It was more than a year ago that Dan Clay started up his Carrie Dragshaw and started gaining thousands of fans who couldn’t get enough of his Sex and the City recreations.
But, it wasn’t until Friday night that Dan finally met his inspiration and hero: Sarah Jessica Parker.
On Thursday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live, the Carrie Bradshaw actress was surprised with a ‘Drag Pageant’ dedicated to her former character – and Dan Clay’s incarnation was one of the entries.
Big moment: Sarah Jessica Parker’s joy was clear on Thursday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live when drag Queen Carrie Dragshaw made an appearance
Long-time coming: Although Sarah Jessica has been following Dan Clay on Instagram for more than a year, this was the first time the two had met
Given that Sarah Jessica is one of Dan’s 90,000 Instagram followers, she couldn’t have been happier to see her Insta-famous superfan.
‘What [Dan] has done today is nothing. If you go to Dan’s Instagram page, it’s kind of staggering what he does. It’s such a treat that you’re here,’ she told the audience.
During the kind words, Dan looked over-the-moon, thanking her over and over again as she described his Instagram captions, written in Carrie’s voice, as ‘arias’.
After the historic meeting, Dan shared his feelings in another Instagram post, writing: ‘I’m overflowing with gratitude and it seems to be crowding out the words I might find to express how magical, and incredible, and fun, and surreal and marvelous and inconceivable and fabulous and unforgettable and ohmygod and and and !!!!
The winner! Dan was crowned the winner of the Drag pageant on the episode by his hero, who offered plenty of encouraging words
Holiday fun: Dan first took on the character for Halloween in 2016, and it quickly became a big online hit
Winter wonder: Dan later called the meeting with Sarah Jessica ‘one of the most wonderful moments of my life’
Tip-top: Since starting his journey, Dan has gained more than 90,000 followers
‘And to @sarahjessicaparker – for as long as I breathe I will never forget your kindness.’
He later described the moment to Yahoo Lifestyle as ‘one of the most wonderful moments of my life, to be honest. It was amazing to hear her appreciate it.’
Dan, 32, from New York, first dressed up as Sarah Jessica Parker’s well known character for Halloween. The pictures of his costume proved to be a massive Instagram hit.
Since then, he has racked up more than 90,000 followers for his various costume tributes to Carrie, dubbing his alter-ego ‘Carrie Dragshaw’.
Fun: For his day job, Dan works as a strategy and innovation consultant in New York City
Hanging out: Dan, 32, from New York, starred in a Sex and the City-inspired photo series at The Standard Hotel last summer
Much the same: Dan imitated a number of shots from the two-episode run for the series
Hitting the town: The two episodes parodied by Dan, Escape from New York and Sex and Another City, see the friends traipse around Los Angeles
From the source: Sarah first became a fan of Dan’s back in 2016, writing words of encouragement on his posts
His work first gained the attention of Sarah Jessica Parker back in 2016 after his first images went viral.
‘Oh my Lord! Words cannot convey. A triumph,’ she wrote beneath one of the photos.
She has also written supportive words on Mr Clay’s profile on several other times.
‘For her to take the time out to say such sweet things shows a remarkable level of kindness,’ Dan told Daily Mail Online at the time.
Back in New York, Dan works as a strategy and innovation consultant, and lives mere ‘blocks away’ from Carrie’s famous West Village location, which has helped his Instagram hobby immensely.