SINGAPORE – With the arrival of all six seasons of Sex And The City (1998 to 2004) on Netflix in April, viewers are rediscovering the comedy-drama series that is funny, raunchy and ground-breaking for its time.

The central quartet of Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Miranda Hobbes and Charlotte York – played respectively by Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis – are undoubtedly the stars of the show who enthralled fans with their romantic and sexual pursuits.

The sitcom also showcased an impressive roster of guest stars, including major celebrities of the 1990s. Rocker Jon Bon Jovi and actor David Duchovny both romanced Carrie in single-episode appearances, while singer Geri Halliwell from British girl group Spice Girls played an acquaintance Samantha bumped into on the street.

But the show was also where some television and movie stars got their pre-fame acting start. Here are five celebrity cameos in Sex And The City you might have missed.

Bradley Cooper

Hollywood A-lister Bradley Cooper, 49, is a four-time nominee for Best Actor at the Oscars, including his most recent nod for biopic Maestro (2023), about legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein. 

But the American star’s first acting credit was in the Season 2 episode titled They Shoot Single People, Don’t They? (1999). The then fresh-faced Cooper played Jake, a sports car-driving party boy Carrie meets at a club. The two flirted and came close to a dalliance, but after he bought a magazine which featured Carrie looking haggard and unhappy on its cover, their encounter was cut short.

Justin Theroux

Few stars can say they appeared in two episodes of Sex And The City as two characters, but that double credit is firmly in Justin Theroux’s resume.

In the Season 1 episode The Monogamists (1998), the American actor-screenwriter played Jared, a smarmy up-and-coming writer who hits on Carrie at a party.

And in the Season 2 episode Shortcomings (1999), he played another one of Carrie’s boyfriends-of-the-week, Vaughn, a short story writer with a charming family who, unfortunately, has problems consummating his relationship with Carrie.

Theroux, 52, who starred in the mystery-drama series The Leftovers (2014 to 2017), will next be seen in the highly anticipated Tim Burton-directed fantasy horror comedy film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The sequel to 1988’s Beetlejuice is slated to open in cinemas on Sept 5.

Elizabeth Banks

Cooper’s Wet Hot American Summer (2001) co-star Elizabeth Banks, 50, also had an early television credit on Sex And The City – in the Season 3 episode Politically Erect (2000), as a woman who tells Charlotte she met her fiance at a party where women took men they were no longer interested in. Her scene was not even a minute long.

The American actress-producer-director is now most known for playing Effie Trinket in the Hunger Games film series (2012 to 2023) and directing movies, such as Charlie’s Angels (2019) and Cocaine Bear (2023). 

Kat Dennings

American actress Kat Dennings, 37, has a successful sitcom, 2 Broke Girls (2011 to 2017), and a recurring role as Dr Darcy Lewis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe under her belt. But she got her start as a child star in 2000, in the third season of Sex And The City. 

In the episode Hot Child In The City, she played Jenny Brier, a rich and obnoxious 13-year-old who hires Samantha to party-plan her bat mitzvah. When she bumps into Samantha, Carrie and Miranda having lunch later in the episode, she goes up to them and professes her love for Carrie’s newspaper column.

Chandra Wilson

Before American actress Chandra Wilson, 54, was Dr Miranda Bailey on the long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy’s (2005 to present), she had a brief but memorable scene as a policewoman in Anchors Away (2002), the Season 5 opener of Sex And The City.

The cop stops Samantha from illegally putting up fliers around town, but when the latter explains that the leaflets are about her hotel-magnate boyfriend who told her that he loved her and then cheated on her, Wilson’s character says, “Carry on, ma’am.”

• All six seasons of Sex And The City are available on Netflix and HBO Go.