Charlotte York
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| Charlotte York | |
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| First appearance | Print: "Talking Dirty at Mortimers" (1995) (The New York Observer) Television: Sex and the City (1998) |
| Created by | Candace Bushnell |
| Portrayed by | Kristin Davis |
| Duration |
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| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Charlotte York Goldenblatt (married name) Charlotte York MacDougal (former married name) |
| Nickname | Char |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Art dealer Former: Housewife |
| Family | Sandra Whitehead "Muffin" York (mother)[1] Stephen Foster York (father)[1] Wesley York (brother) Lesley York (former sister-in-law)[2] Bunny MacDougal (former mother-in-law) Mr MacDougal (former father-in-law; deceased)[3] Patty MacDougal (former sister-in-law)[4] Charles MacDougal (former brother-in-law)[4] Judith Goldenblatt[1] (mother-in-law; deceased)[5] Harold Goldenblatt (father-in-law)[1] |
| Spouse | Trey MacDougal (2000–02) Harry Goldenblatt (2003–) |
| Children | Lily Goldenblatt (adoptive daughter with Harry) Rose “Rock” Goldenblatt (child with Harry) |
| Religion | Episcopalian, later converts to Judaism |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Birthday | January 23 |
Charlotte York (formerly Charlotte York MacDougal, later Charlotte York Goldenblatt) is a fictional character, one of the four main characters who appeared on the HBO-produced television series Sex and the City, both Sex and the City films, and the revival series And Just Like That.... She is portrayed by actress Kristin Davis, who received two Screen Actors Guild Awards for her performance.
Charlotte is portrayed as the most conservative and traditional of the main cast friend group. She continuously places more emphasis on an emotional connection than a lustful one, however episode-long relationships and her first marriage show the audience sex is still a priority to her. Charlotte is a goal oriented romantic and is on her own personal quest for her "knight in shining armor." Presenting a more straightforward attitude about relationships, usually based upon "The Rules" of love and dating, she often scoffs at the lewder, more libertine antics that the show presents (primarily from Samantha).
Character information
[edit]The character of Charlotte first appeared in Candace Bushnell's newspaper column "Sex and the City" as a recurring character and friend of Carrie, where she is introduced as an English journalist.[6]
The television version of Charlotte York is the daughter of Dr. Stephen Foster York[1] and Sandra Whitehead "Muffin" York.[1] She is an art dealer with a Connecticut blue-blooded upbringing. Charlotte graduated from Smith College with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and a minor in Finance; she lived in Haven-Wesley House and was a member of the College Republicans and Kappa Kappa Gamma (although in real life Smith has no sororities).
Marriages
[edit]Trey MacDougal
[edit]Trey MacDougal (Kyle MacLachlan) is a handsome and charming doctor from an upper-class family. Charlotte, who has resolved to get married that year, meets Trey when she falls in the street and is nearly hit by a cab he is riding in. Trey leaps out of the car to help her, and the romantic nature of their meeting sweeps Charlotte off her feet. They begin seeing each other, but Charlotte refrains from having sex with Trey, wanting to wait until they are married, even though she is not a virgin.
After only a month, Charlotte and Trey get engaged. The night before their wedding, a drunk Charlotte drops in on Trey and they attempt to have sex, but she discovers Trey is impotent. On her wedding day, Charlotte is hesitant to marry Trey and only goes through with it after being reassured by Carrie. On their honeymoon, they are unable to consummate their marriage.
They make some progress after undergoing couples counseling and discovering that Trey has a Madonna-whore complex, but hit setbacks again and Trey gives up, reasoning that the emotional part of their marriage is more important than sex. Charlotte quickly becomes sexually frustrated, culminating in her passionately kissing the MacDougal family's gardener. Trey is deeply hurt but accepts blame, and they agree to separate.
Charlotte becomes angry and cynical after moving back into her own apartment, but quickly discovers Trey is now more attracted to her. They begin having sex regularly in restaurant bathrooms and coat rooms, leading Charlotte to demand that Trey decide whether he wants her to move back in and having a real marriage. They reconcile and have a healthy sex life, soon deciding to have a baby.
They struggle to conceive, leading Charlotte to research IVF and adoption, which Trey shows hesitancy toward. When Trey's overbearing mother, Bunny, expresses disapproval of them adopting a child from China, Charlotte and Trey argue in public. He later tells her that he no longer wants to have a baby, desiring a more peaceful life, which devastates Charlotte.
Charlotte attempts to hide her resentment toward Trey, who believes they can continue to have a happy life together as a childless couple. Their marriage becomes increasingly contentious, with Trey moving into the guest room. When their newly redecorated apartment is to be featured in House & Garden, Charlotte and Trey come to terms with the fact that their marriage is over. Nonetheless, Trey agrees to do the photo shoot as one last gesture of kindness toward his wife.
Trey gives Charlotte their apartment, and is seen for the last time at a museum with his mother, Bunny. However, when divorce proceedings begin, Bunny is determined that Charlotte will not have the apartment. Trey sends a telegram from Scotland demanding his mother stop trying to punish Charlotte and give her whatever she wants.
Harry Goldenblatt
[edit]Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler) is Charlotte's divorce lawyer, ironically chosen so that she will not be distracted by his more handsome colleague. After her divorce is finalized, he shows clear attraction to her, and eventually professes passionate romantic feelings for her. Though Charlotte is put off by Harry's appearance and clumsy demeanor, she is seduced by him and finds that it's the best sex of her life.
Charlotte is determined to only have a physical relationship with Harry, but they slowly grow closer and she becomes emotionally attached to him. Harry is kind, attentive, clever and adores Charlotte. She initially attempts to change him to more close fit her image of the ideal man, which Harry humors, but Charlotte drops these attempts and admits she has fallen in love with him for who he is.
The relationship hits a snag when Harry tells Charlotte he promised his late mother he would marry a Jewish woman, but Charlotte soon decides to convert. She throws herself into studying so she can accomplish this quickly, but is frustrated when Harry has not yet officially proposed. In a fit of anger, she demands he set a wedding date and suggests he is lucky to be with her because she is more attractive. Hurt by these comments, Harry breaks up with her. Several weeks later, they encounter each other at a singles' event at the synagogue. Charlotte admits her wrongs and tells Harry she only wants to be with him, and doesn't care if they ever get married. He proposes and they happily marry a few months later.
They soon begin to try to conceive, but run into the same issues Charlotte faced in their previous marriage and start pursuing an adoption. In the series finale, they receive news that their application to adopt a baby girl from China has been approved.
In Sex and the City Harry and Charlotte are happily married with their young daughter, Lily. Charlotte is surprised to discover that she is pregnant, and at the end of the film gives birth to another daughter, Rose.
In Sex and the City 2 Charlotte is briefly worried that Harry may be having an affair with their nanny, but soon discovers her fears were unfounded.
In And Just Like That... Harry and Charlotte remain happy together, raising their children, now teenagers, in New York City. Charlotte's friends are shocked when they learn that she and Harry maintain a very active sex life. When their younger child comes out as nonbinary and begins going by "Rock," they are supportive.
Sex and the City film
[edit]The movie begins with Charlotte's life with her daughter Lily and husband Harry and they are perfectly happy living in New York. When Carrie's wedding to Big ends in a mess, Charlotte goes with her (along with Samantha and Miranda) to vacation at her planned honeymoon destination in Mexico. Charlotte is extremely careful in Mexico and refuses to eat any of the food there, instead bringing her own. The full liquid diet turns out to be a bad idea, as she becomes sick and gets diarrhea. Even though she and Harry had given up hoping for another baby, Charlotte unexpectedly discovers she is pregnant, much to her joy. At this moment, it seems that everything Charlotte has ever wanted is finally coming true, and Charlotte becomes "so happy, she's terrified." In the movie it is also revealed that Charlotte always believed Carrie and Big would end up together, and when she sees Big in the street she tells him, "I curse the day you were born." It is then that Charlotte goes into labour, and Big takes her to the hospital and waits until the baby is born. Charlotte and Harry are overjoyed when she gives birth to a baby girl they name Rose. The final scenes of the movie show Harry and Charlotte with their two daughters.
Sex and the City 2
[edit]In this movie, Charlotte is a wealthy museum docent with two children and live-in, full-time help. She becomes stressed with motherhood and feels incapable of being a good mother to her children, eventually becoming worried that Harry is sleeping with their nanny. Charlotte later escapes to Abu Dhabi with her friends where she is still unable to ease the stresses of motherhood.
Charlotte's conflicts are resolved when it is revealed that her children's nanny, Erin, is a lesbian, and her stress about motherhood is put to rest after confiding and receiving reassurances from Miranda while the two had a conversation in the private bar of their hotel room. From then on, she uses Carrie's old apartment as an occasional "break" from her family life.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Names written in wedding announcement in Season 6 episode 8
- ^ Mentioned in wedding announcement in Season 2 episode 15
- ^ Mentioned in Season 3 episode 14
- ^ a b Season 3 episode 17
- ^ Mentioned in Season 6 episode 1
- ^ Bushnell, Candace (2006). Sex and the city (1st U.S. mass market ed.). New York: Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-61768-7. OCLC 70689339.