The Sex and the City franchise follows Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) through decades of her life, from a single woman in her 30s, to a widow in her 50s. The series is based on Candace Bushnell’s semi-autobiographical book Sex and the City, detailing the relationships and lifestyles of her and her friends, who would later go on to fictionally become Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Charlotte York, and Miranda Hobbes. As narrator of the series through her columns, Carrie takes the audience through her life as a professional woman in the big city, as well as (of course), her love life.

Sex and the City was seen as one of HBO's best series that helped redefine television in the 90s, although it hasn't all aged well today. The show ran for six seasons and nearly 100 episodes before its end. However, the popularity of the show has led to it creating its own franchise that still continues to this day. This includes two movies, a prequel series, and the new sequel series, all of them centering around Carrie and showing her at different ages in her life.

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 timeline of Sex and the City typically follows the age of time in real life, so Carrie should age one year in each season.

She then turns 35 in season 4, meaning that once Sex and the City’s original TV series comes to an end, Carrie is 38 years old, as confirmed by the title of the 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 first movie deals with 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,” though if the film takes place in the year it premiered, she would be about 41-42.

This confusion can be cleared up a bit considering the film is supposed to take place over 2 years, so one 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, so the line could mean a 40-something bride, rather than Carrie being 40 exactly. She also says to her assistant that '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. The sequel premiered two years after the first movie, in 2010 and seems to pick 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 Is 55 In And Just Like That

The Series Takes Place 11 Years Later

Following the cancelation of the third Sex in the City movie, the franchise returned to the small screen for a sequel series entitled And Just Like That. The new show explores 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 with Carrie as a 55-year-old woman.

Carrie is shown to be more conservative when talking about sex compared to the younger generation, while older friendships are shown to have their difficulties with And Just Like That following a falling out with Carrie. Depending on how long the series continues, it might see Carrie celebrate her 60th birthday, which would be in 2026, assuming the series continues to take place in real time.

Carrie's Age In The Carrie Diaries

AnnaSophia Robb Took Over The Role Of Carrie

Though short-lived, there was a Sex and the City prequel series that looked at Carrie's teen years. Carrie Bradshaw's age in The Carrie Diaries is revealed to be 16 years old. Played by AnnaSophia Robb, Carrie is just in junior high during the events of the Sex and the City spinoff series. Hailing from the fictional town of Castlebury, Connecticut, a teenaged Carrie Bradshaw secretly works at a magazine while interning at a New York City law firm. The Carrie Diaries is a deep dive into the origins of the beloved character.

The Importance Of Carrie's Age In Each Show

Carries 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 semi-spontaneous relationships of Carrie's youth weren't appealing to her as 40 approached, and she settled down 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. None of the shows have ever preached any toxic messages about aging, or have claimed that age is important when finding a romantic partner. Still, this doesn't change the fact that Carrie's age has been important for the setting of each season and show within the Sex and the City franchise.

Why Carrie Will Never Be Too Old For Sex And The City

Watching Carrie Age Makes The Character More Complex

Carrie Bradshaw will never be too old for Sex and the City. Not only would such a claim be incredibly ageist, but it's shown to be untrue when analyzing what makes the show and its spinoffs so compelling. While the original Sex and the City offers an interesting portrait of dating in one's early 30s, there's no shortage of this type of content out there. And Just Like That has changed the narrative, however, showing Carrie Bradshaw's timeline as she navigates having a healthy sex and dating life as a single woman in her 50s.

As both the franchise and Carrie Bradshaw's age progress, so will their stories expand onto new possibilities.

This is not only stereotype-shattering, as romances in middle age and beyond are far less common onscreen, but it also makes for a more nuanced and engaging storyline as Carrie's priorities and focuses have changed with age. With And Just Like That season 3 on its way, Carrie Bradshaw's ongoing Sex and the City journey is far from over. As both the franchise and Carrie Bradshaw's age progress, so will their stories expand onto new possibilities.