Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon thinks Miranda was always queer, had 'lesbianic qualities'
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When the Sex and the City revival And Just Like That debuted in late 2021, one of the biggest storylines that had fans up in arms was the plot surrounding Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) leaving her husband, Steve (David Eigenberg), for her new love: nonbinary comedian and series newcomer Che (Sara Ramirez).
But for Nixon, who came out in 2004 as the original series was drawing to a close, the decision for her character to start a new life wasn't shocking — it was a long time coming, even if it wasn't visibly spelled out back in the 90s.
Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max Cynthia Nixon in HBO Max's 'Sex and the City' revival, 'And Just Like That'
"Even though she was only really interested in men, I think that Miranda had many other queer and, frankly, lesbianic qualities about her," Nixon tells Variety in a new interview for its Pride cover story. "And I think for a lot of gay women, she — we didn't have a gay woman! But she was a stand-in for the gay women we didn't have."
Nixon continues, "Miranda has always grappled with power, and female power versus male power, and women getting the short end of the stick — and that's a big issue for women who are queer. I think not having to be under a man's thumb has always been one of the very appealing things that being with another woman has to offer."
When series creator Michael Patrick King, who calls Miranda an "anarchy character," asked Nixon if she wanted her character to be queer in the reboot, the actress and activist was reportedly fully on board. "I was like, 'Sure, why not!'" Nixon recalls. "If we're trying to do different stuff, and show different worlds, and show different aspects of these characters, why not do that?"
The actress hasn't been shy about defending Miranda's controversial trajectory in And Just Like That. Even though she tells Variety she refuted the idea that Miranda's "awakening" would come from having an affair with her professor after she went back to school, she supported the decision for Miranda to split from Steve.
"That's the thing about breakups: Oftentimes there is one person that is making the breakup happen and the other person who is reluctant," she told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live back in January. "I have to say, that person who is reluctant is pretty miserable too, and they're just not admitting it."
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