On a crisp, sunny afternoon, just two days after New York Fashion Week drew to a close, Manhattan shimmers with early autumn colours as HELLO! heads to the newly opened Faena Hotel on the West Side to meet one of the city’s ultimate style icons: Sarah Jessica Parker, the actress who brought Carrie Bradshaw to life in Sex and the City across six seasons on HBO from 1998 to 2004, followed by two feature films and, most recently, the series’ reboot, And Just Like That.
The on-screen style heroine served up countless scene-stealing looks: the tiered tutu and pale-pink tank top that became instantly famous in the show’s opening sequence, the newspaper dress from John Galliano’s Fly Girl collection and the billowing seafoam green Atelier Versace Mille Feuille gown that she wore for a date in Paris with Aleksandr Petrovsky that never happened.
© Rex"I've met King Charles and also Diana. She was lovely – everything you wanted her to be."
In reality, Sarah Jessica has the same love of high drama as the character she immortalised. Consider her 12 show-stopping Met Gala moments, including in 2006, when she arrived on the arm of Alexander McQueen wearing a one-shoulder tartan gown custom-made by the late designer to fit the theme Anglomaniac: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion.
But today, the actress, producer and entrepreneur, who turned 60 in March, is wearing a demure black dress, her honey-toned curls tamed into a glossy wave, with a light smattering of gloss on her lips, subtly smoky eyes and an immaculate complexion.
This provides the perfect blank canvas to showcase her glittering jewels: a pear and round brilliant cut lariat necklace and cushion cut stud earrings, both from Astrea London, the luxury lab-grown diamond brand she recently joined as global creative director and shareholder.
She and the brand’s founder and chief executive, Nathalie Morrison, are halfway through their lunch of chicken salad when we enter their corner suite and interrupt them, "No, don’t worry; it’s fine," Sarah Jessica tells us warmly, while encouraging us to sit down and join her.
Once lunch is finished and our conversation begins, we see that Sarah Jessica has casually looped her necklace into her bra strap. "Oh, you noticed," she laughs as she catches us looking – it’s a playful gesture that’s familiar from the screen, yet thrilling to see in person.
"I’ve always loved when things feel a little different and personal; it makes them more interesting," she says of her unique styling hack. "Wearing a necklace slightly off to the side feels less staged, more me. It’s like saying that fashion doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful – sometimes it’s the little quirks that make it yours."
© @astrealondonThe star’s role with Astrea London goes far beyond an ambassadorial one. She contributes creatively, having daily conversations with Nathalie about designs, and is even launching her own 12-piece collection.
Both Sarah Jessica and Nathalie also maintain a philanthropic focus by investing a portion of their profits in helping underprivileged children in Africa – and the actress appears visibly moved when she talks about it.
Lab-grown diamonds are created sustainably but have the same carbon, hardness and brilliance as mined diamonds. Following the announcement of her new role, Sarah Jessica wrote on Instagram: "After wandering deep into the world of lab-grown diamonds, I’ve fallen in love with their possibility, their beauty, and their future.
"A future where sustainability and craftsmanship coexist, where diamonds created by nature and perfected by science can shine side by side with the most exceptional mined stones."
© @astrealondonOriginally from Nelsonville, Ohio, Sarah Jessica has built a career on stage and screen spanning more than five decades, earning six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
Just like her Sex and the City character, Sarah Jessica lives in Manhattan. She and her husband, the actor Matthew Broderick, married in 1997 in the Lower East Side, and the couple now live in Greenwich Village with their son, James Wilkie, 22, and twin daughters, Loretta and Tabitha, 16.
Last month, in her role as one of the 2025 Booker Prize judges, Sarah Jessica appeared at the Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank for the announcement of the finalists. A lifelong lover of reading – she has often said that she never leaves the house without a book – she joined her fellow judges in taking on the formidable task of reading 100 novels in just seven months.
She tells us that she always enjoys her time in London. "Oh my gosh – I love it. I love a lot about it; if it were just slightly closer to home, it would be perfect. I love the history, the architecture, the tube, the buses… the public transport is better than in New York City. My husband disagrees, but I think so just because the buses are so frequent. And I love the Sunday roast. It’s incredible. Roast lamb.
"Also, you guys always take a walk on Sunday. It's like a religion. And then I realised, all those books that I read as a young girl, like the Brontë sisters’ novels, they're always taking walks. They often talk, on those walks, about God or nature. And I was like: 'Oh, it really is a religion, this Sunday walk with or without the dogs.' It's beautiful."
It’s not just Sunday roasts and a Sunday walk she’s a fan of; she’s also an avowed royalist. "I've woken up to watch all of the weddings. I love them," she says. "I've met King Charles and also Diana. She was lovely – everything you wanted her to be. She was perfect."
© GettyAs the interview draws to a close, Sarah Jessica excitedly shows us some of Astrea’s stunning diamond pieces, which have been laid out carefully on a table. Her own collection, featuring coloured diamonds, is due to be unveiled in Dubai in December.
At one point, we accidentally spill some water on the floor and she instantly reaches for a cloth to mop it up – not the behaviour you might expect from an award-winning actress and style icon, but entirely in keeping with Sarah Jessica’s disarming warmth and down-to-earth charm.
And what is it that she loves most about diamonds? "I’ve always loved them, not just for their beauty, but for what they represent. To me, they carry stories, history and a sense of eternity," she tells us.
"Fashion is ever-changing, but a diamond is timeless – it becomes part of your life, your memories. That combination of elegance and meaning is what makes them so special to me."
Astrea London’s SJP Signature Collection launches on 8 December; astrealondon.com
For the full interview pick up a copy of this week’s Luxe issue, on sale now
