Cynthia Nixon

In a series of profiles, we’ll be interviewing women about inflection points on their paths to success. Cynthia Nixon kicks us off from the campaign trail.

- Sophie Brickman

It seems, in some ways, that Cynthia Nixon entered the world a fully formed fighter. The actress, known the world over as Sex and the City’s career-driven Miranda Hobbes, Esq., has been working consistently since the age of 12. At 52, she is a Grammy, two-time Tony, and two-time Emmy Award winner. For years, she’s advocated for public education (her three children are all products of New York City public schools), LGBTQ rights (she married her wife, Christine Marinoni, in 2012), and women’s health care (her activism informed by her battle with breast cancer and her mother’s illegal abortion, before Roe v. Wade). Now she’s running for governor of New York against Andrew Cuomo—an incumbent with a family dynasty and a war chest topping $30 million.

It’s a gutsy move. And despite all her accolades, achievements, and extensive history of community organizing, Nixon knows that she’s a neophyte when it comes to running for office—a fact that some are all too eager to point out. “Like everybody, I have deep patches of insecurity and unsureness,” she admits, “but my parents raised me to believe in myself.” At her apartment last July, with her campaign staff gathered around the dining room—and her seven-year-old son, Max, running around in green underwear and a robot T-shirt—Nixon outlined how she found and continues to find the confidence to speak her mind.

ELLE: Have you always been outspoken, even as a child?