Sarah Jessica Parker made Carrie Bradshaw’s New York life a television landmark in Sex and the City.
That character’s latest series, And Just Like That, ended in August 2025. Parker’s working life continued, with publishing, production, and a major television honor among her recent activities.
As of November 2026, the change is a conclusion to one long-running screen chapter. Her career has always included work beyond Carrie, from theater and films to helping other writers reach readers.
Carrie Bradshaw became her best-known role
Sex and the City ran from 1998 to 2004, with Parker starring as Carrie and serving as an executive producer. Two films followed before And Just Like That brought the character back to television.
The role connected Parker with audiences across several stages of her life. Viewers returned for Carrie’s friendships, romantic complications, and changing relationship with New York.
But Parker also worked in films including Hocus Pocus, The Family Stone, Ed Wood, and The First Wives Club. The Golden Globes’ career retrospective recognizes both her screen performances and her work behind the camera.
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A familiar character can become a shorthand for an entire career. In Parker’s case, that shorthand leaves out decades of acting and production work.
And Just Like That ended after three seasons
Showrunner Michael Patrick King announced in August 2025 that the third season would be the last. The Associated Press reported the decision, with the finale scheduled for August 14.
The series had brought Carrie back alongside Miranda and Charlotte, played by Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis. Parker also remained an executive producer, as confirmed in HBO’s season-three announcement.
Asked about another return in a January 2026 ELLE interview, Parker did not announce one. She described the future as uncertain and explained that another chapter was not the current intention.
“I’m as mystified about the future now as I was all those years ago,” she said.
That leaves a clear distinction for fans: the series has ended, while a hypothetical future appearance remains a possibility rather than a confirmed project.
Publishing became a substantial part of her work
Parker’s literary imprint, SJP Lit, is a partnership with independent publisher Zando. Its official page describes books she personally acquires and champions.
The work connects her enthusiasm as a reader with the practical task of bringing authors to an audience. It also gives her a role in storytelling that does not require appearing on screen.
SJP Lit’s books have included Women and Children First by Alina Grabowski and They Dream in Gold by Mai Sennaar. Parker previously worked with the SJP for Hogarth imprint, so publishing was already part of her career before And Just Like That finished.
In 2025, she served as a Booker Prize judge. The Booker Prizes’ official biography records that appointment and her previous literary work.
The chronology is important. Books were not simply a replacement activity after a television series ended. She was already balancing acting, producing, and publishing.
Readers interested in an actress whose work also includes literary writing can explore Mary-Louise Parker’s career beyond Weeds.
Her stage career continued with Plaza Suite
Parker’s theater work began long before Carrie Bradshaw. Her Broadway debut came in The Innocents in 1976.
A more recent stage engagement brought her together with her husband, Matthew Broderick, in Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite. The production played Broadway in 2022 before transferring to London.
In the comedy, the pair portrayed three different couples inside the same hotel setting. Each story required a shift in character and relationship, from marital strain to an anxious wedding day.
Playbill reported the London run’s conclusion on April 13, 2024. Parker’s performance also earned an Olivier Award nomination.
It was a reminder that her acting life includes the demands of live performance. A theater run reaches a different audience and operates on a different rhythm from a television season.
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That continued connection to the stage also appears in Marisa Tomei’s career.
A 2026 honor recognized more than one character
Parker received the Carol Burnett Award at the Golden Globes’ Golden Eve celebration in January 2026. The award recognizes contributions to television in front of and behind the camera.
The Golden Globes’ account of the ceremony places her alongside fellow honoree Helen Mirren at the event. Carol Burnett was also there.
The recognition came after the end of And Just Like That, but it celebrated a body of work rather than announcing a farewell.
Parker’s production career also includes HBO’s Divorce, in which she starred for three seasons. That series offered a very different central relationship from the friendships and romances associated with Carrie.
Her life after Carrie has several continuing chapters
The most concrete change is that Parker is no longer making new episodes of And Just Like That. Her publishing work and broader creative career continue beyond that schedule.
Her record includes long-running television, films, stage performances, and support for other writers. Looking at those activities together gives a fuller answer than treating the end of one show as the end of her career.
Carrie Bradshaw remains her most recognizable role. Sarah Jessica Parker’s working life has room for considerably more.