Gen Z is about to start drinking cosmos!
As many embark their first watch of the landmark series, a lot of questions are popping up about the show’s lead, Sarah Jessica Parker.
Like, what happened with Carrie Bradshaw when SJP got PREGNANT right in the middle of shooting a pivotal season? And how many children does she have now? Any plans for more kids?
Let’s dive in!
How ‘Sex and the City’ Hid Sarah Jessica Parker’s Pregnancy
In 2002, Sarah Jessica Parker was pregnant with her first child with husband, Matthew Broderick. But pregnancy was not in the cards for her beloved character, Carrie Bradshaw.
Sure, it was okay for her bestie Miranda Hobbs to have a baby – which is why when co-star Cynthia Nixon got pregnant, it was written into the show – but Carrie had to remain the single gal until the bitter, BIG end.
So, a few things happened in order to keep SJP’s pregnancy under wraps. For one, Carrie’s wardrobe changed dramatically in season 5 of the show. We’re talking baggy clothes (still designer) and big Birkin Bags.
See the photo above? Still in heels while baby bumping along!
Secondly, the season ended early – only 8 episodes – so that Sarah Jessica could take maternity leave. That’s why there’s a Part 1 and Part 2 of Season 6. It’s not that they were ahead of their time or stretching out the season to keep subscribers (we see you Netflix).
It’s that they made up the epsides in the last season, to make up for the ones missed while SJP took care of her little one.
Speaking of which…
Sarah Jessica Parker’s Children: How Old Are They Now?
The Emmy winner and husband Matthew Broderick have three children.
Their eldest, who bumped along with SJP on the Sex and the City set, is son James Wilkie. He’s now in his 20’s.
In a 2008 interview with Parade, Parker opened up about her parenting style and raising James.
“I think that if I had been raised a child of privilege, I wouldn’t be the working person I am today,” she said.
“I think it’s incumbent on my husband and me to really stress and to show James Wilkie by example what it means to owe your community something and that he is not entitled to the benefits of our hard work.”
On June 22, 2009, Parker and Broderick welcomed their twin daughters, Tabitha Hodge and Marion Loretta Elwell to the family. The girls were born via a surrogate, and are now teenagers.
Sarah Jessica’s Surrogate: Who Is She?
These days, it’s perfectly normal to hear of a celebrity couple welcoming children via surrogates.
Kim Kardashian, Nicole Kidman, Rebel Wilson – the list goes on and on.
But when Sarah Jessica Parker announced she was having twins with help in 2009, it was massive news. Given her superstardom, many clamored to know who was carrying the kids for SJP.
However, she never revealed the woman’s identity, only relished in the gift she gave to their family. When the woman’s name leaked, SJP was incredibly angry.
“I am incredibly outraged by the sort of extraordinary and unprecedented invasion of her privacy,” Parker said to Access Hollywood at the time.
SJP did all she could to provide the woman some peace during the time she was pregnant, knowing full well how much she was doing for their family.
“It would be odd to have made this choice if I was able to, you know, have successful pregnancies since my son’s birth,” she added in the interview.
“We’ve been trying to expand our family for a number of years and we actually have explored a variety of ways of doing so,” she said. “This was one of the things we discussed with seriousness that had real possibilities for us.”