Parker's parents divorced when she was 3½ years old, and her mother married Paul Forste, a truck driver and account executive.

[14][16] As a young girl, Parker trained in singing and ballet, and was soon cast in the Broadway revival of William Archibald's play The Innocents.

[21] Parker and four siblings appeared in a production of The Sound of Music at the outdoor Municipal Theatre (Muny) in St. Louis, Missouri.

[23] In the romantic comedy L.A. Story (1991), Parker took on the role of a ditzy aspiring spokesmodel meeting a television meteorologist; both the film and her performance garnered positive reviews.

[17] She would star with Nicolas Cage, as the girlfriend of a commitment-phobic man, in the film Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), and play one in a villainous trio of witches in the Disney fantasy family comedy Hocus Pocus (1993), alongside Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy.

Honeymoon in Vegas was a critical success, earning US$35m while Hocus Pocus rated average with reviewers and made US$39 million in the US,[24][25] but became a cult film due to strong DVD sales and large television following.

In 1996, she appeared in another Tim Burton-directed movie, Mars Attacks!, in which she made part of a large ensemble cast consisting of Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan, among others, portraying a chat-show host whose head is transposed with that of her chihuahua by the invading aliens.

The romantic comedy The First Wives Club saw Parker take on the role of a dim-witted but manipulative fiancée, and also reunite with Hocus Pocus collaborator Bette Midler.

The film was a critical darling and a major commercial success, grossing US$105 million at the North American box office,[28] and it developed a cult following among middle-aged women.

Her role was that of Carrie Bradshaw, the narrator and main protagonist, with each episode structured around her train of thought while writing her weekly column "Sex and the City" for the fictitious paper, the New York Star.

Her next film was the romantic comedy Failure to Launch, starring with Matthew McConaughey as an interventionist hired to get a 35-year-old man out of the home of his parents.

[41] Her work as a producer continued with her next starring vehicle, the independent drama Spinning into Butter (2007), based on the Rebecca Gilman play.

[47] In 2011, Parker starred in I Don't Know How She Does It, described by critics as "[a] limp comedy with a hopelessly outdated viewpoint on gender, featuring Sarah Jessica Parker in rote Carrie-mode",[48] and also made part of a large ensemble cast in Garry Marshall's romantic comedy New Year's Eve (2011), which made US$142 million worldwide.

[50] Parker guest-starred on season 4 of FOX musical comedy series Glee as Isabelle Wright, a Vogue executive who takes Kurt Hummel under her wing after he graduates and moves to New York.

Vulture, on one of its recaps of Glee, remarked: "[C]haracters who are big-eyed but a little broken inside and desperately in love with New York are what Sarah Jessica Parker does best.

[51] In 2013, Parker provided her voice for one of the characters of the animated film Escape from Planet Earth, and played Gloria Steinem in deleted scenes of the biographical drama Lovelace.

In 2015, she starred in the independent romantic comedy All Roads Lead to Rome, as an American journalist revisiting Italy with her rebellious daughter.

[57] In 2018, Parker headlined and produced the independent drama Here and Now, playing a New York City singer who gets a life-changing medical diagnosis.

[58][59][60] In February 2020, Parker and her husband, Broderick, starred in a revival of Neil Simon's Plaza Suite at Boston's Colonial Theatre for two weeks.

[61] Previews at the Hudson Theatre had been set for March 2020 and its official debut was scheduled for April 2020, but this was later postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August 2003, Parker signed a lucrative deal with Garnier to appear in TV and print advertising promoting their Nutrisse hair products.

[69] In early 2004, shortly after the last season of Sex and the City wrapped up, Parker signed a $38 million contract with the Gap.

[70] It was the first multi-season contract in the clothing company's history, in which Parker was to appear in their upcoming fall ads, and continue until the spring of 2005.

[70] The endorsement sparked many levels of criticism from the public; the glamorous, urban-chic fashionista that her character Carrie Bradshaw has branded her with, was ironic considering the Gap maintains an image that does not promote high-end fashion.

[71] Wendy Liebmann, president of WSL strategic retail, suggested Gap executives "felt the need for an iconic but contemporary face to represent [themselves].

The company then stated: "While Gap will always seek partnerships with celebrities, musicians and rising stars, we don't have any future plans to sign a single person to a multi-season deal like the unique and special relationship we enjoyed with Sarah Jessica".

[17] In March 2007, Parker announced the launch of her own fashion line, "Bitten",[74] in partnership with discount clothing chain Steve & Barry's.

[78] In February 2009, as part of the Lovely collection, Parker launched a series of three new fragrances called Dawn, Endless, and Twilight.

[104][105] The family also spends considerable time at their second home near Kilcar, a village in County Donegal, Ireland, where Broderick spent summers as a child.