Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick got married in May 1997 and the celebrity couple welcomed their first son, James, in October 2002 when Parker was 37 years old. However, years after the duo struggled with infertility and couldn’t have another child. “I only got to give birth once,” she told Infertility Aide. “I would give birth as often as I could if I could.”
After a long time waiting, the lovers opted for surrogacy to have their twin daughters, Tabitha and Marion, in 2009. “We tried and tried to get pregnant,” she told US Vogue magazine. “It just was not to be, I would give birth…if I could.”
Sarah Jessica Parker celebrates her children
Despite being a very private person, Sarah Jessica Parker misses no opportunity to share her love for her kids on social media. Earlier in the year, she took to Instagram to celebrate the 10th birthday of her twin girls in June, Marion Loretta Elwell Broderick and Tabitha Hodge Broderick. “You turned our lives inside out and upside down,” the post reads. “Filled and continue to fill all the remaining space with endless surprises, romance, sentimentality, art, and a bounty of a sort of love we didn’t even know we were missing.”
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The mom-of-three also sent her son, James Wilkie Broderick, a sweet birthday message via Instagram on October 28. The post featured a throwback photo of her and Broderick welcoming their bundle of joy home 17 years ago.
“October 28th, 2002. The date that changed every breath we take and what we thought we knew love to mean.” Parker captioned the post. “We watch you grow and capture life with admiration, pride, and profound love. So grateful someone captured our unbridled joy we recall so vividly those 17 years ago. Happy birthday beloved son James Wilkie.”
Meet Sarah Jessica Parker’s three children:
James Wilkie Broderick
Parker was pregnant with James while on the set of Sex and the City. Her baby bump was concealed with creative wardrobe choices until the show ended early in the year, and she gave birth to James on October 28, 2002, in New York City. A statement announcing the birth of the child was made to PEOPLE by Parker’s publicist: “Mother and baby are doing very well. Everyone is healthy.” Broderick’s rep also told The Associated Press, “Everybody is totally over the moon and ready to go home.”
In a 2008 interview with Parade, the 57-year-old disclosed the style she took on in raising her son. “I think that if I had been raised a child of privilege, I wouldn’t be the working person I am today,” she said. “I have a great appreciation for work. I think it’s incumbent on my husband and me to really stress and to show James Wilkie by example what it means to owe your community something and that he is not entitled to the benefits of our hard work.”
James graduated from high school in 2020 and proceeded to Brown University for college. In 2021, Parker shared a celebratory post for her son on his birthday. “He is 19. Today. He doesn’t wake up with us. He is in his life. Away. In his studies. Among new friends. Sending home details. There is so much to tell. New adults making lasting impressions. Opening his still-young eyes. New thoughts. New books.” she wrote. “New and different mornings. On this one, it’s bittersweet. Not to be with him. To wish him the most happiest of birthdays. Our Scorpio. Our Oct baby. Our JW. Happy Birthday. Balloons. Candles. Hoping every birthday wish to come true.”
Tabitha Hodge and Marion Loretta Elwell Broderick
Tabitha and Marion were born through surrogacy. Parker emphasized to Access Hollywood that they decided to use the method because of her infertility challenge. “We’ve been trying to [grow] our family for a number of years, and we actually have explored a variety of ways of doing so,” she said. “This was one of the things we discussed with seriousness that had real possibilities for us.”
The actress also revealed in a 2018 interview with PEOPLE that her twins love each other but share different things. “They’re really devoted to each other, but they’ll also say, ‘I need time away from her.’ Tabitha can play by herself for hours,” she said. “Loretta always needs to be checking in. They go to different schools. That’s Tabitha’s idea.”
Tabitha and Marion have a high fashion sense just like their mom. While appearing in a 2022 episode of Vogue’s Life in Looks, Parker revealed her most memorable fashion moments throughout the years. She revealed that it was a nude ball gown adorned with flowers that she donned for Vogue in 2021. “I showed my daughters … and both my daughters’ hands went to their mouths and they were like, ‘You’re on the cover of Vogue?’ I didn’t know they were aware of Vogue,” Parker said. “So, that was very touching to me.”