Cynthia Nixon Raises a Cosmo to Health, Midlife and Returning to Sex and the City
Twenty-three years after HBO’s cult-status Sex and the City series debuted, and 11 years since the franchise’s second film, Cynthia Nixon is rejoining Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis as Miranda Hobbes, her wise, career-minded and empowering character in the show’s revival, And Just Like That… (now streaming on HBO Max). The series follows the trio as they navigate life as women in their 50s—a decade that Nixon, 55, is excited to showcase on television. “We’re all in our mid 50s, and I feel like there’s not a lot of examination of that age,” she says.
The Tony, Grammy and two-time Emmy award–winning actress says people tend to view ages 40 through 80 as “the Midwest—it’s just kind of flat. It’s all the same. You’re not young anymore, but you’re not quite old. But once you actually get in it, you’re like, ‘Wow, there are mountains and valleys, dreams and geologic formations. There’s a lot of stuff that happens!’”
It’s been during this time period that the mom of three has stepped out of her comfort zone to follow her passions, including running for governor of New York in 2018, advocating for women’s health, LGBTQ+ rights and public education and even directing an episode of And Just Like That… “I love the miles on my odometer,” she says, “all of the stuff that I’ve been through that I’ve seen and accomplished.”
Nixon has taken motivation from her characters along the way, like Eleanor Roosevelt, whom she played in Warm Springs (2005). “She said that being brave doesn’t mean you’re not afraid. Being brave means that you are afraid, and you do it anyway. I take a lot of guidance from that,” she says, also crediting the headstrong Hobbes for encouraging Nixon to find her own more assertive side.
We spoke to Nixon about what fans can expect from the Sex and the City reboot, what she loves about this stage in her life, how she’s staying on top of her health and why she looks forward to the holidays every year.
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What’s it like to be back as Miranda?
It’s completely amazing to be back as Miranda. They always say you can’t go home again; well, sometimes you can. And it’s even better than you remember. There are all these new people in your house who make it an even more fun and rich place. We always have been a [Sex and the City] family, and I know everybody says that, but it's really very true. My oldest child is now 25, and he was eight months when we did the pilot. So I'm keenly aware that it’s been a quarter of a century. And it really is like being with a family. People come and go and people bring their friends and get married and have kids and that's what it feels like. It’s so amazing.
What does the title, And Just Like That…, tell us about what’s to come?
The title is very inscrutable in a way, “And Just Like That.” But it’s about how [your life] can be going one way and then all of a sudden, something happens and it’s transformed in the blink of an eye, in joyous and painful ways. In my 20s, I didn’t realize what my 30s and 40s were going to be like. Then my life was blown wide open by Sex and the City, by falling in love with my wife, by so many things. You never know what curves your life is going to take. And sometimes that stuff doesn’t happen when you’re 18 or 21. Sometimes that happens when you’re 55.
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You’ve mentioned how thrilled you are to explore this stage of life on television. Why is that?
We spend so much time exploring childhood, adolescence and young love, but I hope as the population ages, there will be more works of art, television, books, movies and podcasts that talk about what it’s like to be in your 50s or 60s or 70s. At 55, I’m really interested in women a generation or more above me. That person is a tremendous resource, and I want to get all the information from them that I can.
You’ve been acting for most of your life. What kind of perspective have you gained being around such talented people?
People are so accomplished in this world in so many ways. And when you're young, they look kind of like superheroes. I was a child actor, so when I was a teenager, I was working with these amazing, very accomplished actors who seemed like demigods. It's very easy to be intimidated. Now at the age of 55, whether I'm looking at other actors or at things people do in their lives, it's much easier to say, “Oh, they're just human beings. And they might be really good at this one particular thing, but I’m sure there's a whole host of stuff that they're really terrible at.” And I think once you come to realize that, it makes things less scary. It's kind of very wonderful and very interesting.
What have you learned from Miranda?
When the show started, I felt like I had almost nothing in common with Miranda, other than we both work from our brains. I had a longtime partner and a child and was a very domestic person. While my career was a big focus, it wasn't like Miranda. She was all about her career and was dating like 5,000 guys and didn't know if she ever wanted to be a mother or settle down. But when the show was ending, I was doing an exit interview and they asked me if I was like Miranda, and I said, “I am like Miranda in just about every way.” When you're on the show for a number of years, the writers write for you; they make the character more and more like you. And so, she became a mother, got married and the maternal side that was very dormant in her really woke up. In my 30s, I was gaining confidence and coming out of my shy 20s—I got a lot of strength and ability to speak my mind. I’m much more assertive now, and then I think playing Miranda was the contributing factor.
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You were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. What can you tell us about that experience almost 20 years later?
My mother had breast cancer when I was 13, and she survived. When I was diagnosed, my wife—who was not my wife at the time because there wasn’t yet gay marriage in New York—went into shock about it. She was really scared. I was much less scared because I understood they caught it very early. It hadn’t metastasized at all. And it was in this one very local, small place. Because of not only my mother’s experience, but also my mother’s attitude, I viewed it with caution. I had a lumpectomy and six-and-a-half weeks of radiation. Then I was on Tamoxifen, hormone therapy, for five years. I did all the things advised for me to do, but I tried my best to keep my fear to a minimum.
Have you shifted your diet or the way you look at diet since your diagnosis?
After my diagnosis, I was vegetarian for a year or two, but I’m not built to be a vegetarian. I think I eat pretty healthy, generally though. I used to be a meat person all the time, but I have a lot more meals now that might have you mistaking me for a vegan.
How do you tackle your health and fitness routines, especially in the midst of a pandemic?
During the pandemic, I started working out with a [trainer] who my mother-in-law uses, and we’re very devoted to her. My wife and I work out with her two to three times a week, as often as we can. I’m not an incredibly athletic person, but during the first months of the pandemic, I really wasn’t doing anything. And it was not good for my body. It was not good for my flexibility.
What are some other ways you stay on top of wellness?
I go for acupuncture once a week. After, it’s as if my blood is flowing better and I think better and see more clearly. When your muscles are asleep, it wakes them up. It’s sort of like a facial. So, it’s great for your face, but it’s also very relaxing. There are days when I go in there and I fall asleep on the table, a very deep sleep, and I walk out a new person.
What’s it like gearing up for the holidays at your house?
Thanksgiving through New Year’s is a big deal in my house. Sometimes we have 30 people at Thanksgiving. We really throw down. And then we do Hanukkah, with the latkes and gelt and dreidels. Followed by my middle son’s birthday, Dec. 16. And then we do Christmas. We sing songs around the piano, have a tree and do presents. And then usually, not in COVID times, sadly, we have a big New Year’s Eve party at our house with like 100 people. It’s a very joyous time of year, and it’s really, really packed for us.
Is there something you most look forward to celebrating this time of year?
I love the food around the holidays. And we’re very big on pies. I make a bourbon pecan pie in honor of my dad and a wonderful cranberry polenta tart. We serve this pear sparkling cider. We do a big Christmas breakfast. We usually do my mother’s lamb recipe for Christmas dinner. And because our family is half Jewish, sometimes it’s a Jewish Christmas, which means we order in Chinese food for the Christmas meal. I kind of let it rip for the holidays. I don’t want to miss anything. This is not a time to watch my weight, but I do try to limit it to the actual holiday day.
