Sarah Jessica Parker is a Hollywood legend. Although she’s played a wide variety of roles during her career, her global fame and status as a television goddess really comes down to a single role: Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. Portraying the curious writer on the hit show made Parker an international star, but it’s far from the only memorable role she’s ever played.
Throughout her career, Sarah Jessica Parker has starred in a vast range of film and television projects. From Sarah Sanderson to Carrie, keep reading to see our ranking of the top 10 roles of this versatile actress!
Paula - Failure To Launch (2006)
In 2006, Sarah Jessica Parker starred in Failure to Launch, a film about a woman named Paula who is hired to motivate a man called Tripp to move out of his parents’ house. Tripp is played by Matthew McConaughey, and the film also features Bradley Cooper and Zooey Deschanel.
The film received mostly negative reviews, with critics declining to praise Parker for her performance as Paula. Because the two leads didn’t share a lot of chemistry, this was not one of Parker’s finest roles. Still, she gets some points for effort.
Meryl Morgan - Did You Hear About The Morgans? (2009)
During her career, Sarah Jessica Parker has starred in her fair share of romance flicks. In 2009, she played Meryl Morgan in Did You Hear About The Morgans? Although the film did not rate highly on IMDb and received mostly unfavorable reviews, Parker’s on-screen charisma is evident.
Did You Hear About The Morgans? follows the story of Paul and Meryl Morgan, a married couple whose relationship is hanging by a thread. After they witness a murder, they must move from New York to a small country town as per the requirements of the witness protection program.
Shelly Stewart - The First Wives Club (1996)
Many people forget that Sarah Jessica Parker appeared in The First Wives Club. She appeared as Shelly Stewart in the classic 1996 film, a young woman who is now in a relationship with the ex-husband of Bette Midler’s character, Brenda. The two play rivals in this film, reuniting after playing sisters in the 1993 Halloween flick Hocus Pocus.
Shelly is an unsympathetic character, dangling her partner Morty in his ex-wife’s face and making horrible comments about Brenda’s appearance. But likable or not, Parker played her extremely well!
Kate Reddy - I Don’t Know How She Does It (2011)
Sarah Jessica Parker is often seen as a strong female role model who balances a successful career in film, television, and fashion, with raising a family. That’s why the role of Kate Reddy in I Don’t Know How She Does It is so fitting for her.
Kate is a professional in the banking sector and tries to juggle between maintaining her job and keeping her family happy. The tensions increase when she receives an offer for an even better job that puts even more pressure on her family.
Nathalie Lake - Mars Attacks! (1996)
1996 was a busy year for Sarah Jessica Parker. In addition to playing Shelly Stewart in The First Wives Club, she also took on the role of Nathalie Lake in the fantasy/thriller Mars Attacks! The film focuses on an alien invasion that starts on friendly but soon turns sinister.
Parker was in good company, starring alongside Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Natalie Portman, and Michael J. Fox. Her character, Nathalie, is kidnapped by aliens at the beginning of the film and has quite a few headaches after that!
Dolores Fuller - Ed Wood (1994)
The majority of roles that Sarah Jessica Parker has taken on during her career are fictional characters, though she has portrayed a real figure once or twice. In the 1994 film Ed Wood, she portrayed the role of Dolores Fuller. Dolores was an actress and songwriter who wrote some award-winning songs for Elvis Presley.
Dolores appears in the film because she was in a relationship with the director Ed Wood, played by Johnny Depp, before he started dating Kathy O’Hara.
Kim - New Year’s Eve (2011)
Like her fellow New Year’s Eve cast , Sarah Jessica Parker’s role in the holiday flick is limited. When there’s such a large cast of A-listers, each star can only have a certain amount of time on camera! But Parker’s performance as Kim is one of the most memorable.
Kim is a single mom who wants to spend time with her teenage daughter on New Year’s Eve. But she soon discovers that she has to let her daughter live her own life. She ends up kissing Sam, a man she met the previous New Year’s Eve but never learned his name.
Meredith Morton - The Family Stone (2005)
Anybody who has struggled to fit in around their partner’s family can relate to Meredith Morton, the role that Sarah Jessica Parker played in the 2005 Christmas movie The Family Stone. Meredith goes with her boyfriend to meet his family over the holidays, but problems arise when Meredith’s uptight and neurotic ways are challenged by the quirky, outgoing family.
Closed-minded and edgy, Meredith is an unlikable character at first. But she manages to withstand a family that seems determined to reject her and finally relinquishes the control over her own life, making her easier to warm to.
Sarah Sanderson - Hocus Pocus (1993)
One of the most famous roles that Sarah Jessica Parker has played is Sarah Sanderson from the 1993 Disney film Hocus Pocus. Starring alongside Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy, Parker portrays a witch who was hanged 300 years before the events of the film take place but is resurrected and wants to take revenge on the community.
A Hocus Pocus sequel is said to be in the works, which has made many fans happy. Only a few details of the project have been released so far, but most sources claim that Sarah Jessica Parker will return to reprise her role along with everybody else.
Carrie Bradshaw - Sex & The City (1998-2004)
Of course, the best role that Sarah Jessica Parker has ever played is Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City. The writer/fashionista is one of the most iconic characters in pop culture and launched Parker to the status of a screen legend.
Carrie Bradshaw is by no means a perfect character, with many Sex and the City fans believing that she’s actually the most obnoxious figure on the show. But despite her annoying moments, she remains prolific to this day.
