Sarah Jessica Parker has amassed great success in the entertainment industry despite her atypical Hollywood appearance.
However, people have been rude toward her online and have harshly criticized her.
Despite the backlash, Parker has a successful marriage with another actor.
Award-winning actress Sarah Jessica Parker’s star power began in school. At a young age, she was trained in singing and ballet and was subsequently cast in the Broadway production of “The Innocents.”
That opportunity made her and her family relocate to New Jersey. Parker later studied at the American Ballet School and the Professional Children’s School.
Parker and four of her siblings were cast in “The Sound of Music.” She later bagged the lead role in the Broadway run of “Annie.” Parker later enrolled at Dwight Morrow High School while juggling acting roles in between. She landed the role in the made-for-TV movie, “My Body, My Child” (1982) before being cast as one of the lead roles in the 1982 sitcom, “Square Pegs” that same year as Patty Green, a high-schooler.
After graduation, Parker pursued acting full-time and did not further her studies. Following her stint in “Square Pegs,” which was short-lived, she bagged supporting roles in movies such as “Footloose” (1984) and “Firstborn” (1984).
Parker also got the lead role in the teenage film “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1985). She made more television appearances in the series and made-for-TV roles, including “A Year in the Life” (1986) and “The Room Upstairs” (1987).
The Ohio native eventually got the role of Steve Martin’s bubbly lover in the 1991 comedy “L.A. Story,” and more prominent roles followed. Parker later starred alongside Nicholas Cage in “Honeymoon in Vegas” (1992) then she appeared in “Hocus Pocus” (1993).
The entrepreneur, who is a Woody Allen fan, starred alongside the esteemed filmmaker in the television film, “Sunshine Boys” (1996). That same year, Parker starred in the leading role in “Miami Rhapsody.” The year 1996 was a busy one for the showbiz star as she appeared in multiple movies including “The First Wives Club,” “Mars Attacks!” and “If Lucy Fell.”
The television producer shot to stardom with her stint on the HBO series, “Sex and the City” (1998), playing a Manhattan sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw.
Online Users Criticize Parker’s Looks
When one does something and succeeds in it, they are bound to get attention, and there will be those who will scrutinize them and envy their success.
Because Parker does not have the typical appearance of Hollywood beauty standards, many people have harshly criticized her looks.
Twitter trolls took to the platform to make remarks about her appearance, and one person tweeted, “Sarah Jessica Parker, Old Horse Face.”
“Sarah Jessica Parker is ugly lol sorry I love – Carrie Bradshaw – but her face be killing me,” wrote another. Meanwhile, a third user stated, “Sarah Jessica Parker walks into the bar. Bartender says, ‘Hey, hun, what’s with the long face? It never gets old.”
One individual penned, “I still can’t get over the fact that you can look at this photo, looking to criticize someone, and you aren’t talking about Sarah Jessica Parker, one of the weirdest looking people I’ve ever seen in my life. Tiny body, enormous head. Now that’s a horse face.”
Parker’s conscious decision is to age gracefully, and some people in her life love her the way she is. The six-time Golden Globe Award winner has been told she is “brave” for rocking her gray hair.
She was photographed dining in Manhattan once without makeup and her hair scraped back. News reports later penned she had gone gray after the photo went viral. During a June 2022 interview, Parker said:
“It became months and months of conversation about how brave I am for having gray hair. I was like, ‘Please, please applaud someone else’s courage on something!’”
The “Striking Distance” star wants to feel like herself according to her own standards even though she cannot fully describe them. Moreover, Parker knows she is growing old and has seen the process.
But what she refuses to do is constantly dwell on it. “It’s not that I’m purposefully dismissive or delusional. But I don’t really ponder it,” she explained.
The A-Lister previously discussed the positive side of the aging process and highlighted what people tend to miss out on the most while going through the phases:
“We spend so much time talking about the accumulation of time spend adding up in wrinkles, and it’s the weirdest thing that we don’t say it adds up to being better at your job, better as a friend, better as a daughter, better as a partner, better as a caregiver, better as a sister.”
“Instead, it’s: ‘How do we suspend the exterior? How do we apologize for it? How do we fix it?’” Parker continued. She mentioned there are double standards in society as the opposite sex is never questioned about their aging process as it is always the women.
When spotted dining in Manhattan, she was with her dear friend, Angy Cohen, who is three years her junior and has full gray hair. Still, media publications never uttered a word about him in the article about the picture that went viral. Parker mentioned that such reports sting sometimes but that the ripple effect only lasts briefly.
Parker’s Relationship With Her Husband of 25 Years
Aside from her looks, Parker is a married woman with kids. She and her husband, actor Matthew Broderick met in 1991 while on Broadway.
Parker’s brothers Pippin and Toby introduced her to the New Yorker, and shortly after crossing paths, he asked her out on a date. The duo starred alongside each other for the first time in Broadway’s “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” in March 1996.
It was Parker’s first time singing in over a decade, and before the show’s debut, she admitted she was nerve-wracked starring alongside Broderick. She expressed skepticism about how they would pull it off without chuckling at each other.
Parker and Broderick later stunned 100 guests when they walked down the aisle on May 19, 1997, at New York’s Angel Orensanz Synagogue. Their friends believed they were attending a party and not a wedding.
The Hollywood couple welcomed their first child, son James, named after his late grandfather, James Broderick, on October 28, 2002. Parker and the “Inspector Gadget” star had twins, Marion and Tabitha, seven years later on June 22, 2009, via surrogate.
Broderick and his wife have gushed about each other over the years. The father of three said there are a lot of things he adores about his spouse. “She’s a great person,” he stated in October 2016, adding she is “hilarious” and “beautiful.”
The “Glory” star shows his significant other kindness as he gives Parker gifts now and then to show her how much he appreciates her. He admitted:
“I feel very lucky.”
During his appearance on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” in August 2022, Broderick shared that the most thoughtful gift Parker had ever given him was a surprise trip. She took him to the Caribbean while blindfolded.
During the interview, he said the first time he knew she was ‘the one’ was when he saw her walking down the street and told himself, “That’s it.” When asked about his favorite date outing together, he revealed dinner.
The lovebirds appeared on “CBS Sunday” in March 2020 and discussed their journey together. Parker divulged that they had never been apart from the moment they got together.
The pair watch TV, play games, cook, and do laundry together. They are also both baseball fans. And while they are married in real life, the two have acted alongside each other for the first time in their two decades of marriage in a theater playing three married couples in Neil Simon’s play, “Plaza Suite.”
When asked whether one of their kids is interested in the acting profession, Parker revealed one of her twin girls had shown interest but has since clarified she wants to study education.
The duo lives in the West Village, where their children attend the same school their famous father once enrolled at. Broderick grew up in the Village, and he was often robbed. His wife divulged, “He’s so smart and dry. He has so much relationship with the city.”
Parker gushed about her love for her beloved husband, saying they have the kind of marriage they have, are devoted to their loved ones, and he is to thank for that:
“I love that he’s the father of my children, and it’s because of him that there’s this whole other world that I love.”
In a February 2018 interview, Parker delved more into the marriage subject and described, “I think marriage has a lot of vitality. If you’re fortunate, it’s like this dazzling organism.”
The mother of three explained that a union has different phases because one’s needs and partners constantly evolve. “[..] I think you’re very lucky if you like the person. I still like him,” she said of Broderick.
Parker and the “Ferries Bueller’s Day Off” star do almost everything together. But she fears their world will shrink, and she will not have anything to bring to the table.
During her appearance on the “Girlboss Radio” podcast, Parker was asked about the secret to her long-lasting marriage with Broderick. She said they are lucky enough to have lives that allow them to be away and come back together.
That experience has allowed them to share, and even though there have been some challenging moments in their union, she has invested a lot into it. Parker said this about her spouse:
“I love him. I think he’s brilliant. I’m sure I annoy him. He annoys me sometimes. I think the longer you can last, the more invested you are.”
Parker further explained the more she experiences the good and the bad about Broderick, the more she cannot imagine not being a part of his life.
She also talked about motherhood and said it exposed her to another different world, and she loves that about it. However, Parker admitted the downside of being a parent is being constantly worried.
Running the household is exhausting for her, and she has to pick up after her brood, but she is glad she gets to see them grow and become well-groomed individuals.
Parker is now 58 years old, and at age 30, she was recognized as an on-screen beauty. Though not according to Hollywood expectations, the two-time Emmy Award winner has a narrow face with a strong nose and jawline.
The movie star has always been critical of her work and admitted to cringing when watching herself on screen. When she has a good experience, she is more prone to self-forgiveness than being less critical of herself.
Although she is passionate about her career, Parker revealed she wants to do more with her life to make an impact in the world.
Despite her not-so-typical appearance, Parker gained immense success in showbiz. Many people admire her and have praised her looks despite what others have said about her.
Other Twitter users complimented her on the platform, and one person said, “Sarah Jessica Parker Is The Most Beautiful Woman Alive To Me.”
Another social media user disagreed with what people said about her face, “[..]I’m rewatching ‘Glee’ and seeing Sarah Jessica Parker and remember people saying she had a horse face when she’s so beautiful.”
Someone else echoed the same sentiments: “Why did I ever let men convince me Sarah Jessica Parker is ugly. I actually think she’s really cute.” “Only ugly people call Sarah Jessica Parker ugly,” said another.
Meanwhile, Parker is still very much on the big screen portraying her iconic role as Carrie Bradshaw in “Sex and the City” reboot of “And Just Like That,” which debuted in December 2022.
HBO announced in April 2023 that the series was renewed for a second season, and Parker, executive producers, and the showrunner could not be more “thrilled.” She confirmed on her Instagram that filming wrapped for the show.