Sarah Jessica Parker, 45 years in the business: her life in photos

It is hard to believe that Sarah Jessica Parker has been an actress for 45 years. The 'Sex and the City' star doesn't show any signs of slowing done any time soon either. Join us as we take a look at how SJP's career and style have evolved over the years.

After a role along with four of her sibling in 'The Sound of Music' at an outdoor theatre in St. Louis, the young Sarah must have gotten hooked on acting.

Here we see Parker during a USO show aboard USS Iwo Jima, 1979.

(Photo: By PH1 Jim Preston, U.S. Navy - U.S. Navy All Hands magazine August 1979, p. 34., Public Domain)

Shortly afterward, in 1977, Parker landed the role of July in the Broadway musical 'Annie.' The youngster obviously was talented because, by 1979, she would land the lead role of 'Annie' for herself.

Following her leading role as 'Annie,' 15-year-old Sarah managed to get a spot on 'The New York Kids' in 1980.

In 1982, she starred in the CBS comedy series 'Square Pegs.' Although the show only lasted for one season, Parker was able to show her skills in the role of a shy teen, and she earned accolades from critics.

'Square Pegs' proved to be the launching pad that Parker needed because, in the following three years, Sarah was cast in a total of four major films including 'Footloose' (1984) and 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' (1985) with Helen Hunt.

On a personal level, from 1984-1991, Sarah and Robert Downey Jr. were a couple. They met on the set of 'Firstborn,' a drama film from 1984. Unfortunately, Robert had substance abuse problems and the relationship unraveled.

Next, in 1991, Parker played a ditzy aspiring spokesmodel who meets a television meteorologist. The film and Sarah's performance were well received. They helped her land a role starring alongside Nicolas Cage in 'Honeymoon in Vegas' in 1992.

In 1993, she was lucky enough to star as a witch alongside Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy in 'Hocus Pocus.'

Photo: Disney+

1993 must have been a busy year for the actress. She also starred in 'Striking Distance' as a police diver with Bruce Willis.

The work kept rolling in, and in 1994 she was in the Tim Burton film 'Ed Wood' alongside Johnny Depp.

In 1995, in her starring role in 'Sylvia,' Sarah met her future husband Matthew Broderick. The couple eventually married in 1997 in New York City.

Between 1996 and 1997, Parker was working non-stop. First in Tim Burton's 'Mars Attacks!', followed by the romantic comedy and cult classic 'The First Wives Club,' then 'The Substance of Fire,' and finally as a former child actress in the 1997 comedy 'Til There Was You.'

Photo: screenshot from 'First Wives Club'

By 1998, as we have seen, Sarah Jessica Parker had proven herself as a talented actress. Next, her starring role in the HBO series 'Sex and the City' would make Parker a household name around the globe.

Darren Star created the series based on Candace Bushnell's book 'Sex and the City' from 1997. He wanted Sarah for the main role, and although Parker had some misgivings about going from film to television, she finally made the decision to go for it. You could say it was the best decision of her career.

Parker's character, Carrie Bradshaw, and her group of friends in the series became massively popular. The Guardian wrote in 2009: "Carrie Bradshaw did as much to shift the culture around certain women's issues as real-life female groundbreakers." Both Sarah Jessica Parker and the series itself won multiple awards over the years.

In 2002, Parker and Broderick had their first child, James. In 2009, the family welcomed the twins Marion and Tabitha, who'd been born via surrogacy. The family settled into their home in Greenwich Village, where they have lived since 2009.

The role of Carrie Bradshaw brought Sarah many opportunities in the fashion industry. She has had lucrative deals with Garnier, the Gap, and Nordstrom, among others.

The actress also made a dream come true by opening her own shoe store in Manhattan.

With the end of 'Sex and the City,' fans were heartbroken, and rumors began to fly about a movie based on the series. Even though critics were leery that a film based on the show would be successful, they were promptly proven wrong. 'Sex and the City', the film was released in 2008 and became a massive success. The same went for the sequel 'Sex in the City 2' in 2010.

Sarah Jessica Parker went on to produce and star in a dramedy series for HBO called 'Divorce.' It was quite successful, ran for three seasons, and won critical acclaim.

Later, in February of 2020, Sarah and her husband Matthew returned to Broadway with Neil Simon's 'Plaza Suite.' After two weeks, the play had to be postponed due to the pandemic. However, two years later, in February of 2022, the couple were happy to return to the stage.

Fans were incredibly excited about the 'Sex in the City' reboot that came out fall of 2021. It was titled 'And Just Like That.'

The supposedly limited series consisted of ten half-hour episodes about the characters' lives as 50-somethings. It received mixed reviews from fans.

However, HBO Max decided that 'And Just Like That' wouldn't be a limited series after all and renewed it for a second season.

As we've looked at all that Sarah Jessica Parker has accomplished over the years, we are simply blown away. She is a talented actress and a force to be reckoned with. On top of it all, she is 57 years old and looks absolutely fabulous.