• November 18, 2002
• Vol. 58
• No. 21

Prince of the City

Proud Parents Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick Introduce Little James Wilkie to the World

For his first eight-minute photo op on Nov. 1, James Wilkie Broderick was already showing his showbiz roots. Swathed in an aqua pashmina shawl, 4-day-old James slept through the blaze of flashbulbs, never once crying, flinching or scrunching up his serene features. He also had the requisite entourage: Outside Manhattan's Lenox Hill Hospital his handler—mom Sarah Jessica Parker, 37—clad in a black shift and jacket with matching Manolo Blahniks, proclaimed, "He's perfect!" His bodyguard, dad Matthew Broderick, 40, hovered protectively, often putting finger to lips to shush the crowd of more than 100 photogs and fans.

While baby James's face bore the typical bruises of a recent birth, his arrival in town, says a friend, was relatively easy: After dinner at a Greenwich Village restaurant, Parker headed to Lenox Hill and was in hard labor for less than an hour before giving birth on Oct. 28 with Broderick by her side. Parker—whose hospital visitors included Sex and the City costar Cynthia Nixon—"already looks great" and has lost much of her pregnancy weight.

Three nights after leaving the hospital, Broderick and five pals, including actor Victor Garber, slipped out for dinner at nearby La Metairie. "You look beat," owner Sylvain Fareri said to Broderick, who agreed. The group toasted the new dad with a Pinot Noir 2000, and at the end of the three-hour meal Fareri produced a bottle of Greek dessert wine, saying, "This is for the little prince." After dessert and a few laughs, Broderick left his pals and headed back to his family, telling a well-wisher, "We're very happy."