Warning: This article contains spoilers to And Just Like That episode two.
Upon reaching the end of episode two on And Just Like That, fans had many questions—does Miranda have a thing for Carrie’s boss? Are Stanford and Anthony Marantino actually okay? Will Carrie ever recover from Mr. Big’s death?
But for us, we had one burning question we needed an answer to immediately: Who on earth was Susan Sharon?
The New Yorker with a blonde lob made quite the impression at Mr. Big’s funeral service. We’re first (re)introduced to her when a medley of images of Mr. Big are displayed on a screen—it’s emotional of course, but Susan leans across to her friend and addresses the elephant in the room: “Am I the only one that remembers what a prick he was to her?” Ooft.
During the wake, Susan approaches Carrie Bradshaw to share her condolences—and awkwardly addresses their undisclosed beef from a few years prior (presumably).
“I forgive you. It’s over and in the past. When I read the obit in the Times, I said to myself, ‘Susan Sharon, life is too short to hold a grudge. Go to Carrie and make things right with her, whether she wants to or not,'” Susan explains before walking away.
Taken aback but remaining poised, Carrie subsequently tells Miranda that she has “no idea” what Susan was referencing.
The bereaved columnist wasn’t the only one confused. We ourselves had to jog our memories to remember who Susan Sharon actually was—because yes, she was in the OG series.
Who was Susan Sharon in Sex And The City?
Susan Sharon first appeared in Sex And The City season two in the episode titled The Awful Truth. Susan is a friend of Carrie’s who is having issues with her verbally aggressive husband.
When the two women return to Susan’s house after a night out, her spouse Richard, kicks Carrie out, leaving her friend deeply embarrassed and angry.
She calls Carrie the next day to ask what she should do about the situation, and Carrie’s attempt at giving a non-answer to avoid conflict is taken the wrong way by Susan. She decides to leave Richard—making Carrie anxious about getting involved in their relationship breakdown.
To make her feel even more awkward, Susan and Richard decide to get back together at the end of the episode.
Interestingly, we don’t see Susan again until season four when Carrie bumps into her cashmere-loving friend again. There, Carrie hesitantly tells her that her then-partner Aidan is her friend (not her fiancé).
While there doesn’t appear to be any major beef between either of them at this point, it’s possible that the conflict referenced in And Just Like That remains about Carrie’s so-called advice to break up with her husband.
Susan Sharon was based on Real Housewives Of New York‘s Dorinda
In another unexpected anecdote, it’s been rumoured that Susan was actually based on real life reality star Dorinda Medley who was a standout personality on Real Housewives Of New York.
The rumours were sparked after Dorinda went to a dinner party with the author of Sex And The City, Candace Bushnell in season nine. In one scene, Dorinda tells the author: “I’ll tell you how I’m doing. Not well, bitch.”
The affluent New Yorker had lost her husband, Richard, in 2011. Due to his name matching with Susan Sharon’s on the show, fans are convinced the show’s writers based the character off her.
