Sarah Jessica Parker’s Firstborn, 20, Looks ‘Just Like Her’ – He Wore Only Hand-Me-Downs as Child

• James Wilkie Broderick featured his father, Matthew Broderick, in a rare Instagram photo, with fans noticing his uncanny resemblance to his mother.
• Sarah Jessica Parker raised her children to be humble and wished for them to work hard and not be entitled.

In June 2023, Sarah Jessica Parker’s biological and oldest child, James Wilkie Broderick, took to his Instagram Story to share images of himself and others. During his outing, he seemed to bond with his father, Matthew Broderick.

Matthew smiled while dressed in a black tuxedo, a white shirt, and a black bowtie. Over the image, his son noted how he was the best-dressed person that night, while another photo showed Parker’s son having fun in the streets and posing with friends.

On October 9, 2022, James uploaded images on his Instagram that showed how busy his summer was. The first photo hinted that he went on a hike, and in the second one, he posed in a closeup with his cat blocking his mouth.

The third picture was a rare image of the father-son duo posing in a black-and-white photo. The following pictures showed him hanging over a swimming pool, playing the guitar, showing off his scars, the view he witnessed, and him and a friend hiking.

Fans couldn’t help but notice James’s resemblance to his famous mother. One person noted that he had “momma’s chin” before sharing how they loved his father, while someone else who was shocked put it candidly, stating:

“You look just like your mom!”

Despite growing up with two famous parents, James didn’t have the world at his feet; instead, his mother found a way to keep him humble. Parker didn’t spend thousands of dollars on designer clothes for her son.

James, 20, was welcomed on October 28, 2002, weighing 6 lbs, 8 oz. He was welcomed at Manhattan’s Lenox Hill Hospital and named after his father’s late father and actor James Broderick.

Parker’s publicist revealed that he and his mother were both doing well and healthy after his birth. Matthew’s representative also said everyone was over the moon with the delivery and ready to head home.

Before leaving for their West Village home, they posed outside the hospital for fans and the media to get a glimpse. Showing how well she was doing and that she still had her sense of humor, Parker joked:

“Thanks for caring. It must be a slow news week.”

During a 2008 interview, when James was five, the actress revealed how she was raising her then-only child. The “Sex and The City” star said she was his primary caregiver, and she put him to bed each night.

Unlike other celebrities, Matthew’s wife was more hands-on, getting her son dressed, giving him his toothbrush, and taking him to school each morning. Parker noted how small her son was but had a personality that was 6 feet 4!

That year, she revealed they would spend the summer together at their beach house. In another past interview, the actress revealed that her son “only wears hand-me-downs” she’d gotten from his cousins, Parker’s older nephews.

The celebrity said she was telling the truth and that James was also dressed in her brother’s clothes that her mother had saved. The actress was adamant that she was joking and didn’t recall ever needing to buy her son clothes.

She only got him new winter coats or shoes because people’s feet were different. During a 2008 interview, Matthew’s wife confessed that she wouldn’t have become the person she was today if she had been brought up in privilege.

Parker noted her appreciation for work and how it was her’s and Matthew’s duty to stress upon James by setting an example. The couple wished to show him what it meant to owe one’s community something and not to be entitled to the benefits of their hard work.

Now as an adult, it appeared that their parenting style had bore great fruit in the way their son had flourished and grown. James now made his clothing purchases and had begun his journey into adulthood.

Parker shared images of her son on rare occasions on social media, especially when he reached meaningful milestones. In 2021, the actress shared his picture on Instagram and celebrated his 19th birthday.

The star revealed that he didn’t wake them up anymore because he was busy with his life and studies at Brown University, an institution he’d started attending that year. She noted how he was with new friends and keeping his family updated.

Parker found it bittersweet to be away from her son on his birthday, but she still wished him the happiest birthday and that each of his birthday wishes came true. The star also clarified that she didn’t keep James from enjoying his childhood like Joan Crawford.

However, she also didn’t want her son to think the world he lived in was real because it wasn’t. James’ parents were Jewish, but a devout Catholic from Brazil worked as his babysitter and helped raise him.

[Sarah Jessica] Parker confessed that it was hard to do when everything that they [her children] needed or wanted was given to them.

Parker noted how the babysitter influenced her son somewhat, saying prayers with the boy, just like his mother did each night. The actress joked that he’d become Unitarian and how during Easter, she went to an Episcopal church just for the music.

Her husband’s sister was an Episcopal priest, and his other sister was a therapist, so the star thought her son was covered from that side of the family! On September 9, 2021, Parker shared three images of all her children walking away and photographed from the back.

On June 22, 2009, she and Matthew welcomed twin daughters, Tabitha Hodge and Marion Loretta Elwell, via surrogate in Martins Ferry, Ohio. During her 2021 post, she noted how James had taken his first steps into his freshman year of college in seven days.

His sisters started grade seven, leaving the Broderick home feeling different for the actress. Parker said they were all different, and their children needed them more and far less, leaving them “gutted” by all the time that had passed.

She shared how her children were excited by the possibilities and love awaiting them. In 2009, Matthew’s wife revealed that she didn’t want any of her children to hold entitlement, adding:

“I want them to work hard and be challenged.”

In March 2020, James became nostalgic, sharing several photos and a boomerang video of his time with friends at Brown University. Someone replied by tagging Matthew and Parker, seemingly linking them to the college admission scandal and contradicting the actress by asking how much they’d paid to get James into the college, stating:

“Shame on you.”

Parker confessed that it was hard to do when everything they needed or wanted was given to them. The mother of three explained that it was why she was always working on those values.