Kristin Davis had something on her mind. Last month, she invited PEOPLE to join her for lunch at Soho House in West Hollywood. Nestled into a plush chair in a quiet corner, she glanced out over the city skyline. Her eyes landed on a familiar sight.
“Oh, look, HBO!” she said with a small smile.
Sipping her decaf latte, the Sex and the City and …And Just Like That star made a candid admission. “I’m a little nervous!”
Davis has been in the television world for over 30 years, ever since her breakout role on Melrose Place in 1995. Despite her long career, she’s never been one to open up about her personal life or co-stars. But things are different now—she has her own podcast. As she approaches her 60th birthday, Davis is stepping into the spotlight in a new way, leading the iHeartRadio series Are You a Charlotte?, where she revisits SATC episodes one by one. This time, she’s the narrator of her own story.
Looking Back on Hollywood Beginnings
This new role as a storyteller has put Davis in a reflective mood. Raised in South Carolina, she pursued acting at Rutgers University. After graduating—and getting sober—she landed small roles on ER and soap operas before scoring a spot on Melrose Place.
Taking a deep breath, the mother of two hesitated for a moment before sharing: “Well, here’s a story I’ve never told.”
Almost 30 years ago, Davis auditioned for the role of Brooke Armstrong on Aaron Spelling’s hit primetime drama. At the time, she had just opened a yoga studio as a backup plan, unsure where her acting career would take her. The role came down to three final contenders—one of whom now has two Oscars.
“Hilary Swank walked out and was like, ‘Oh, I totally blew it,’” Davis recalled. When it was her turn, she stepped into Spelling’s massive office, complete with a long, curved couch and glowing fish tanks. She landed the role and appeared on the show between 1995 and 1996.
But the experience wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. “They didn’t really know what to do with me,” she admitted. “I’d get my script and think, ‘Oh, Jesus, what am I gonna do this week?’ My character was incredibly conniving.”
Despite the challenges, she remembers Heather Locklear as a guiding force. “She was so incredibly nice and really set the example for how to handle fame and lead a show.”
The Pressure to Fit In
Hollywood in the ‘90s came with its own set of expectations, especially for women. “There was a general vibe on set that was difficult, especially about body image. Every single person was gorgeous and super skinny,” she said.
Davis felt the pressure to conform. She hired a running coach and pushed herself through back-to-back 90-minute spin classes. “I’m sure I wasn’t eating,” she admitted. “I’d get so lightheaded that I fainted in a parking lot one time. Sometimes I couldn’t even remember my own name.”
While Los Angeles in the mid-’90s was a city of endless parties, Davis had already chosen a different path. “Oh yeah, I was a weirdo,” she said with a laugh. “There were plates of cocaine everywhere, and I was like, ‘What the f—? Get me out of here.’” She has remained sober ever since.
Looking back, she sees a clear link between acting and her past struggles with drinking. “I started drinking early. It was freedom. Until it wasn’t,” she reflected. “Enough bad things had happened. If I hadn’t loved acting, I don’t think I would’ve stopped, because I wouldn’t have had a reason to stop. But for me—type-A me, who wanted to be great at my job—that was my lightbulb moment. Acting and drinking? They weren’t going to work together.”
Moving Forward with Sex and the City
Years after Sex and the City wrapped in 2004, tensions surfaced between Kim Cattrall and the rest of the cast. When asked about their current relationship, Davis was diplomatic.
“I haven’t seen her in a very long time,” she said. “In my mind, we worked together, we did this amazing thing together. I’m doing this podcast to talk about what’s different now, what we might have gotten wrong. I want to celebrate her role on the show. Because it’s a huge, huge part. It needs to be celebrated, respected, and held up. That’s my goal—not to stir up drama.
“Also, since the show and movies ended, she said she wished we wouldn’t talk about her anymore. I want to honor that.”
With a career spanning decades, Davis is no stranger to reinvention. And now, with her podcast, she’s stepping into a new chapter—one where she finally gets to tell the story in her own words.
