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Sex and the City has found new life among an entirely new demographic of viewers. After the iconic series appeared on Netflix on April 1, subscribers took to binging the series. While there has been plenty of discussion about Carrie Bradshaw and her pals’ sex lives, it’s important to remember the entire series was based on a very real sex column that ran in a New York City newspaper back in the 1990s. Candace Bushnell created Carrie Bradshaw as an alter ego. While many parts of Carrie’s life mimic Bushnell’s New York City dating experience, plenty of creative changes were made. Do you know what paper Bushnell’s column ran in? 

What newspaper ran the original ‘Sex and the City’ column? 

Carrie Bradshaw famously made a living writing about her own dating experience and the sexual exploits of her friends Charlotte York, Miranda Hobbes, and Samantha Jones. Carrie penned a sex column as a freelance writer for the New York Star, a fictional weekly newspaper. 

Candace Bushnell and Sarah Jessica Parker attends the 2011 New York City Ballet Gala
Candace Bushnell and Sarah Jessica Parker | Nick Hunt/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Bushnell also penned a sex column in a New York City paper, but her actual column, also named Sex and the City, ran in the New York Observer. Bushnell landed a freelance gig with the newspaper in 1993, but her first Sex and the City column was published in 1994. She wrote for the paper until 1996. 

The New York Observer served as an alternative print newspaper for 30 years. It was founded in 1986 and printed a weekly edition until 2016. The newspaper still exists, but in digital form only. 

Carrie Bradshaw’s life isn’t exactly like Candace Bushnell’s life 

Carrie wrote her column for several years, but that significantly differed from how Bushnell’s career progressed. While Carrie Bradshaw penned her the New York Star column for six years, Bushnell’s column only ran for two years in the New York Observer. 

Candace Bushnell and Darren Star during Screening of "Sex And The City" at Sony Loews Theatre in New York City, New York
Candace Bushnell and Darren Star | Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
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In 1997, Bushnell’s columns were published as an anthology, eventually leading to the beloved series. Darren Star, a friend of Bushnell’s, helped create the series. While Carrie Bradshaw’s life diverged greatly from Bushnell’s real-life experiences after a few seasons, they did have some things in common. Bushnell wrote several more books after Sex and the City, just like Carrie Bradshaw penned several more books following the success of her first non-fiction offering. 

Bushnell’s current life did not serve as the inspiration for And Just Like That..., the Sex and the City reboot. Bushnell is divorced and currently lives in New York City. She penned another non-fiction offering to chronicle life after divorce in New York. 

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