SATC author Candace Bushnell reveals she made $5,000 a month writing a column for Vogue in the ’90s

Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell has finally revealed how her fictional counterpart — Carrie Bradshaw — was able to afford all those designer shoes on a writer’s salary.   

In an interview with The New Yorker, the 63-year-old, whose life as a columnist inspired the SATC character, shared that she earned $5,000 a month writing a column for Vogue in the 1990s, roughly $8,000 to $10,000 today. 

‘In the nineties, for me — it was a real time for media. I worked for Vogue, writing the “People Are Talking About” column, and got paid $5,000 a month,’ she said, putting an end to years of confusion about how Bradshaw afforded her lavish lifestyle.  

Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell, 63, revealed in an interview with The New Yorker that she made $5,000 a month writing a column for Vogue in the 1990s 

Bushnell's life as a columnist was the inspiration behind SATC's Carrie Bradshaw. For years, fans have wondered how the character afforded her lavish lifestyle on a writer's salary

Bushnell’s life as a columnist was the inspiration behind SATC’s Carrie Bradshaw. For years, fans have wondered how the character afforded her lavish lifestyle on a writer’s salary 

At the time, Bushnell was also writing her Sex and the City column for The New York Observer, which ran in the paper from 1994 to 1996. 

‘The Observer paid less, but I could afford that, because of Vogue. I mean, this was a time that writers were getting a Vanity Fair contract for six pieces and $250,000 dollars a year,’ she explained. 

‘People valued writing; it wasn’t considered something everyone can do. Now, because of the computer, everyone has to do it, so we think everyone can do it.’

Bushnell turned her Observer column into a book of the same in 1996, and it was adapted into the HBO series two years later.

At the time, Bushnell (pictured in 1999) was also writing her Sex and the City column for The New York Observer, which ran in the paper from 1994 to 1996

At the time, Bushnell (pictured in 1999) was also writing her Sex and the City column for The New York Observer, which ran in the paper from 1994 to 1996

SATC the was adapted from Bushell's 1996 anthology of her New York Observer columns

SATC the was adapted from Bushell’s 1996 anthology of her New York Observer columns 

Like Bushnell, Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) also wrote for Vogue in the beloved HBO series

Like Bushnell, Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) also wrote for Vogue in the beloved HBO series 

In The New Yorker profile, she admitted she was ‘startled’ by many decisions made in HBO Max’s Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That.

She said she struggled to see herself in any of the characters or storylines, which left fans shocked by Mr. Big’s death and Miranda Hobbes’ coming out.

‘I’m really startled by a lot of the decisions made in the reboot,’ she told the magazine. ‘You know, it’s a television product, done with Michael Patrick King and Sarah Jessica Parker, who have both worked with HBO a lot in the past. 

‘HBO decided to put this franchise back into their hands for a variety of reasons, and this is what they came up with.’

When asked specifically if she still related to Bradshaw, (Parker), Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), or Charlotte York (Kristen Davis), the journalist confessed she didn’t. 

In The New Yorker profile, the writer also admitted she was 'startled' by many decisions made in HBO Max's Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That

In The New Yorker profile, the writer also admitted she was ‘startled’ by many decisions made in HBO Max’s Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That 

When asked specifically if she related to any of the show's characters, the journalist confessed she didn't, noting that she stopped relating to Bradshaw years ago

When asked specifically if she related to any of the show’s characters, the journalist confessed she didn’t, noting that she stopped relating to Bradshaw years ago 

Bushnell's most recent project was her one-woman show 'Is There Still Sex in the City?' but the production came to an early end in December after she tested positive for COVID-19

Bushnell’s most recent project was her one-woman show ‘Is There Still Sex in the City?’ but the production came to an early end in December after she tested positive for COVID-19

‘Not at all. I mean, Carrie Bradshaw ended up being a quirky woman who married a really rich guy. And that’s not my story, or any of my friends’ stories. But TV has its own logic,’ the TV producer bluntly stated. 

Bushnell added that she stopped relating to Bradshaw a long time ago.

‘I’ve said this, but when the character of Carrie sleeps with Mr. Big after he’s married to somebody else — that’s when I felt like the character’s becoming something other [than myself],’ she noted.

And Just Like That aired its finale earlier this month, but it remains unclear if there will be a second season. 

Bushnell’s most recent project was her one-woman show ‘Is There Still Sex in the City?’ which ran in New York City, but the Off-Broadway production came to an early end in December after she tested positive for COVID-19. 

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