Who Is Cynthia Nixon's Wife, Christine Marinoni?

Cynthia Nixon, famous for her role as ambitious lawyer Miranda Hobbes in Sex and the City, has been married to her politically-savvy wife Christine Marinoni since 2012. The New York City-based couple are both into progressive politics, with Marinoni a prominent LGBTQ rights and education advocate and Nixon a 2018 candidate for governor of New York, per Oprah magazine. After switching gears to focus on politics, Nixon is back in the Hollywood spotlight with a Golden Globes nomination for her role in Ratched, as well as the new upcoming SATC reboot And Just like That. While Nixon's SATC character is happily married to bar owner Steve Brady (who may or may not be a part of the reboot, per Entertainment Tonight), real-life Nixon lives a similarly idyllic life with her partner of many years — but the pair had to fight hard for the right to legally marry each other. Here's what you should know about Nixon's wife, Christine Marinoni. 

Christine Marinoni was born on Bainbridge Island, a small city just off the coast of Seattle, and moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn in 1995, according to Oprah magazine. Following her move to the Big Apple, Marinoni came out and opened up a coffee shop and bar with a focus on lesbian clientele. However, after one of her bartenders became a victim of a hate crime, Marinoni and her staff began rallying for LGBTQ rights. 

"We organized some events to bring attention to [the hate crime], and call for more police attention and protection for the community," Marinoni told City & State New York back in 2018. Marinoni also said her early advocacy efforts eventually paved the way for her marriage to Cynthia Nixon. "Then the Matthew Shepard killing happened and we were also the same folks who had organized the marches in Park Slope... later, when I had been dating my now-wife for many years, I wanted to be able to marry her," she said. 

But how did Marinoni and Nixon meet in the first place?

Cynthia Nixon met Christine Marinoni back in 2001 while campaigning for smaller class sizes in New York's public school system, per Oprah magazine. Marioni helped found the education nonprofit behind the campaign, Alliance for Quality Education, while Nixon served as a spokesperson. 

The effort saw thousands of parents team together to stop almost $400 million cuts to schools, per Alliance for Quality Education. At the time, Nixon's two children with then-partner photographer Danny Mozes, Samuel and Charles, were public school pupils. Alliance for Quality Education promises "high quality education to all students regardless of zip code" in New York City. The non-profit even has a dedicated page on their website for Nixon's 17-year advocacy with the campaign, citing her as a "proud public school graduate and prouder public school parent."

Nixon and Marinoni started dating in 2004, per HelloGiggles. At the time, Nixon had never dated a woman before. "I have been with men all my life and had never met a woman I had fallen in love with before," she said to the Daily Mirror (via CNN). "But when I did, it didn't seem so strange. It didn't change who I am. I'm just a woman who fell in love with a woman."

While Cynthia Nixon and Christine Marinoni got married in 2012, the couple actually got engaged three years earlier. However, they decided to hold off on any nuptial celebrations until same-sex marriage became legal in New York, per People. In fact, Nixon even got engaged at a support rally for gay marriage. Nixon reportedly said, "I'm enjoying being engaged very much. I don't mind a long engagement, which this one is surely turning out to be," per People. 

Harnessing her celebrity star power and her partner's political connections — Marinoni previously worked in New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's education department as an advisor, per HelloGiggles — the pair fiercely fought for marriage equality. "Cynthia and I did some lobbying in New York state and we went up a few times to Albany and met with legislators and talked to them about passage of gay marriage in New York City," Marinoni told City and State New York. 

Once marriage equality passed into law, they married on a New York City rooftop with Nixon wearing a pale green Carolina Herrera gown and Marinoni in a Doyle Mueser suit, per Elle.

Cynthia Nixon already had two kids from her previous relationship, but just a few years after her engagement to Christine Marinoni, they decided to begin their own brood. Nixon and Marinoni welcomed their son, Max Ellinton Nixon-Marinoni, in 2011 — who, like Nixon's fictional son in Sex and the City, is also an adorable red-headed boy. After giving birth, Marinoni temporarily stopped work and became a stay-at-home mom to not only Max but also Nixon's other children, Samuel and Charles, per Oprah magazine. "I couldn't actually envision being happily married with kids. I thought, I'm never going to get that. I think it's amazing that I got that. It's huge," Marinoni told The New York Times in 2018. 

Nixon often posts pictures to Instagram of Max and recently shared an image of him celebrating his 10th birthday in quarantine. In the caption, Nixon wrote, "We love you Max and are so proud of you," while also revealing Marinoni may have another trade to her name. "Cake is the artistry of his other mom, as per usual," she shared. Is there anything this power couple can't do?!