As the demure Charlotte on “SATC,” Kristin's character was the most naïve of the four women. Nicknamed “Park Avenue Pollyanna” by Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte was an old-fashioned woman who displayed grace and charm and believed in romance and true love. Extremely loyal to her friends, Charlotte was the eternal optimist.
The Biography Channel described Charlotte as a “preppy, elegant art dealer with a classic, conservative and chic fashion sense.”
Kristin revealed that her grandmother didn't watch the show and wasn't aware of its frank sexual content. When Kristin first developed an acting ambition, she promised her grandparents that she wouldn't act in any projects that involved sex or alcohol.
“It would be too much for her. She's extremely conservative,” Kristin said. “Luckily, my parents are not.”
“We enjoyed such amazing success on 'Sex and the City,'” Kristin said in a 2002 interview with the website www.culture.com. “You don't expect success on that level, it was such a big deal, and it was so intense and wonderful that it is hard for anything else to live up to it, frankly.”
Winning over fans with her alluring smile and innocent girl-next-door gorgeousness, Kristin displayed her acting versatility as she convincingly played the evil Brooke in “Melrose” and the virtuous Charlotte in “SATC.”
Kristin made a name for herself playing totally different characters in two of the hottest,hippest and buzz-worthy series of the 1990s and early 2000s.
As the conniving Brooke, Kristin created trouble at Melrose Place, especially for Alison (Courtney Thorne-Smith). A member of the wealthy Armstrong family, Brooke was hired at D&D Advertising and immediately sunk her claws into Alison's love, Billy Campbell (Andrew Shue). Brooke manipulated that previously blissful relationship and used her father's power to get Alison transferred to Hong Kong so that she could have Billy for herself.
In a 1996 article, People magazine called her character “The Nasty Girl... the perfectly manicured minx who ruthlessly stole saintly Billy.”
Kristin commented, “Someone said to me, 'You're the most evil woman on “Melrose.”' I said, 'What about Kimberly (Marcia Cross)? She killed people.”
Kristin complained of her character's meanness: “One week I called Alison a blonde bitch; the next week I called her a nasty bitch. It bothers me.”
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Kristin recalled the buzz “SATC” created in the entertainment world.
“I remember when another show came on and there was more print about us than when we were on the air. It was so bizarre. But part of that is just because there aren't enough shows about women starring women.”
Kristin was born in Boulder, Colorado, and after her parents divorced, her mother remarried and she was adopted by her stepfather, Keith Davis. The family moved to Columbia, South Carolina while she was still young when her father, a psychology professor, took a job at the University of South Carolina.
Adapting to the South was a challenge. Kristin told People, “The other girls curled their hair every day. I wore Indian shirts and bleached jeans.”
At six she dreamed of growing up to be a firefighter, but she also showed her artistic talents early in life.
“I've been acting since I was ten years old. I had two lines in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the community theater. I was very focused and I loved it,” she said in the www.culture.com interview. “My parents believed in the arts and being well rounded. So I played piano and violin, I danced and acted.
“They never thought I would go into acting, though... It was a bit of a shock to my dad when I said, 'I want to go to acting school' because he... was thinking of something more academic.”
Growing up in South Carolina, Kristin was seen as a good girl but she had her wild side.
“I drank a lot, which was rebellious because my parents didn't drink at all. In the South, pretty much everybody drinks,” she said. “At high school, it was just crazy. We'd all be behind the gym drinking, about 20 people passing around bourbon or whatever.
“Where I came from, a lot of people didn't have money, but they didn't have gangs or drugs either.”
After she realized that alcohol was hindering her career goals, Kristin quit the booze at age 22.
“I just realized that drinking was counterproductive to what I was trying to do," she said in a 2002 interview with www.guardian.co.uk. "Acting is very difficult in weird ways. You'd have to get to class by 8am, work all day, rehearse all night, and it's not really good to do when you're hung over. I'd wanted to be an actress my whole life, that was my goal, that was all I cared about. Something had to go, so I chose drinking to go."
Kristin studied acting at Rutgers University, and after graduating in 1987 she moved to New York and eventually found work on the daytime soap “General Hospital.”
Kristin admitted that she's struggled to find appealing roles since her TV glory days.
“I just want to work and be in films that I like,” she said in a 2006 interview. “I think from the outside it seems as though as actors, we are picking and choosing our roles, but it isn't like that at all, perhaps unless you are George Clooney.”
She has appeared in several mediocre films, most notably “The Shaggy Dog” and “Deck the Halls” (2006), and “Couples Retreat” (2009).
“I do have a blessed life. I am blessed to have had a rich, wonderful creative success with 'Sex and the City.' Most people don’t ever have that and I feel fulfilled in that way and so proud, so anything else that comes along is icing on the cake.”
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KRISTIN DAVIS as Brooke Armstrong in "Melrose Place" and Charlotte York in "Sex and the City"
After relocating to Hollywood, she appeared in TV shows “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” and “ER,” until she won the role of Brooke on “Melrose Place” in 1995.
"Melrose" Executive Producer Frank South recalled Kristin's audition.
"Kristin smiled that smile of hers and we thought, 'It sure looks like her.' Then she started to speak and we knew. Brooke had just walked in."
Starring in only one season – mainly because viewers didn't warm to her character -- Kristin's gig as Brooke ended when the drunk character drowned in the Melrose pool after hitting her head during a fall.
After “Melrose,” Kristin said she was afraid that she'd only be offered roles as a “beast.” She guest starred in several “Seinfeld” episodes and in “The Single Guy.” Then “Sex and the City” came along.
“Sex and City” was landmark television, empowering women to be powerful, successful, straightforward, and, more importantly, sexual, without worrying about criticism from society. “SATC” shaped 21st century American culture: fashion, sex, relationships, and even drinks – who can forget the ladies' all-time favorite drink, the Cosmopolitan.
The show was nominated for 50 Emmys, winning seven times, and 24 Golden Globes, winning eight. Kristin was mostly ignored in the awards category, but she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series the final season (2004).
Kristin reprised her role for both “Sex and the City” films (2008 & 2010), movies that were panned by critics but were enjoyed by SATC fans.
