The much loved series prized itself on maximalist dressing, girlboss culture, and all things camp.
And the drama occurring behind the scenes didn’t help such backlash.
Then, there was Mr. Big’s fate afterZoe Lister-Jones accused Chris Noth of sexual misconduct.
At school, her lowly socioeconomic status was palpable.
“It was a stigma thing.
I was not the only person receiving a free lunch, but you are aware.
“I have a great appreciation for work.”
Chatting toHoward Stern, she revealed that her experiences led to her mindfulness about the ephemeral nature of wealth.
“I felt scared.
Behind the scenes, Kristin Davis' life was once the polar opposite of her onscreen alter ego’s.
From a young age, Davis struggled with substance misuse.
“That’s a very weird thing to say …
I just had a fatalistic view of the whole situation at that point.”
Eventually, alcohol began affecting her ability to perform during auditions, for which she was often hungover.
At 22, she sought help and has been sober ever since.
“I don’t think I would be alive.
He was given six months to live, yet he survived following four years of grueling treatment.
“It’s miraculous,” he toldThe New York Times.
“Only about one in 10 of the people diagnosed with what I have come out okay.”
Although he survived against all odds, cancer had a lasting impact on Handler.
“I had the odd experience of living life kind of backwards,” he toldNPR.
I escaped that situation and came back to life.”
Behind the scenes, actor Nicole Ari Parker has endured some family struggles of her own.
In 2005, Parker and her husband, fellow actor Boris Kodjoe, welcomed their daughter, Sophie.
Despite initial chromosome count concerns during Parker’s pregnancy, she gave birth without complications.
“We had to come together as a new couple,” Parker toldPeople.
“We went from a fairy tale to the fast track.”
At 2 months old, Sophie had to undergo surgery to remove a lipoma.
It was the worst feeling ever.
It was saving her life, so we had to do it.”
Now, Sophie leads an independent life, with her proud mom seeing her off to college in 2023.
Three years later, his cousin was killed.
Then, when he was 21, his mom died unexpectedly.
According to Cantone, his father didn’t even tell his mom that she was dying.
A succession of deaths followed.
“And Jo was my favorite.
So I lost all these women at a very early age.
But my mother was the first one, and so many things were unfinished with her.”
He later lost his father, whom he thanked for accepting his sexuality in the year prior.
Loss is central to Cantone’s comedic output.
“When I was 17, I got sober,” he toldHuffPostin 2013.
“I stayed sober for 12 years, but this is how comedy started for me.
And you’re the first person I have ever told this to.”
“And it was the most difficult scene too.
I had to cross a street with her, Sarah, in the middle of New York.
It was a nightmare.”
That was the moment, Lee explained, that he finally realized he had to get sober.
“The level of intensity of it was a shock.”
But for Davis, the body shaming began long before she reached middle age.
In an interview withHaute Living, Davis opened up about being incessantly mocked for her looks.
And then I’m like, ‘Well, who cares?
What if they are?’
But I mean, it’s just ongoing.”
Magazines constantly propagated the notion that she needed to lose weight.
“I’m an actor.
I’m not the characters I play.
Ramirez argued that the article was an attempt to dehumanize them.
“[F]ans found them annoying,” a source told theDaily Mail.
“The storyline as a struggling comedian was a waste of airtime and Sara knew it.”
Behind the scenes, Pittman knows all too well about loss.
In 2006, Pittman lost her father unexpectedly.
“I began a lifelong dance with grief, mortality cumbersome emotions,” she wrote.
A decade after her father’s death, Pittman also lost her mom.
“No one [in Hollywood] knew what to do with me,” she toldVulture.
Namely, Che was told to lose weight in preparation for their television appearance.
Back in 2006, Sara Ramirez opened up toGlamourabout their own body image struggles.
Ramirez’s disordered eating manifested at a young age as their mom projected her own body insecurities onto them.
Entering the entertainment industry exacerbated such issues, and the pressure to conform to restrictive ideals worsened.
Subsequently, they began taking diet pills.
“After six months, my body had had enough,” they said.
In 2021, Ramirez toldVoguethat their relationship with their body had changed for the better.
“It doesn’t really involve guilt or shame.
It involves acceptance.”
In September 2022, Parker suddenly pulled out of multiple major public appearances due to a family emergency.
It was later revealed that Forste had died unexpectedly following a brief illness.
In September 2021, Garson died of pancreatic cancer at age 57.
For his co-stars, the loss was devastating.
Mario Cantone, who played Stanford’s husband, toldPeoplethat he was shocked to learn of Garson’s illness.
“I had no idea until he told me,” Cantone said.
“I thought he was kidding.
We both cried, and it was horrible.”
“But it’s hard,” a tearful Davis said as Nixon held her hand.
“I wish he was here.”
TheRape, Abuse & Incest National web connection websiteor contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
