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Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sarah Jessica Parker says she panicked when 'Sex and the City' was picked up by HBO: 'I didn't want to do a TV show!'
Sex and the City sans Sarah Jessica Parker?! Well, it almost happened! On the latest episode of the Are You a Charlotte? podcast, host Kristin Davis welcomed none other than her SATC costar, who revealed that, yes, there actually was a moment when Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), and Charlotte (Davis) could have been without SJP as their fearless fashionista friend Carrie Bradshaw. Parker recalled that months after shooting the pilot in New York City back in 1997, she had essentially forgotten about the project until she was approached on the streets of the Big Apple by a well-known female producer, who told the actress that she had seen the pilot and thought it was "really good." Parker said she didn't think much of it and "went on with my day." Soon after, though, HBO picked up the show — much to Parker's dismay. "I panicked," she told Davis about learning that the cable network wanted to move forward with the series. "When the show was picked up, I was like, 'I can't be on a TV show! I don't think I'm suited for that life.'" While Parker acknowledged with fondness the fact that she had done TV before — including the shows Equal Justice, A Year in the Life, and the underrated early '80s high school comedy Square Pegs — the experience "also kind of depressed me," so she was reluctant to return to the small screen. "I think that it was the idea of doing the same thing over and over and over again," she clarified about her hesitation regarding SATC. "I think I'd always been lucky that I got to be on a television series and then it was over. Like, I met great people, had a great experience, worked with great actors, great directors, thought the stories were interesting, wanted to do the shows, and they had shorter lives, maybe one or two seasons," Parker said of her past TV projects. "And then I moved on and I would do a play or I'd do some readings, and then I'd do a part in a movie, and then I'd do, you know, a movie of the week. And I just kind of bounced around and I really thought, 'That is the goal. The journeyman is the goal. You want to be moving.'" She continued, "So the idea of a television series meant that I couldn't do all those things," before admitting that she was wrong for thinking that way because actors "can still do [other] things on their hiatuses." But, without the benefit of the hindsight she has now, Parker recalled anxiously asking her agent, 'Can you get me out of this?' and even offered to do anything else for HBO if it meant not having to commit to SATC. "I said, 'I will give my services to HBO to fulfill my contract. So, any movies, I'll do for X number of years." However, Parker noted that her agent tried to get her to view the series commitment a little differently. "He said, 'It can be wonderful. It can be great.' And the beauty of HBO [at the time] was that it was kind of an unknown species ... and [former HBO chairman] Chris Albrecht said, 'Do it for a year, and if you don't want to do it anymore, we don't do it,'" she shared. It was in that moment that Parker had a change of heart. "It went from being this kind of oppressive idea to this one with endless possibilities. And the first day we started shooting as a series, the location was up the street from my house. I remember thinking, 'I can walk to work. I'm not driving on to a lot. I'm not getting on a freeway and hoping I get myself there.' And I walked up to the location and I never looked back." Never looked back indeed. As a result, Sex and the City ran for six seasons, earned seven Emmy Awards, including two Best Actress wins for Parker, saw the release of two theatrical films, and spawned the revival series And Just Like That, which returns for its third season May 29 on Max. You can hear Parker's full conversation on Are You a Charlotte? below. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Sky News AU
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Move over Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston: Jami Gertz tops the 2025 rich list as the world's wealthiest actress - here's why
Jami Gertz has officially been named the world's richest actress, according to Celebrity Net Worth. The 59-year-old actress, best known for her roles in Square Pegs, The Lost Boys, Crossroads and Twister, has amassed an estimated USD$8 billion (AUD$12.5 billion fortune), putting her ahead of Tom Cruise, Reese Witherspoon, Brad Pitt, and even Steven Spielberg. Gertz was raised in Glenview, Chicago, alongside her two brothers. Jami Gertz has officially been named the world's richest actress, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Picture:Her father, Walter, was a builder and contractor, and her mother, Sharyn, a homemaker. But her life changed dramatically after a chance introduction to businessman Tony Ressler by her publicist in 1987. At the time, Ressler was working at investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert, the now-defunct firm that famously collapsed over the junk bond scandal involving financier Michael Milken. The pair quickly fell in love and married two years later. "Everyone thinks I married a rich guy," Gertz told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018. "But I made more money- way more money- than Tony when I met him. I paid for our first house. I paid for our first vacation. I married him because I fell in love with him." (L-R) Tony Ressler and Jami Gertz attend the 10th Annual LACMA ART+FILM GALA honoring Amy Sherald, Kehinde Wiley, and Steven Spielberg presented by Gucci at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on November 6, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Picture:for LACMA Things shifted in 1990 when Ressler co-founded Apollo Global Management, now worth close to USD$80 billion (about AUD$125 billion). Seven years later, he launched a second firm, Ares Management, which also skyrocketed in success. Together, Gertz and Ressler quietly built a vast empire. They collaborated on multiple business ventures, including Gertz's own production company, Lime Orchard Productions, which has collaborated on projects like The Monkey, Heretic, Dune: Prophecy and One Piece. In 2015, they bought the NBA team the Atlanta Hawks for a reported USD$720 million. Owner Tony Ressler (C) of the Atlanta Hawks his wife Jami Gertz and actor Will Ferrell attend the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks basketball game at Arena on January 3, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Picture:Their four children, Abigail, Oliver, Nicholas and Theo, were all part of the decision-making process. "When Mum married my dad, she realised how much he loved the sport and slowly started to gain an appreciation for the game," middle son Nick told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018. "Before long, the idea of owning a team became a frequent topic for dinner-table conversation. 'Wouldn't it be cool? Wouldn't that be fun?' Eventually, it became a reality." The couple later purchased a minority stake in the Milwaukee Brewers MLB team. Jami Gertz in1996 film Twister. Picture: NCA Today, Gertz's net worth is estimated to be around USD$8 billion (AUD$12.5 billion), making her wealthier than not only Cruise (with an estimated net worth of USD$600 million) and Pitt (USD$595 million), but also Taylor Swift (USD$1.7 billion), Michael Jordan (USD$3.5 billion) and even Steven Spielberg (USD$5.3 billion). But Gertz has seemingly taken it all in her stride. "I get it," she said. "It's not your everyday Hollywood actress tale." Jami Gertz at the 'Magic City: An American Fantasy' premiere as part of SXSW 2024 Conference and Festivals held at the ZACH Theatre on March 11, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Picture: Hubert Vestil/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images The family have also poured millions into philanthropy. In 1999, they co-founded the Painted Turtle Camp with actor Paul Newman, offering life-changing camp experiences to children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. Their Ressler Gertz Family Foundation has supported institutions like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs. Most recently, in February this year, the Atlanta Hawks Foundation and the Ressler Gertz Family Foundation donated USD$150,000 to the Prostate Cancer Foundation to raise awareness and support research efforts.
