Miranda Hobbes was always the prickly one. While Carrie was busy buying $400 shoes she couldn’t afford and Charlotte was manifesting a Tiffany’s ring through sheer willpower, Miranda was busy being a partner at a law firm. She was the one who actually paid her mortgage. Honestly, back in the late nineties, people kinda hated her for it. They called her cynical. They called her cold. But looking back at the legacy of Cynthia Nixon in Sex and the City, it’s pretty clear that Miranda was the only one living in the real world.
She didn't have the "main character energy" that the show initially celebrated. She had something much more terrifying to the audience of 1998: competence.
Cynthia Nixon didn't just play a lawyer; she embodied the friction of being a successful woman in a pre-lean-in era. It's funny how we remember the show as this fluff piece about cosmopolitans, but when you watch Nixon’s performance, you see the cracks in the New York dream. She brought a specific, jagged edge to the role that made Miranda the most relatable—and sometimes the most frustrating—person on screen.
The Miranda Problem: Why We Misunderstood Her for Decades
For years, being "a Miranda" was a bit of an insult. If you took one of those magazine quizzes and got Miranda, you’d hide it. You wanted to be the writer or the art dealer, not the woman who ate chocolate cake out of the garbage because she was lonely and stressed. But Nixon’s portrayal was a masterclass in subtlety. She played Miranda with a constant, low-grade defensive crouch.
Think about the episode where she buys her own apartment. The mortgage broker keeps asking where her husband is. The sheer, unadulterated rage on Nixon's face? That wasn't just acting. It was a reflection of a real societal wall women were hitting. Cynthia Nixon in Sex and the City represented the reality that even if you win the game, the game is still rigged.
People forget that Nixon wasn’t originally a redhead. The showrunners made her dye her hair to create a visual distinction between the four women. That fiery red became a shorthand for her personality: hot-tempered, sharp, and uncompromising. She was the "Logic" to Carrie’s "Emotion." But the brilliance of her performance was showing that the logic was often just a shield for being incredibly sensitive.
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The Shift from HBO to "And Just Like That"
Then everything changed. If you’ve followed the recent revival, And Just Like That, you know the Miranda we see now is... different. It’s been a massive point of contention for fans. The sharp-tongued lawyer who called out everyone’s nonsense suddenly became a bumbling, nervous wreck who didn't know how to talk to people of color and blew up her marriage for a podcast host.
A lot of critics, including those at The New Yorker and Rolling Stone, have pointed out that the character seems to have merged with the real-life Cynthia Nixon. Nixon is a powerhouse in New York politics now. She ran for Governor. She’s an activist. In the revival, Miranda’s journey into exploring her sexuality and social justice advocacy feels deeply personal to Nixon.
But does it work for the character?
Some say it’s a natural evolution. People change in twenty years. They get bored. They have mid-life crises. Others feel like it’s a betrayal of the woman who once famously said, "I'm not gonna be the woman who lives in the suburbs and waits for her husband to come home." Suddenly, she was that woman, and she hated it. The friction between "Classic Miranda" and "New Miranda" is basically the entire discourse surrounding the franchise today.
Realities of the Wardrobe: More Than Just Power Suits
Let's talk about the bucket hat. You know the one.
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Patricia Field, the legendary costume designer, used clothes to tell us who these women were before they even spoke. Miranda’s wardrobe was a battlefield. In the early seasons, she was drowned in oversized power suits and weirdly structured blazers. It was like she was trying to hide her femininity to be taken seriously in a boardroom full of men.
As the series progressed, and especially through the movies, Nixon’s silhouette changed. She became softer. More "feminine" by traditional standards. But some fans argue that her best looks were the ones that didn't try so hard. The simple tank tops, the sharp bob, the look of a woman who has a 6:00 AM meeting and no time for nonsense. Cynthia Nixon in Sex and the City proved that style isn't just about labels; it's about the armor you choose to wear.
Breaking Down the Steve Factor
We can't talk about Miranda without talking about Steve Brady. David Eigenberg and Cynthia Nixon had a chemistry that felt... sweaty. It felt real. It wasn't the polished, cinematic romance of Big and Carrie. It was a bartender and a lawyer arguing over a laundry basket.
- Steve was the one who forced her to lower her guard.
- He was the one who stayed when things got messy (literally, with the baby).
- Their relationship was the show's most successful attempt at depicting a middle-class-ish struggle within a high-wealth fantasy.
When Miranda eventually moved to Brooklyn, it was treated like she was moving to the moon. Nixon played that transition with such palpable dread. She was the ultimate Manhattanite. The fact that she sacrificed her zip code for her family was the ultimate character arc—which is why the way their marriage ended in the reboot felt like such a gut-punch to long-time viewers.
What Cynthia Nixon Taught Us About Ambition
The most important legacy of this character isn't the dating advice. It's the depiction of female ambition. Miranda Hobbes was the first time many Gen X and Millennial women saw a version of themselves that prioritized a career without being a cartoonish villain.
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She wasn't Miranda Priestly. She was just a woman who was really good at her job and tired of being apologized for it.
Nixon’s portrayal gave us permission to be the "uncool" friend who stays in to work. She made it okay to be cynical about romance while still secretly wanting it. She showed that you could be a mother and still be terrified of motherhood. Nixon famously didn't want Miranda to be "likable." She wanted her to be human.
Actionable Takeaways for the Modern Viewer
If you're revisiting the series or watching the revival for the first time, keep these specific lenses in mind to truly appreciate what Nixon accomplished:
- Watch the silence. Nixon is one of the best "reactive" actors in the cast. Watch her face when Carrie is talking about Big for the millionth time. The eye rolls aren't just for comedy; they are a boundary.
- Compare the Brooklyn transition. Look at the house in the first movie versus the house in the revival. The physical space Miranda occupies tells you everything about her mental state.
- Note the speech patterns. Miranda speaks in short, declarative sentences. Carrie speaks in questions. Charlotte speaks in "shoulds." Nixon’s staccato delivery is what makes her the anchor of the group.
The cultural conversation around Cynthia Nixon in Sex and the City has moved from "Is she the annoying one?" to "Was she right all along?" Most of us eventually realize we aren't the Carries of the world. We’re the ones working late, ordering takeout, and wondering why the world is so obsessed with a glass slipper when we could just buy the whole shoe store ourselves.
Miranda didn't need a Prince Charming. She needed a housekeeper, a Tivo, and a little bit of respect. In 2026, that feels less like a character trait and more like a manifesto. Whether you love the new direction or miss the old Miranda, you can't deny that Nixon created a blueprint for the modern woman that hasn't been topped since.