Kristin Davis Opens Up About ‘Sex and the City’ Cast’s Fear of Showing Nipples on the Show

Kristin Davis recently reflected on the changing attitudes toward women’s fashion and nudity in Hollywood, revealing that she and her Sex and the City co-stars once felt nervous about showing their nipples on screen.

The actress, best known for her role as Charlotte York, shared her thoughts during an episode of her podcast, Are You a Charlotte?. She discussed how much things have evolved since Sex and the City originally aired from 1998 to 2004 and how standards around revealing clothing and on-screen nudity were vastly different at the time.

While speaking with clinical psychologist Dr. Hillary Goldsher, Davis pointed out how common it is today for celebrities to wear sheer dresses on the red carpet, often exposing their bodies.

“Look at how people present themselves now. It’s totally normal to have almost everyone on a red carpet in a sheer dress where, potentially, their nipples are showing,” Davis said. “Like, this never would have happened back in the olden days.”

She went on to recall how she and her co-stars—Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw), Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbes), and Kim Cattrall (Samantha Jones)—felt uneasy about the idea of baring too much skin on the show.

“We were scared about showing our nipples on the show,” Davis admitted. “We were like, ‘Oh my god. They want us to show our nipples.’ We were so worried about it. Right? Like, would we be shunned? Would we be, you know, cast out … by the film world or whatever, which is kind of insane to think about.”

Beyond nudity on screen, Davis also reflected on the intense pressure she faced in Hollywood about how to present herself in public. She revealed that she often leaned on her Sex and the City co-stars for guidance, especially during major industry events.

One moment that stood out for her was the 2004 Emmy Awards, where she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Davis admitted that choosing the right dress became overwhelming due to the conflicting opinions from people around her.

“I had this one dress that was like a cutout, like, very sexy skin-baring dress, very not me,” she recalled. “Like, I was not really that comfortable with it, but the designer really wanted me to wear it. My manager was like, you’ve gotta wear that because people don’t think you’re sexy because you play the prude on the show. And I was like, ‘Really? Are you sure? Because I am still on Sex and the City.’”

She also revealed that while her manager encouraged her to embrace a more daring look, her publicist advised her to take a different approach.

“My manager suggested I wear that dress with all the skin,” Davis explained. “But my publicist told me, ‘Oh no, darling. You need to wear this princess dress because, you know, class.’”

Caught between two extremes, Davis had to figure out how she wanted to present herself in Hollywood. “I was trying to navigate this whole thing of like, how do I present myself? What am I trying to do? How am I within this conversation? And it was super stressful,” she said. “So I went with a middle ground [outfit].”

Looking back, Davis finds it fascinating how much perspectives have shifted over the years. What once felt like a major career risk—whether it was showing skin or choosing the wrong outfit—has now become far more accepted.

“It’s so interesting,” she noted, reflecting on the evolution of Hollywood standards.

Even after decades in the industry, Davis continues to have candid conversations about beauty standards, self-image, and the pressures of being a woman in entertainment. And with the continued success of And Just Like That, the Sex and the City legacy remains relevant in these discussions today.

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