Candace Bushnell: The Real-Life Voice Behind Sex And The City
Explore the life and career of Candace Bushnell, the author whose bold storytelling inspired Sex and the City. Discover how her writing changed the way we see love, fashion, and New York City.
Jul 28, 20255.5K Shares125.1K Views
Have you ever wondered who talked about the real ups and downs of dating in New York before television made it popular? Candace Bushnelldid it first. She began writing a column for the New York Observer in 1994 called “Sex and the City,” capturing the lives of thirty-something women navigating love, friendship, and ambition in Manhattan. Those columns became a bestselling book and later turned into the hit TV series starring Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha. She went on to write novels like Lipstick Jungle, Four Blondes, Trading Up, and One Fifth Avenue, with several adapted into TV shows. Through her sharp wit and vivid storytelling, Bushnell shaped how modern women’s stories are written and seen.
Early Life
Candace Bushnell was born on December 1, 1958, in Glastonbury, Connecticut, to parents Calvin Bushnell, a scientist involved in developing the fuel cell for Apollo’s space missions, and Camille Salonia, of Italian descent. She grew up with two younger sisters in a modest New England town where her childhood was filled with books, homemade plays, and style guidance from her mother. Candace attended Rice University and later transferred to New York University, but chose to leave school around the age of nineteen to pursue writing in New York City. She moved to Manhattan, where she became part of the downtown social scene and gained attention for her writing about city life and nightlife.
Career
Candace Bushnell moved to New York City at age nineteen and began her writing career with freelance assignments for magazines such as Mademoiselle, Self, Ladies’ Home Journal, and Esquire. Over many years, she wrote pieces about relationships, city life, and fashion before landing a role at The New York Observerin 1993. In November 1994 she launched her well‑known column “Sex and the City,” which shared stories of single women in Manhattan grappling with dating, friendship, and ambition. Readers quickly made the column a weekly must-read.
Her columns were collected into the bestselling book Sex and the City(1996), which became the inspiration for the hit HBO series Sex and the City(1998–2004), followed by two full-length films and, years later, the revival miniseries And Just Like That…on HBO Max.
During the same period she published Four Blondes(2001) and her first full novel Trading Up(2003), continuing her satirical look at New York’s elite and social climbers.
Her 2005 novel Lipstick Junglefollowed the lives of powerful women in New York and was adapted into an NBC television series in 2008. Later novels included One Fifth Avenue(2008), The Carrie Diaries(2010), and Summer and the City(2011), two of which were turned into TV shows (Lipstick Jungleand The Carrie Diaries).
Bushnell also branched into other media. She judged the CBS reality show Wickedly Perfect(2005), hosted a weekly radio talk show titled Sex, Success and Sensibilityon Sirius Satellite Radio (2006–2008), and created the web series The Broadroom(2009) starring Jennie Garth. Her later work includes Is There Still Sex in the City?, a 2019 memoir, and a one‑woman stage show titled True Tales of Sex, Success and Sex and the Citywhich she has performed widely, including at the Westport Country Playhouse in July 2025.
She received honors such as the 2006 Matrix Award for books and the Albert Einstein Spirit of Achievement Award. Through her sharp social commentary and wit, she has shaped how modern stories about women, urban life, and relationships are told across books, television, and stage.
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