How Elizabeth Taylor Inspired Sex & The City’s Charlotte York
Image: HBO
It’s no wonder that an iconic figure like Elizabeth Taylor would come up on one of the most successful television shows of all time, but the references to Elizabeth on HBO’s Sex & The City go deeper than name-dropping. Elizabeth’s life and her strength, perseverance, and hope through tough times was a source of personal inspiration for Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) — and as a result, for viewers at home as well.
Charlotte and Elizabeth’s stories begin to intertwine in later seasons of the show, when she meets and falls in love with Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler). Though they agree they want to be together, there’s one problem standing in their way: Harry promised his mother before she died that he would marry a Jew, which Charlotte is not. While talking it through with Carrie, she mentions the parallel experiences of her hero Elizabeth Taylor, as she converted to Judaism to marry Eddie Fisher. Later that same episode, Charlotte is seen looking through Elizabeth’s autobiographical book, “My Love Affair With Jewelry.” Ultimately, Charlotte followed in Elizabeth’s footsteps, converting to Judaism and marrying Harry in a traditional ceremony.
Throughout the series, Charlotte is vocal about her desire to have a baby, and in Season 6, she is elated to learn she’s pregnant. Sadly, she experiences a miscarriage only a couple of days before Miranda & Steve’s son Brady’s 1st birthday, which understandably plunges her into a depression. Feeling unable to face the reality of her life, she watches an E! True Hollywood Story about Elizabeth Taylor, and is immediately drawn into the star’s inspiring story. “Now is the time for guts and guile," Elizabeth says, prompting Charlotte to get off her couch, put on a fabulous pink dress, stand tall, and face her life head on.
Like Charlotte, Elizabeth faced health challenges throughout her life, including the life-saving emergency tracheotomy she survived after becoming deathly ill with pneumonia in 1961, and her admirable recovery from an addiction to pills and alcohol. And on top of that, she had endured vilification in the press and hostility from the public throughout her life. In spite of it all, she kept her head held high. As she famously said, “I am a survivor - a living example of what people can go through and survive.” By showing Elizabeth’s outlook on life as a huge source of inspiration for Charlotte, Sex & The City introduced even more viewers to her uplifting message.
Later in the season, Charlotte meets a dog breeder with Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppies in a park, and strikes up a conversation. She learns that the puppies were bred to be show dogs, but one in particular could not compete, as one of her legs is just slightly shorter than the others. Feeling betrayed by her own body in the wake of her miscarriage, this detail makes her feel like kindred spirits with the dog. Not long after, Charlotte receives a special delivery: the puppy she connected with at the park, delivered to her in a basket as a present from the breeder (whose last name, “Stork,” makes this all the more meaningful). Upon welcoming her new baby into her home, who she immediately dubs “the prettiest girl in the world,” she decides that her existing name, Princess Dandyridge Brandywine, is not a good fit, and instead decides to name her after none other than her idol: Elizabeth Taylor.
In 2011, after Elizabeth Taylor’s death, Kristen Davis revealed in an interview that Elizabeth herself had been entertained by her inclusion in the show. “Our writer Michael Patrick [King]… had gone to Elizabeth Taylor and asked her about the whole storyline,” Kristin said, explaining that Elizabeth had quickly approved Michael Patrick’s request to use her name in the series. “Elizabeth had been so sweet and she said, ‘Of course,’ and she sent us all gifts, and she sent us a handwritten card,” Kristin recalled. “And I just remember holding that card and thinking, ‘Elizabeth Taylor wrote this to me!’ It was just so generous and warm and wonderful and how you dream that all of those people are gonna be.”
Though the original Sex & The City series ended in 2004, fans are once again getting to spend time with their favorite ladies on And Just Like That. Now, Charlotte is the proud owner of a bulldog by the name of Richard Burton — so while Elizabeth Taylor the spaniel is no longer with us, the real-life Elizabeth Taylor’s life and legacy continues to live on in the show’s universe.