Sarah Jessica Parker & Her Siblings Promised Late Stepdad They'd Take Care of Mom Whom He “Worshipped for 54 Years”

Sarah Jessica Parker fondly remembered her stepfather, Paul Giffin Forste, who passed away in September 2022, and made a forever promise to him. The Sex and The City actress and her seven siblings were raised in poverty by their mother Barbara Forste and their stepfather. The couple was married for 54 years until his death. Parker vowed to care for their mother in a promise to her stepdad when he died at age 76. "At home and among all those who loved you dearly, you will be missed always," Sarah Jessica Parker wrote about her stepfather in a tribute on Instagram. "Strong like a bull. Til the end. We will take good care of Mommy, who you worshipped for 54 years," she shared.

"In his last moments, he was surrounded with the love and gratitude of his adored wife of 54 years, and children, including Sarah Jessica Parker," a statement read at the time, per PEOPLE. "Paul will be remembered with the spirit of loving kindness which was his faith, his special delight in his 13 grandchildren, and his sustained belief in making the world a more charitable, tolerant, and beautiful place for all," it added.

Despite growing up in difficult times, Parker and her many siblings had a good upbringing thanks to her loving parents. It was not easy for the family to raise 8 children and Parker's mother confessed she had no time for herself. Her own ''biggest regret" was ''not developing my own interests,'' she told The New York Times in 1983. At the time she was a mother to eight children aged 6 to 23 years old. She said, ''I'm not sure that I can even remember what those interests are at this point," adding, it all ''crept up on us in Cincinnati, where we come from."

Barbara was first married to Stephen Parker, a teacher, and writer, and later married Paul Forste, who ran a bus and truck transportation business. The family lived for a while on Roosevelt Island, between Manhattan and Queens, and later bought a house in Englewood. ''My mother and stepfather thought that New York was the wrong place for us, that we needed trees and a yard and other children to play with,'' Parker said.

The actress has been candid about financial struggles during her childhood. In 2000 Parker spoke to The New York Times again admitting the family grew up in hard times. "I remember being poor. There was no great way to hide it. We didn’t have electricity sometimes. We didn’t have Christmases sometimes, or we didn’t have birthdays sometimes, or the bill collectors came, or the phone company would call and say, ‘We’re shutting your phones off.’ And we were all old enough to either get the calls or watch my mother’s reactions or watch my parents shuffling the money around,” she recalled. Her mom would do her best for the children despite their struggles. In one Instagram post honoring her mother, she said, "I thank my mother for finding the time when there was none to read to all of her 8 children. She is the reason all 8 of us are greedy readers and never leave home without a book." Despite the hardships she is grateful to her mother for helping her cherish the little joys in life.

References:

https://people.com/tv/sarah-jessica-parker-promises-to-take-good-care-of-mommy-in-heartbreaking-tribute-to-late-stepfather/

https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/30/business/talking-money-with-sarah-jessica-parker-start-welfare-riches-city.html

https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/30/nyregion/actress-18-has-some-regrets.html

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Dia Dipasupil