Out100: Cynthia Nixon

Photography by Ryan Pfluger at Tribeca Journal Studio, new york, on September 25, 2015. Styling by Stephanie Tricola. Hair: Megan Lanoux at Exclusive Artists Management. Makeup: Tina Turnbow at Tracey Mattingly. Dress by A Detacher. Ring chain by Eddie Borgo. Rings by Doyle & Doyle. Earrings by Rue Gembon.

Beloved by countless gay fans for her role as tough, ambitious Miranda Hobbes on Sex and the City, Cynthia Nixon earned her reputation for being on top of things -- in the know, on the ball. Perhaps owing to her years as an LGBT activist, strangers peppered Nixon with questions days before the Supreme Court's marriage equality ruling, as if, naturally, she'd be a step ahead. "With no preamble they'd just ask, 'Did you hear anything yet?' " Nixon says. "I loved the idea that they thought I somehow had an inside track, and I loved the sense that the whole world was on the same page, holding its breath." This year Nixon directed the Off-Broadway play Steve, about a gay couple, and delivered her rawest performance to date, playing a dying mother in the acclaimed indie film James White. It's a character Nixon embodies with poise and authority. Miranda would be proud.

SLIDESHOW | Out100 2015