Cynthia Nixon Young: See the 'Sex and the City' Star Before She Became Miranda Hobbes

Cynthia Nixon will always be known as Miranda Hobbes, the smart and sarcastic redheaded lawyer from Sex and the City. As part of the beloved Sex and the City crew, she was the most acerbic of the bunch, and her pragmatic, deadpan nature resonated with countless fans.

Nixon also felt like an authentic presence in the show because she was a native New Yorker, and you might be surprised to find out that she started acting as a teenager in the '80s, and came up through the City's prestigious theater scene.

Here's a look back at Nixon's early career in eight rare photos.

1. Cynthia Nixon's TV debut

Cynthia Nixon made her very first TV appearance pretending to be a young horse riding champion on To Tell the Truth in 1974. Her mother worked on the show, leading to her appearance at 8 years old.

When Nixon shared this shot from To Tell the Truth on Instagram, she wrote, "One of my first appearances on television. After that, I started acting professionally at a young age to save money for college — and joined my first union at the age of 12!"

2. Cynthia Nixon's film debut

In 1980, a 14-year-old Nixon made her film debut as one of Kristy McNichol and Tatum O'Neal's fellow summer camp attendees in the sex comedy Little Darlings.

3. Cynthia Nixon's Broadway debut

The same year Nixon made her film debut, she also made her Broadway debut acting in a revival of the classic comedy The Philadelphia Story. Not bad for someone who was still in high school! She described it as "a dream come true for a 9th grader/theatre fanatic."

4. An SATC Easter egg

Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon were besties in Sex and the City, but did you know they acted together many years before the show? That's right, the two young stars played sisters in the 1982 TV movie My Body, My Child.

In an Instagram comment, Nixon said, "We are here at 13 and 14 playing Vanessa Redgrave’s daughters in a TV movie called My Body My Child, but we met even earlier recording Little House in the Big Woods on vinyl! (She was Laura, I was Mary) Anyone out there have a copy of the record or a photo of the recording session? I wish I did!"

5. Mozart's maid

In 1984, Nixon played Mozart's maid in the historical epic Amadeus. Reflecting on the film, she said, "When I was 16 I had the enormous honor of being cast in Amadeus, directed by the great Milos Forman. Making a movie that would go on to win 8 Academy Awards was really something, but the experience was particularly memorable because we shot in Czechoslovakia under communist rule."

6. Making Broadway history

In 1984, a 17-year-old Nixon made Broadway history when she starred in two hit Broadway shows simultaneously. The shows, The Real Thing and Hurlyburly, were both directed by Mike Nichols. In The Real Thing, she played the daughter of Christine Baranski and Jeremy Irons, while in Hurlyburly, she acted opposite William Hurt and Christopher Walken.

Nixon had to run back and through between Broadway theaters to pull off this impressive feat. As she recalled years later, "I only did it for about three months, then gave my notice because I was panicked I would flunk my geology final."

7. Off-Broadway with a future costar

In 1985, Nixon acted in the off-Broadway play Sally's Gone, She Left Her Name, playing the title character. Robert Sean Leonard played her brother, and in 2023, he played her love interest in the show The Gilded Age. She told The Hollywood Reporter, "I was very lucky to have Robert Sean Leonard as my suitor. He and I go not quite as far back as Christine, but two years shy of it. He and I played brother and sister in his very first professional play, and we have really been good friends ever since."

Christine Baranski played Nixon's mom in The Real Thing, and like Leonard, she also starred decades later with Nixon in The Gilded Age.

8. Cynthia Nixon's first HBO hit

Nixon was in a hit HBO show before Sex and the City. In the mockumentary political satire miniseries Tanner '88, she played the daughter of a politician campaigning to become the Democratic Presidential candidate.