How Old Samantha Was At The Beginning & End

Summary

• Samantha’s age is revealed over the series from 40 at the start to 63 in And Just Like That.
• Sex and the City was groundbreaking for showcasing independent women unashamed of discussing sex.
• Samantha’s character defied traditional gender roles, prioritizing independence over marriage and motherhood.

Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) is the oldest of the four friends in Sex and the City, and between the show and the movies, the character is seen over decades of her life. Sex and the City premiered on HBO in June 1998 and ran for six seasons, following Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), and Samantha Jones. Following the series finale in 2004, the franchise expanded to include two feature-length films, Sex and the City (2008) and Sex and the City 2 (2010), as well as The CW’s short-lived prequel show The Carrie Diaries. Today, the franchise continues, with …And Just Like That (2021) continuing the story. However, Samantha only appears in a single cameo in the show so far.

Sex and the City was groundbreaking in its portrayal of successful, independent female characters who weren’t afraid or embarrassed to talk about sex. Samantha was pragmatic, at times vulgar and inappropriate but unflinchingly honest. And without her abundance of episodic male suitors and explicit scenes, there would have been far less “sex” in Sex and the City. More importantly, Samantha refused to conform to traditional gender roles and was content to forego marriage and motherhood, and shows no regret about it as she ages.

Samantha Was 40 At The Start Of Sex And The City

Her Age Is A Carefully Kept Secret For Most Of The Series

Early in the series, Samantha is much more cagey about her age than the other women, because she is quite a bit older than her friends. However, there are hints to her age. During season 2, episode 3, “The Freak Show,” Samantha is deeply offended when a man she’s dating guesses her age to be 40 or 41. As the narrator, Carrie reveals the women have been celebrating Samantha’s 35th birthday for as long as they can remember. Samantha finally acknowledges the age difference in the Sex and the City timeline during season 3, episode 8, when she believes she’s entering menopause and confesses to her friends, “Ladies… What I’m about to tell you… may come as a shock. I’m a little… older than you.” During season 4, episode 1, Carrie laments turning 35, and Samantha responds, “Oh, shut the f**k up, I’m 140.”

As the years passed, the women dissected the ups and downs of growing older, with the other main characters closing the gap between 35 and 40. However, Samantha’s age remains a mystery until season 6 episode 12, which aired in September 2003. While discussing Carrie’s love interest, Aleksandr Petrovsky, Samantha recalls him being the “it” guy during Studio 54’s heyday when she was 22. The walk down memory lane prompts Samantha to reveal to Miranda and Carrie that she’s 45, making her 40 when the series premiered. Her birthday is later confirmed as April 28, 1958.

Samantha Turns 50 In The Sex And The City Movie

Her Birthday Is The Final Scene Of The Film

Four years after the end of the series, the four women returned for the first of two movies, titled simply Sex And The City. The movie picks up the story four years on, as they continue to navigate life in New York – or in Samantha’s case, in LA. By the time of the movie, Samantha has moved to LA to better manage Smith’s career, but she is increasingly bored and unhappy with their life there. She comes back to New York throughout the movie, in order to spend time with her friends, and to go to Carrie’s tragic wedding, which is the centerpiece of the plot. By the end of the film, Samantha has decided that she “loves me more” – or that she will have to move back to New York, and end her relationship, in order to be truly happy.

Samantha has decided that she “loves me more” – or that she will have to move back to New York, and end her relationship, in order to be truly happy.

Her age is not a major part of the plot, as her story focuses on her losing herself in a relationship, and then finding herself again in independence. However, her age does make an appearance in the final scene, which is her 50th birthday party. The four women go out to celebrate with her, drinking cosmos, and Carrie’s voiceover talks about a new stage of life.

Samantha Is 52 In Sex And The City 2

The Second Movie Looks At Menopause

Sex and the City 2, the follow up movie, didn’t find the same success as Sex And The City, and was heavily criticized for how Samantha changed for the film. Sex and the City 2 sees the four women travel on an all-expenses-paid luxury vacation to Abu Dhabi, thanks to Samantha’s work. This should have been an excellent way to show Samantha continue to thrive as a single woman in her 50s, however, the movie instead showed her as a narrow-minded and sex-obsessed woman, and made her experience of menopause a comic plot point.

In the movie, Samantha is 52, and experiencing menopause, including extreme hot flashes. She is taking a range of herbal supplements in the US to help mitigate the symptoms, but these are confiscated at the border on their travels, so she struggles with symptoms on the trip. This eventually leads her to lose her temper, and to storm out in public, taking off layers of clothing, and causing a serious incident. It was a particularly negative portrayal of both the character and women of this age, and so fans were not surprised that Kim Cattrall decided not to reprise the character for And Just Like That.

Samantha Is 63 At The Start Of And Just Like That

She Is In Her Mid-60s For Her Cameo

When And Just Like That was announced, one of the biggest surprises was that Samantha Jones would not be a part of the series. Cattrall publicly washed her hands of the franchise due to a high-profile feud with Parker, as well as issues with how the character had evolved. And Just Like That did, in fact, address Samantha’s absence, though. In the series, it’s explained in a conversation between Carrie and Miranda that Samantha and Carrie had a falling out, and hadn’t spoken in years, after Samantha moved to London.

Since And Just Like That aired, both Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall have had a lot to say about Samantha’s absence. Parker took to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Award Chatter podcast to explain Samantha not being on the Sex and the City revival, while n an interview (viaVariety), Cattrall revealed that she had previously stated she had no interest in appearing as Samantha after the Sex and the City 2 movie in 2010, and would not come back for a third film if one were to happen. She also revealed that she wasn’t even approached to be part of the series.

“I was never asked to be part of the reboot. I made my feelings clear after the possible third movie, so I found out about it like everyone else did — on social media.”

However, things have clearly changed since then, as Cattrall had a surprise cameo in season 2 of the show, where she speaks to Carrie. In season one, she is mentioned, and then sends flowers to Big’s funeral, while in season 2, she and Carrie are texting, and have a brief phone call. It’s not much, but it’s possible that there will be more cameos to come. Of course, with such a small part to play in this new series, Samantha’s life and age are not mentioned, but at this point, she is in her mid-sixties.