As Charlotte York Goldenblatt, we’ve seen Kristin Davis play a sweet, innocent and, at times, conservative, Upper East Side princess for the better part of 25 years.
But the real-life Charlotte – that would be actress Kristin Davis – is a far-cry from that, as she revealed in a new interview with British newspaper, The Telegraph.
Ahead of the second season of And Just Like That (which premiers on June 22!), Kristin sat down and spoke out about everything from the ageist backlash the Sex and the City spin-off has received to the very public fallout between co-stars Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker.
First things first, Kristin came ready to defend the need for the return of the show – despite some ageist comments about the show.
“Why shouldn’t our lives still be interesting?” asked the 58-year-old star.
“Society expects you to diminish yourself as you age. But why should we? As Mary Steenburgen [the Oscar-winning actress and recent star of Book Club 2] said the other day, ‘I’m still alive.’”
Part of the backlash to the first season of the show was the cast were accused of trying to keep up with the younger generations – slammed with that overused word, woke.
“I’m so tired of that word,” Kristin lamented, refering to woke. “I feel like it has been weaponised. And it’s unfortunate – because it really just means being educated about what other people are going through. Why is that a bad thing?”
Having a strong opinion is not unusual for the former Melrose Place actress – sticking to her guns is how she landed the role in the first place.
In 1998, Kristin was asked to read for Sex and the City – but for the role of Carrie. She recalls, “I was like ‘I can’t pull that off, I’m not that girl. I’ve got to play [Charlotte] because I know her.’”
And in the original script, Charlotte was not a main character, but Kristin knew better - “I knew they needed me.”
And thankfully, she was correct. What would the show have been without Charlotte?
Addressing the elephant in the room, Kristin finally spoke out about the long-running ‘feud’ between Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall.
Kim famously lashed out at her co-star, refusing to return for the first season of the spin-off – but she is making a cameo appearance in the upcoming season.
Speaking about Kim, Kristin says, “You have to respect people’s wishes. I’m not gonna waste energy on it. I can’t change anybody. I do understand fans’ feelings – that they’re upset… I wish I could fix it, but I can’t, it’s not in my power.”
As for her other co-stars, SJP and Cynthia Nixon, fans will be relieved to hear the girls really are that close.
Kristin explained, “We have a secret text with code names. We switch around just in case anyone finds us.”
When Sex and the City first returned to the big screen after a four-year hiatus – the original series ending in 2004 and following up with a movie adaptation – Kristin received scrutiny for her seemingly altered appearance.
Refusing to be coy about her treatments and tweakments, Kristin talks openly about the work she has had done. At first, she just tried Botox. “I was super-excited I didn’t have to have my lateral lines. But I didn’t do anything else for a long time.”
“I have done fillers and it’s been good and I’ve done fillers and it’s been bad. I’ve had to get them dissolved and I’ve been ridiculed relentlessly. And I have shed tears about it. It’s very stressful.”
Part of the backlash is because, as she explains, “it’s hard to be confronted with your younger self at all times. And it’s a challenge to remember that you don’t have to look like that. The internet wants you to – but they also don’t want you to. They’re very conflicted…”
