WHEN Sarah Jessica Parker walks into a room, everyone turns to stare. Charming and petite, with a distinctive nose and bright aqua eyes that sparkle like diamonds. As a first impression, the actress and style icon is in a league of her own.

In the limelight for more than a decade, the 46-year-old leading actress of the "Sex and the City" movie and television series has at last made her first appearance in Shanghai as a VIP guest of the figure-skating tour "Artistry on Ice," sponsored by Amway Corporation.

Founded last year in Beijing, it is an annual tour that puts the world's best figure-skaters under one roof to showcase the artistic side of the sport.

"I'm a true, pretty loyal, very devoted skating fan," Parker said. "It seems too good to be true that I get to see Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo skate as a member of the audience. Before this I was able to see their performances only on television."

Though this is her first visit to China, the actress said she wanted to come, to Shanghai in particular, a couple of years ago. "I wanted to come sooner and I wish I had."

She said she wished she could have stayed longer - she was in the city for just two days before leaving for Taipei yesterday.

After a press conference on Friday afternoon at the Kerry Parkside complex, Pudong, I had the privilege of meeting this extraordinary woman, a former ballet dancer and stage performer, now a producer and actress, a New York style icon, and a devoted mother of three.

Glamorous

Parker wore a glamorous purple dress that accentuated her waspish waist. With just a touch of makeup, her beauty in the flesh seems somehow less extravagant than it appears on the printed page or on the screen. She talks in soft tones, smiling constantly.

Spend just five minutes with her and you understand why this confident, witty and sexy Hollywood celebrity caused a stir around the globe and enchanted audiences with her sense of quirky elegance as Carrie Bradshaw in six seasons of the successful and critically acclaimed TV series.

In an industry obsessed with the new, Parker at 46 remains a fashion muse inspiring women's wardrobes. Whether in ball gown, micro-mini or the mix of casual top and bootcut jeans of a busy urban mom, she has set trends both on screen as Bradshaw and off screen on the red carpet or a New York street.

The role of Bradshaw gave Parker four Golden Globes, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards. It also turned her into a fashion icon, and she exploited the sartorial demands of her role to project her personal tastes. We marvel at her sporting Manolo Blahnik heels and Oscar de la Renta party dresses on film sets. Even when she takes fashion risks, such as wearing a pink tutu or micro-mini, she looks neat and polished.

But in reality Parker claims to be a far more modest dresser than her character. "I don't spend a lot of time shopping, never have. I have a great appreciation of fashion as an audience and a reader flipping through a magazine. I love to learn about how beautiful clothes are made but I almost never shop."

Shoes? "Not a lot! I've got nowhere near as many pairs of shoes as Bradshaw," she said. "I borrow them for occasions like this and I'm going to give them back when I'm back home. I don't buy a lot but it doesn't mean I don't love it. It's just not the focus of my life. I have three children (a son aged eight and two-year-old twin daughters). I'm a working actress, a business woman and I can't remember the last time I went to a store."

For a working mom with a hectic daily schedule, Parker prioritizes practical clothes that suit her everyday life. "I am usually dressed for children to make a mess of me," she said. "And at this stage of life, I'm mature enough to know what makes me comfortable. I always think women and men look best when they dress as themselves rather than everybody else."

However, just like Bradshaw, Parker still sets fashion standards when she dresses for public events, bringing out her own unique style.

Parker said Bradshaw's life is nothing like hers. She said: "I have dated only three men in my life. I have been with one man (actor husband Matthew Broderick) for almost 20 years. I've never been a drinker. I don't go to parties. I love playing Bradshaw because our lives are so radically different. Every choice we have made has been different.

"The beauty of playing a character like Bradshaw is that she is so different and her life, experience, curiosity and interests are so different. Playing somebody for a long time is very unusual in my work. I grew up with the character."

Parker said the way Bradshaw cherishes friendship inspired her. The character's commitment to her friends was enviable.

No matter how different they are, Bradshaw and Parker share a love of New York City. "Though there are other incredible, exciting cities in the world, I found myself unable to leave NYC. My husband was born and raised in New York and I have lived there almost my whole life."

Life-changing

The TV series captures the glamour, the fun and the excitement of New York, the city becoming a fifth character, integral to the story. The popular HBO show even inspired a 32-episode Chinese series called "Really Really Want to be in Love." It appeared on local TV from 2004 to 2006 and featured four single, independent career women who yearn for romance - a Chinese version of the HBO show minus the sex.

Being the lead and the producer of the "Sex and the City" series and movies changed Parker's life. Though she has been in show business most of her life and has many film, stage and television credits, the success of the franchise catapulted her into a whole new financial category.

She shares the crown with Angelina Jolie in Forbes' latest list of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses, each with estimated annual earnings of US$30 million. She denies this. "Those figures are simply not true," she said.

Parker is multi-talented. She has her own company, Pretty Matches, maker of the cable TV network Bravo's reality show "Work of Art: The Next Great Artist," in which up-and-coming artists compete for a US$100,000 prize and a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum.

Her starring role in a new movie, "I Don't Know How She Does It," which will be released on the big screen in September, reflects a new phase of her life. She is going to play Kate Reddy, a financial executive and mother of two young children struggling to balance the pressures of her job with the needs of her family.

"We are far more alike, meaning the choices Kate has made and the choices I have made are far more parallel. We both are trying to be the best people we can be in our professional and personal lives. There are enormous internal conflicts and I can appreciate and understand more easily her struggles and the things that are important to her."

As a mother, Parker can relate to Reddy. It is not easy to work full-time and care for children. She said: "The time required for the 'Sex and The City' series was very intense, and I thought it was time to spend more time with my children. On most days I take my son to school and then I get my work done. My twin daughters take naps between 1:15pm and 3:30pm. I put them to bed and then I can make phone calls.

"If you want to be a working person you can make the time. It's complicated but it's what I want and it's what is important to me. It makes me a better mom. It is good for my daughters to see me working and enjoying things."

After marrying Broderick in 1997 in a secret wedding, she bore son James Wilkie Broderick. The twins, Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge, were born by way of a surrogate.

Parker herself comes from a large family. She was born in Ohio, one of eight children from her mother's two marriages. Money was tight as she grew up. Her father left within a year of her birth and her stepfather's earnings were low.

She added: "There might be people that had more but my life as a child was so rich with culture and love and family. I might not have had everything I wanted but I had everything I needed."

She began acting professionally when she was eight and earned her first Broadway role in "The Innocents," which led the family to move to New Jersey in 1976 with the aim of supporting her dream of becoming an actress. At the age of 14, she played the title role in Broadway musical "Annie."

Parker is open to possibilities and is a lifetime learner. As a determined person, she worked hard and accepted challenges. She said: "I want my children to work with those values - to want to earn things by working hard, to find work exciting and fulfilling."

Parker's screen success made her a perfect ambassador for fashion, and she was signed up by Gap in 2004, shortly after the last season of the series.

She has also launched Bitten, a line of budget clothing that no longer exists.

At one point she was president and chief creative officer of clothes maker Halston Heritage. She has since left but refuses to talk about the reason.

She has also become involved with the perfume industry. She launched her own line in 2005. The first scent, Lovely, was considered a huge success. Others include Covet, Dawn, Endless and Twilight. Last year she created SJP NYC as her signature fragrance line.

Parker seems to keep herself in good shape, but laughed as she said: "I'm not really. I only show the parts of me that are in shape." She added: "I really enjoy working out."

Parker has a great sense of humor and I was drawn to her passion and warmth during our chat. She expressed her thoughts with wit, femininity and modesty.

Talking about her future, Parker said: "I hope I'm working and doing things interesting, still traveling to places like Shanghai and having new experiences. I hope my children will have interesting school lives and friends. I would like more of the same."