Entertainment TV All the 'Sex and the City' Celebrity Cameos You May Have Missed Sex and the City premiered 25 years ago this summer — and since then, some of the show's minor characters have gone on to become major stars By Diana Pearl Diana Pearl Diana Pearl is a former writer and reporter at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2018. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 6, 2023 03:36PM EDT Close The women of Sex and the City in season 3. Photo: HBO/Everett Sex and the City premiered 25 years ago today, on June 6, 1998, and though it made stars out of its four lead females — Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall, Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon — it also launched (or furthered) the careers of a whole host of celebs. Here, look back on some of the best cameos throughout the series' six-season run. 01 of 23 Vince Vaughn HBO For two episodes in season 3, the ladies head to Los Angeles. While they are there, Carrie has a fling with Keith Travers, played by Vaughn, a Hollywood-dweller who pretends to be Matt Damon's agent. Actually, he's Carrie Fisher's house-sitter and personal assistant. 02 of 23 Carrie Fisher HBO Fisher then makes a brief appearance in one of the L.A. episodes, where she plays herself, catching Keith and Carrie together in her bed. 03 of 23 Sarah Michelle Gellar HBO The L.A. episodes are (naturally!) full of celebrities. One of them is Gellar, who plays Debbie, a Hollywood executive who wants to turn Carrie's columns into a movie. 04 of 23 Matthew McConaughey HBO Rounding out the L.A. celebrity appearances is McConaughey, who also plays himself. He's floated as a potential backer for Carrie's movie, and the two have a meeting to discuss. It doesn't go off quite as planned, however, considering that McConaughey proclaims he is a bigger fan of Mr. Big than he is of Carrie. "I don't know anybody any cooler than Mr. Big," he tells her. "The only question is, 'What the f--- is Carrie's problem?'" 05 of 23 Lucy Liu HBO Liu also plays herself in an episode of SATC, as a potential client of Samantha's. However, Sam ruins that opportunity when she drops Liu's name (without her permission) in an attempt to buy a Birkin bag. 06 of 23 David Duchovny HBO Duchovny guest-stars on the episode "Boy, Interrupted" as Jeremy, Carrie's high school ex-boyfriend who lives in Connecticut — in a mental health hospital. Though Carrie thinks she could get past his address at first, the high school sweethearts part ways again by the end of the episode. 07 of 23 Justin Theroux HBO Theroux plays not one, but two different characters on SATC. The first — Jared — is an author who's friends with Stanford. The second, as fiction writer Vaughn — with a perfect family and a few issues in the bedroom — who Carrie dates in the show's second season. 08 of 23 Jennifer Coolidge HBO Coolidge plays the host of the show's infamous purse party, teetering on the brink of a breakdown after a breakup. (Particularly after she catches Samantha and Smith, who is working as one of the party's waiters, having sex in the stairwell.) 09 of 23 Tony Hale HBO Remember Samantha's nude photo shoot? And the photographers who are seen sitting, dumbfounded, as she strips down? Hale is one of them, and his character is (apparently) named Tiger. 10 of 23 Nathan Lane HBO Lane plays Bobby Fine, the pianist the girls are convinced is gay — until they get invited to his bash of a wedding (to a woman named Bitsy von Muffling) in the Hamptons. 11 of 23 John Slattery HBO Carrie has a brief dalliance with being a political spouse (or at least, a political girlfriend) while seeing Bill Kelley, a man who is running for City Council, played by Slattery. 12 of 23 Alanis Morissette HBO Carrie dates Mark, a bisexual man, during the show's third season. And while out at a party with Mark, she meets Dawn — played by Morrissette. 13 of 23 Kat Dennings HBO A then-barely-known Dennings plays the ultra-spoiled teen Jenny Brier, who hires Samantha to plan her Bat Mitzvah. 14 of 23 Jon Bon Jovi HBO Carrie heads to therapy in the show's second season, where she meets fellow patient Seth. They hit it off, though eventually realize that the reason each is in therapy — Carrie picks the wrong men, Seth loses interest in women after sleeping with them — is the reason they won't work out. 15 of 23 Will Arnett HBO In season 2, Miranda dates Arnett's character, Jack. However, he turns out to be a bit (putting it mildly) of an exhibitionist and she promptly breaks it off. 16 of 23 Jim Gaffigan HBO Another one of Miranda's guys, Doug (Gaffigan), is a guy who seems normal and nice. Well, except for the fact that he pees in front of her — something Miranda cannot get used to. 17 of 23 Geri Halliwell HBO Sweltering in the hot and sticky New York City summer, Samantha learns of a tropical oasis — a rooftop pool — thanks to Halliwell, who plays Phoebe, a British woman who tips her off to the pool at Soho House. Samantha eventually ends up impersonating a woman, Annabelle Bronstein, when she can't cut the waitlist. 18 of 23 Elizabeth Banks HBO Banks makes a brief appearance as Catherine, the fiancée of a politician Charlotte attempts to woo before realizing he is married. 19 of 23 Alan Cumming HBO Carrie has an ill-fated runway debut in a "models and real people" fashion show during New York Fashion Week. Chosen to wear Dolce & Gabbana for the event, she heads to the legendary fashion house's office, where she meets Cumming's character Oscar, who eventually puts her in a pair of bejeweled panties. 20 of 23 Bobby Cannavale HBO Cannavale has a one-episode appearance on SATC as Samantha's love interest, the guy with the "funky spunk." Apparently, his character's name is actually Adam Ball. (Who wants to bet that last name was intentional?) 21 of 23 Chandra Wilson HBO The future Dr. Miranda Bailey appears on SATC for just a few seconds, as a police officer who attempts to stop Samantha from passing out flyers in Richard's neighborhood, informing the residents and passersby that he's a cheater. When Samantha explains that that's her purpose, Wilson's character lets her go on ahead. 22 of 23 Bradley Cooper HBO Fun fact: SATC was Cooper's very first acting credit. His character dates Carrie for one night before things quickly fizzle after he catches a glimpse of her infamous "Single and Fabulous?" magazine cover. 23 of 23 Andy Cohen HBO Sarah Jessica Parker's IRL BFF Cohen has a brief cameo as a shoe salesman at Barney's, where Carrie and Charlotte head to for an eye mask-clad Charlotte to practice what it's like to be blind to prepare for potentially being a guide.