At 11 she returned to England when her grandmother became ill.

She took a number of acting examinations with the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), before returning to Canada at age 16 to finish high school.

(Cattrall's rep tells Us Weekly they are "just friends -- that's it.") The two made their first public outing at the Frieze Art Fair in NYC May 3.

She went on to star in the following films: Porky's (1982), Police Academy (1984), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Mannequin (1987), Masquerade (1988), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), and Ice Princess (2005).

Cattrall, who lives in New York, also played a washed-up former porn star in last year’s Meet Monica Velour, a film that went straight to DVD as a result of its lack of box office success in the US.

Cattrall said she had enjoyed mixed successes during recent dates.

She is known for her role as Samantha Jones in the HBO romantic comedy series, Sex and the City (1998–2004), for which she received five Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning the 2002 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.

She reprised the role in the films Sex and the City (2008) and Sex and the City 2 (2010).