FaceApp your selfies, Photoshop your friends’ pictures if you must, but don’t, I repeat don’t come for Samantha Jones. The Instagram account @scrambledwit has posted a picture of the Sex and the City character FaceApped almost beyond recognition. ‘Young Samantha Jones x #FaceApp x #FaceAppChallenge’ they captioned it.
We’re familiar with the FaceApp challenge that sees celebrities and normal people posting pictures of what they may look like in 50 years’ time. But using Ai to imagine the filtered faces of some of our favourite 90s and 00s characters feels pretty unnecessary.
In this picture, her face morphs into an unrealistically smooth, lip-fillered version of itself, her hair mutates into a long, curly coiffure and her make-up becomes a bit too Kylie Jenner for our sassy New York businesswoman.
Recently, the same was done to a picture of a young Jennifer Aniston in character as Rachel Green, which angered fans, many of whom left disapproving comments. 'Why kill natural beauty with Photoshop?' one user wrote, whilst another (@classicberries) commented: 'Oh god what did you do to her?'.
Perhaps an airbrush here and there isn’t wildly unimaginable. But Samantha Jones deserves more dignity than a photoshopped, curly hairdo.
When it comes to the Sex and the City characters, I couldn’t help but wonder… would they use filters and Facetune if we were watching them today? Carrie would probably pretend she’s so impossibly cool she doesn’t know how to use Instagram (although Samantha might convince her to join to cash in on the #SponCon). Miranda probably wouldn’t have time to obsess over her face. Charlotte could potentially have a few heavily-filtered family pictures of her and the children, with a blessed hashtag and flower crown or two. But Samantha? Samantha is a tricky one…
We know she’s in denial when it comes to getting older. In the second Sex and the City film (yes, the one in Abu Dhabi that we’d all rather forget was ever made) we see her desperately trying to stave off ageing, swallowing vitamin and hormone pills to fend off menopause and massaging youth creams into herself.. down there.
Sex and the City: where are they now?
Sex and the City cast - where are they now? slider
1 of 20Sarah Jessica Parker - aka Carrie Bradshaw
Carrie had a weekly column and managed to live in a New York City apartment - the dream. She chased Mr Big around NYC (even though he was trash) and she even cheated on Aidan Shaw with him - rude. The last time we saw Carrie she returned from Abu Dhabi after cheating on hubby Mr Big with Aidan - full circle, tbh.
2 of 20Sarah Jessica Parker - now
Sarah Jessica Parker has since starred in The Family Stone, Failure to Launch, Did You Hear About The Morgans and New Year's Eve. She's also starred on Glee, HBO show Divorce and she's produced her own independent drama. She's married to actor Matthew Broderick and they have three children; James and surrogate twins Marion and Tabitha.
3 of 20Kim Cattrall - aka Samantha Jones
Confident, outspoken and sexy AF - Samantha Jones is literally everything we want to be. She stayed away from long-term relationships but went on to fall for Richard Wright however he left her devo when she found him cheating on her. She then went on to date Jerrod and the pair moved to LA however she broke up with him in Sex and the City 2 and moved back to NYC.
4 of 20Kim Cattrall - now
Following SATC, Kim went on to continue acting in movies and Broadway productions. In 2018 she tweeted that her brother had gone missing and hours later it came to light that he had died by suicide. After SJP apparently wrote condolences on Kim's Instagram, Kim hit back and claimed Sarah was "exploiting" her brother's death.
5 of 20Cynthia Nixon - aka Miranda Hobbes
Miranda didn't trust men (classic) but after falling for Steve Brady (and having a few ups and downs) she fell pregnant with Brady. The pair co-parented their son and eventually gave in to their feelings and reunited. However, Miranda was left heartbroken during the first Sex and the City movie when Steve cheated. Luckily they made it through their rough patch and she even bagged a new job at a law firm during the second movie.
6 of 20Cynthia Nixon - now
Cynthia has continued acting and in 2018 she announced she was running for governor. She's since Christine Marinoni. In 2006 she was diagnosed with breast cancer but she beat it.
7 of 20Kristin Davis - aka Charlotte York
The easiest way to describe Charlotte York is as a hopeless romantic. All she wanted was a husband and kids and it appeared that she found that in Trey MacDougal however when she found out he couldn't "get it up" it took a toll on their marriage and they split. She then fell for Harry Goldenblatt who was not her type but they eventually tied the knot and welcomed Lily (through adoption) and Rose into the world.
8 of 20Kristin Davis - now
Following her time in the Sex and the City series, Kristin continued to star in films and TV shows. She's also an ambassador for Oxfam and she adopted her daughter Gemma in 2011 and her son Wilson in 2018.
9 of 20Chris Noth - aka Big
We had a love/hate relationship with Big because he was Carrie's true love but he was also the ultimate f--kboy. However, when Carrie moved to Paris and was finally ready to forget all about him, he soon changed his tune and they made things work. In the final episode of SATC we finally discovered that his real name was John James Preston.
10 of 20Chris Noth - now
Chris has continued acting in theatre, TV and film. He's also a co-owner of a New York music venue and a tequila company. He's married to actress Tara Lynn Wilson and they're parents to two sons.
11 of 20John Corbett - aka Aidan Shaw
Aww Aidan; the one that got away, tbh. We still think Carrie should have stayed with Aidan - he treated her like a queen, built furniture (hashtag handy) and gave her a second chance after she cheated on him. Despite almost making it down the aisle; Aidan moved on, got married and had three children - although he did kiss Carrie in Sex and the City 2.
12 of 20John Corbett - now
Not only has John continued acting but he's also released two country albums. He has been in a long-term relationship with actress Bo Derek since 2002.
13 of 20Evan Handler - aka Harry Goldenblatt
Harry is definitely the least problematic out of all the Sex and the City characters. He was 100 per cent himself and loved Charlotte despite the fact that she was going through a divorce. He remained faithful and the pair welcomed two daughters into the world.
14 of 20Evan Handler - now
Evan has continued acting and he's also released his own books and has written for magazines and The Huffington Post. He tied the knot with Elisa Atti in 2003 and four years later they welcomed her daughter Sofia into the world.
15 of 20David Eigenberg - aka Steve Brady
Steve and Miranda's relationship started as a one-night stand but they ended up actually dating. It didn't last and the pair split. When Steve discovered he has testicular cancer he ended up sleeping with Miranda and she fell pregnant. They planed to co-parent their son but eventually reunited as a coupe. In the first Sex and the City movie, Steve cheated on Miranda but by the end of the film they got back together.
16 of 20David Eigenberg - now
Just like the rest of the cast, Steve has continued acting. He's married to Chrysti and they're parents to son Louie and daughter Myrna.
17 of 20Willie Garson - aka Stanford Blatch
We always loved Stanford. He was Carrie's BFF and always had her back. He did not get on with Charlotte's pal Anthony but the pair went on to get married in Sex and the City 2.
18 of 20Willie Garson - now
Willie has continued acting in films and TV shows - including Wizard of Waverly Places. Despite playing Carrie's gay best friend, Willie is actually heterosexual and in 2009 he adopted son Nathan.
19 of 20Mario Cantone - aka Anthony Marentino
Anthony was actually Charlotte's wedding planner for her marriage to Trey MacDougal and despite that relationship not working out, Anthony and Charlotte stayed pals. Anthony went on to marry Stanford despite them not getting along for years.
20 of 20Mario Cantone - now
Mario has continued his acting career on Broadway and in 2011 he married musical theater director Jerry Dixon after dating for 20 years.
So perhaps an airbrush here and there isn’t wildly unimaginable. But Samantha Jones deserves more dignity than a photoshopped, curly hairdo. And we deserve to have our perfect memories of her face untampered with. Seeing a beautiful picture of her destroyed is a depressing reminder that we spend too long editing photos these days which probably never needed it in the first place.