Candace Bushnell, born December 1, 1958, is an American author and columnist based in New York City. Candace Bushnell is the critically acclaimed, international best-selling author of Sex and the City, Summer and the City, The Carrie Diaries, One Fifth Avenue, Lipstick Jungle, Trading Up and Four Blondes. Sex and the City, published in 1996, was the basis for the HBO hit series and two subsequent blockbuster movies. Lipstick Jungle became a popular television series on NBC. In September 2011 Warner Television and the CW optioned The Carrie Diaries for television and One Fifth Avenue was optioned by the Mark Gordon Company and ABC for yet another television show.

Bushnell was born in Glastonbury, Connecticut. She is the daughter of Calvin L. and Camille Bushnell. Her father was one of the inventors of the Air Cooled Hydrogen Fuel Cell that was used in the Apollo space missions in the 1960s. Her Bushnell ancestors in the United States can be traced back to Francis Bushnell, one of the signers of the Guilford Covenant, who emigrated from Thatcham, Berkshire, England in 1639.

While attending high school in Glastonbury, Candace was accompanied to her senior prom by Mike O'Meara, now a nationally syndicated radio host, who also dated Candace's sister, "Lolly". She attended Rice University and New York University in the 1970s, and became known in New York City as a socialite and party-goer. She often frequented Studio 54. In 1995, she met publishing executive Ron Galotti, who became the inspiration for Sex and The City's Mr. Big.

In 2002, Bushnell married Charles Askegard, a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. The couple lived together in Manhattan but are now divorced.

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