How Old Carrie Was At The Beginning & End

The Sex and the City franchise follows Carrie Bradshaw through decades of her life, from a single woman in her 30s to a widow in her 50s. Considered one of HBO’s best series, Sex and the City was revolutionary in its depiction of sexually active, unmarried women in their thirties, as Carrie taught generations of women what it meant to be “single and fabulous.”

The life of Carrie Bradshaw was so beloved that Sex and the City spawned two movies, a prequel series, and a sequel series. And Just Like That ended in 2025, and the polarizing show sadly didn’t capture the experience of being a 50-something woman the original series did with Carrie’s 30s. Still, our Carrie has learned, grown, and loved a lot in the 27 years that we’ve known her

The Original Sex And The City Follows Carrie From Age 32 To 38

The Series Suggests Carrie Was Born In 1966

The timeline of the original Sex and the City series makes it fairly easy to determine Carrie’s age while also setting up a useful bit of information to determine it in the rest of the franchise. She states that she is 32 years old at the beginning of season 1, which takes place in 1998, so her birth year is 1966.

Her birthday is also established in the series as October 10. The show’s timeline typically follows the passage of time in real life, so Carrie should age one year in each Sex and the City season.

She then turns 35 in season 4, meaning that when Sex and the City comes to an end in 2004, Carrie is 38 years old, which is also confirmed by the title of the season 6 episode, “Catch-38”. Once the movies come into the picture, the timeline and the corresponding characters’ ages get fuzzier.

Carrie Is 41-42 In The First Sex And The City Movie

The Movie Takes Place Over 2 Years

The first Sex and the City movie premiered in 2008, seemingly four years after the events of the series. The film centers on Carrie and Mr. Big’s impending wedding, which provides some context for her age. A magazine editor asks Carrie to pose as the “40-year-old bride,” and if the film takes place in the year it premiered, she would be about 41-42.

The timeline is a bit confusing, considering the film is supposed to take place over two years, so you can assume it begins in 2007, or at least before Carrie’s 41st birthday, and finishes in 2008 when she’s 41-42.

It’s also clear that the magazine article is about ‘the 40s‘ as a decade of age, so the line could mean a 40-something bride, rather than Carrie being 40 exactly. She also says to her assistant, “your 40s are to pay for the drinks,” confirming that she is in her 40s at this time.

Carrie Is 43-44 In Sex And The City 2

The Sequel Explores Carrie In Married Life

Sex and the City 2 is the next movie in the franchise and continues to show what Carrie Bradshaw’s life is like, now that she and Big are finally married. The movie takes a look at Carrie settling into married life with Mr. Big, missing some of the excitement of her younger years.

Released in 2010, Sex and the City 2 picks up two years after the first movie, likely putting Carrie Bradshaw’s age at 43-44 years old. However, her age is not a big plot point in this film.

Carrie’s Age In The Carrie Diaries

AnnaSophia Robb Plays A 16-Year-Old Carrie Bradshaw

Though short-lived, there was a Sex and the City prequel series that looked at Carrie’s teen years. Played by AnnaSophia Robb, Carrie Bradshaw’s age in The Carrie Diaries is revealed to be 16 years old, and she’s a junior in high school at the start of the series.

Carrie lives in Castlebury, Connecticut, and the prequel series shows her secretly working at a magazine company while interning at a New York City law firm. In season 2, Carrie celebrates her 17th birthday and enters her senior year of high school.

Carrie Is 55 In And Just Like That

The Series Takes Place 11 Years Later

Following the cancellation of the third Sex in the City movie, the franchise returned to the small screen for a sequel series, And Just Like That. The show explored how times have changed and what life is like for Carrie and her friends as middle-aged women, with it taking place 11 years after the second movie and seeing Carrie as a 55-year-old woman.

Carrie is shown to be more conservative when talking about sex compared to the younger generation, and seems to have settled into a quieter life than she had in Sex and the City. Before Big’s tragic death in the And Just Like That pilot, she’s even shown to (somewhat) enjoy cooking with him. This is a far cry from the 30-something Carrie who used her stove for shoe storage.

The depiction of Carrie’s aging in the sequel series didn’t go over well with viewers, many of whom felt frustrated with storylines like Carrie undergoing hip surgery. Still, there was some excitement that we might get to see Carrie celebrate her 60th birthday, should the show have continued into 2026.

Alas, that’s not what happens, as it was abruptly announced that And Just Like That season 3 would be its last, a mere two weeks before the finale. And Just Like That‘s final episode takes place over the American Thanksgiving holiday, which is celebrated in November, so it can be assumed that Carrie had recently celebrated her 59th birthday the month before.

The Importance Of Carrie’s Age In Each Show

Carrie’s Age Is Integral To Sex And The City And Its Spinoffs

Sex and the City follows Carrie and her friends across just over half a decade of their lives, with the movies covering the interim years between the original show and the spinoff, And Just Like That, which picks up decades later.

Given this vast timeframe, it’s no surprise that Carrie’s age factors into many storylines in Sex and the City, And Just Like That, and even The Carrie Diaries. The Carrie Diaries makes obvious use of Carrie’s age, since it’s a spinoff set during her younger years, but the other two shows also weave age into the exploits they portray.

Sex and the City is primarily about two things — dating and growing up. Carrie starts the show in her early 30s, and many episodes have her wrestling with figuring out how she wants to spend the rest of her life against the backdrop of most of her friends settling down and starting families of their own.

As an experience, dating also changes as one grows older. The wild and spontaneous relationships of Carrie’s youth weren’t appealing to her as 40 approached, and she wanted a stable life with Mr. Big.

Age also became important in And Just Like That. Following Carrie in her mid-50s created yet another unique variety of storylines that were only possible due to her age. However, despite And Just Like That‘s backlash, none of the shows have ever preached any toxic messages about aging or have claimed that age is important when finding a romantic partner.

With Carrie’s age comes wisdom, and in the And Just Like That finale, she realizes that she spent most of her life either looking for or with a partner, and that this may no longer be her path anymore. The very last scene sees her dancing around her beautiful home, happy to be in her own company. This never would have happened in Sex and the City, when Carrie was in her 30s.

Is Carrie’s Story Over After And Just Like That?

Never Say Never

It was indeed a surprise to learn that And Just Like That was seemingly closing the book on Carrie Bradshaw, but the ending, as controversial as it was, seemed definitive. In the original Sex and the City finale, Carrie said, “The most fabulous relationship of all is the one you have with yourself,” and that’s a lesson she wholly embodies in And Just Like That.

There are currently no known plans to continue the story of Carrie Bradshaw, but that doesn’t mean we’ll never see her again. When addressing the potential for a return to TVLine, And Just Like That writer and executive producer Elisa Zuritsky said, “She’s alive, so it could happen.”

“Sarah Jessica Parker is [And Just Like That showrunner] Michael Patrick King’s muse,” Zuritsky continued, “and the reason he says ‘I’ve said goodbye before and I’ve come back’ is because it’s true.” Parker also noted that she was saying “farewell” to the character, not “goodbye.“ (via People)

So, while we likely won’t be seeing Carrie Bradshaw on our TV screens anytime soon, anything is possible, and in 20 years, we very well may be catching up with the Sex and the City heroine in her 70s. Now that would be fabulous.

Sources: TVLine, People

Release Date

1998 – 2004-00-00

Network

HBO Max

Showrunner

Darren Star

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