'And Just Like That...': The Woman Who Inspired Lisa Todd Wexley on Her 'Flattering' Portrayal (Exclusive)
Crystal McCrary tells PEOPLE she's enjoying seeing Nicole Ari Parker play a glamorous version of herself in the 'Sex and the City' revival, thanks to 'AJLT' writer and close friend Susan Fales-Hill
John Nacion/Getty; Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max
Crystal McCrary, Nicole Ari Parker as Lisa Todd Wexley, And Just Like That...Meet the woman who inspired the fabulous life of And Just Like That... character Lisa Todd Wexley!
Crystal McCrary is a New York City-based writer, documentarian, broadcast personality and previous New York Bar member. And just like the character she inspired for the popular Max series, played by Nicole Ari Parker, she also has three kids and a loving husband.
When the highly-anticipated second season premiered this summer, fans loved the stylish and confident character inspired by McCrary, 53, who tells PEOPLE the show's senior writer, Susan Fales-Hill, is "one of my best friends."
Related: 'AJLT''s Nicole Ari Parker Says Her Character’s ‘Fabulous’ Closet Is Her ‘Safe Space’
"I do know that I certainly was an inspiration for LTW, and there are a lot of similarities," McCrary says. "She's a documentary filmmaker, three kids, her husband was running for mayor, all those check, check, check, check."
Upon seeing her portrayal on the show, McCrary says, "I was just like, 'Gosh, how flattering are you all going to be? You're going to have a character played by Nicole Ari Parker that's supposedly inspired by me? I'll take it!"
McCrary is currently married to Ray McGuire, the Head of Global Banking at Citigroup, Inc. The couple share a son, Leo. She has two more children, her daughter Ella and her Orlando Magic player son Cole Anthony, from her previous marriage to former NBA star Greg Anthony.
Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty
Crystal McCrary and Cole Anthony attend The Gordon Parks Foundation Awards Dinner on May 23, 2023In 1998, McCrary co-wrote the steamy romance novel Homecourt Advantage with Rita Ewing, who was previously married to former New York Knicks player Patrick Ewing.
Cole, 23, tells PEOPLE it was a while before he realized his mother's impact as a businesswoman.
"It took me years to realize how brilliant of a mother I had and how many people really look up to her," the NBA player says. "I'm still learning more about her to this day, which I think it's a good thing. She's just brilliant. She's so diverse in what she's done. She's an extremely smart businesswoman."
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Fans of McCrary's fabulous character can likely look forward to seeing more from Lisa as Max announced And Just Like That... will return for a third season.
Though the cast of season 3 has yet to be revealed, fans can presumably expect the return of Parker, 52, as Lisa alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Sara Ramírez, Sarita Choudhury, Karen Pittman, Mario Cantone, David Eigenberg, Christopher Jackson, Evan Handler and John Corbett.
Seasons 1 and 2 of And Just Like That... are now streaming in full on Max.
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