Sarah Jessica Parker is milking money out of her Sex and the City brand as a third season of the revival series, And Just Like That…, will hit Max in 2025. Parker made her acting debut on Broadway at the age of 11 and had a thriving career in mainstream Hollywood when she decided to take on the television role of Carrie Bradshaw.
It was a bold decision at the time and paid off heavily both in accolades and in money. She won two Emmys and four Golden Globes for her TV performance before starring in two blockbuster films from the IP. Her paychecks from the franchise will surely blow your mind.
How Much Did Sarah Jessica Parker Make From Six Seasons Of Sex and the City on HBO?
HBO’s Sex and the City aired 94 episodes over the span of six years from 1998 to 2004 and it appeared that Sarah Jessica Parker shouldered a huge responsibility throughout its run. The show had no pay parity and Parker was obviously the highest-paid star on the show from the get-go.
As writer and executive producer Michael Patrick King admits, “The show doesn’t exist if Sarah Jessica wasn’t the blonde star of the show, that’s No. 1.” Opening up to the Origins podcast in 2018, King shared that Parker was the reason why the show saw six seasons and two movies. King noted that all the other three leading actresses were just at the beginning of their careers, but Parker was already a Hollywood star. He shared:
[Parker’s] name was contractually, legally, righteously, the only name on the poster due to the fact that she was a movie star in 1998 when the series started and she did a leap to do a show about sex on [HBO], the channel that did the fights, and it doesn’t matter how popular you are.
While the exact salary of Parker is not officially reported, the best estimates divide it into two parts. For the first three seasons, Celebrity Net Worth reported her salary to be $50 million. Parker’s contract reportedly ended after three seasons in 2001 (via Celebrity Net Worth). Ahead of the fourth season, HBO wanted to lock her down and entered into negotiations with the actress.
Parker hugely benefitted from her renewed contract which gave her a producer credit, causing a huge bump in her salary. The deal brought her $3.2 million per episode for the final three seasons. For the remaining 46 episodes, she made a total of $147.2 million.
How Much Did Sarah Jessica Parker Earn From The Movies and The Revival Series?
Sarah Jessica Parker was also paid handsomely for the movies from the franchise, Sex and the City and its sequel. In fact, she earned an eight-figure paycheck while her co-stars were all paid seven-figure salaries for the first film. For the first film, Parker received a paycheck of $15 million, while for the second film, she earned a sum of $20 million. The second film was released in 2010, making this salary for an actress a pretty big deal.
A third film was planned in 2016 but Parker announced the next year that it had been canceled (via Extra). Kim Cattrall reportedly chose not to return to this planned film (via Vogue). Parker returned to a Sex and the City revival in 2021 alongside Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis, titled And Just Like That….
According to Variety, Parker, Nixon, and Davis were all executive producers on the series and therefore took home the same salary. They each received a million per episode. Parker must’ve made a total of $10 million from the first season. A second season of the show aired in 2023, which might’ve probably added $11 million to Parker’s net worth for its eleven episodes.
The series has been renewed for a third season and the actresses might not get a pay bump as the series did not receive a substantial welcome like the original. Parker might get another huge paycheck from the new season.
The Pay Disparity Between Sarah Jessica Parker And Her Co-Stars
Kim Cattrall was not at all happy about the pay disparity in Sex and the City. During a 2004 episode on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, she admitted that the pay disparity became an issue and might’ve been a reason for the show ending after six seasons. She shared (via Digital Spy):
I felt after six years it was time for all of us to participate in the financial windfall of Sex and the City. When they didn’t seem keen on that I thought it was time to move on.
Michael Patrick King shared on the Origins podcast that as the show progressed, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon stood behind Parker, understanding that it was her name and image on the posters. However, Kim Cattrall was not happy with this arrangement and walked out of the franchise after the two films.
| Sex and the City original series | Sex and the City movie | Sex and the City 2 | And Just Like That… | |
| Sarah Jessica Parker | $3.2 million per episode | $15 million | $20 million | $1 million per episode |
| Kim Cattrall | $350,000 per episode | $7 million | $10 million | — |
| Kristin Davis | $350,000 per episode | $3 million | $4 million | $1 million per episode |
| Cynthia Nixon | Probably $350,000 per episode | Unknown | Unknown | $1 million per episode |
While the Kim Cattrall drama was shocking for fans, she returned for a short cameo in And Just Like That…. In the second season finale, Samantha Jones appeared in one scene. However, Variety reported that she did not see or speak with any of the stars. Deadline reported this year that Cattrall will not return to the third season of the show.
Is Sarah Jessica Parker The Highest-Paid TV Actor?
Sarah Jessica Parker is considered the highest-paid TV actor currently, with her whopping $3.2 million per episode salary. After adjusting for inflation, her salary is easily over $4 million in today’s market. However, even without the inflated value, Parker’s salary tops the other top TV salaries by leaps and bounds.
Parker is closely followed by the stars of The Morning Show, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. They each earn $2 million per episode for their roles in the series. Her $250 million earnings and royalties from the Sex and the City franchise contribute to a large portion of her net worth.
Parker is also the proud owner of several merchandise products. In 2013, she launched her own SJP shoe line after launching a fashion line at Steve & Barry’s years prior. She launched a sustainable fashion line for Gap Kids in 2018. She also owns several lines of fragrances and serves as the editorial director of SJP for Hogarth. She also has a line of wines, Invivo x SJP.
Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick bought a Manhattan residence in 2000 for $3 million and sold it for $15 million in 2020. In 2015, they sold a Greenwich Village property for $18.25 million. In 2016, they paid $34.5 million for a West Village property and renovated it for another $50 million. As of 2024, Sarah Jessica Parker has a net worth of $200 million and growing.
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