I watched Sex and the City in my early twenties and loved Samantha Jones instantly. She felt like permission. Permission to want sex, to take up space, to not constantly explain myself.

Now I’m in my thirties and I’m even more confident saying she was the best character. Not ironically. Not nostalgically. Just honestly.

She still makes sense. Maybe more than ever.

She Liked To Have Fun

Samantha didn’t sleep with people because she was broken or lonely or secretly sad. She wasn’t trying to heal anything or prove anything or fix herself through men.

She had sex because it was fun. Because she enjoyed it. Because she wanted to.

That’s it. No tragic backstory required.

And somehow, decades later, that still feels slightly controversial. Women can want sex, sure, but only if there’s a reason. Samantha skipped the reason and went straight to the desire. That confidence is what made her powerful, not the body count jokes some people tried to reduce her to.

The Fashion of It All

Samantha’s style worked because it wasn’t trying to impress anyone. She wore what she liked and wore it loudly, but it never felt like a costume. No desperation. No trend chasing. No pretending to be trendier or softer or more digestible.

Her clothes were sexy because she was comfortable in them. That’s the difference.

She had fun with fashion. She played with it. She didn’t overthink it. She dressed like a woman enjoying her body instead of negotiating with it.

Samantha Jones Was An Actual Friend

Samantha showed up. She didn’t judge. She didn’t keep score. She didn’t pretend to be above the mess.

She let her friends be dramatic, insecure, romantic, chaotic. She supported them without trying to fix them or shame them or compete with them. And when it counted, she was there. Fully.

Career Driven, Not Career Consumed

Yes, Samantha was a girl boss before the phrase became exhausting.

She loved her job. She was good at it. She took pride in building her career. But work wasn’t her whole personality.

She made space for pleasure. For friendships. For herself.

She didn’t hustle to prove her worth. She worked because she liked what she did. That distinction feels important now, when burnout is everywhere.

Why Samantha Still Wins

Every year, Carrie gets a revisionist history makeover. Suddenly she’s the girls’ girl, the icon, the one we were “supposed” to admire. She wasn’t. She judged her friends. She centered men. She often put herself last.

Samantha didn’t. She stayed true to herself. She enjoyed sex. She loved her friends. She worked hard and played harder. All of this was on her own terms. No apologies. No explanations.

That’s why she still matters. She aged better than the show because she never pretended to be anyone other than herself. Pleasure, friendship, confidence — it doesn’t matter! Samantha had them all, and she didn’t need anyone’s approval.