Cynthia Nixon Movies
A true-blue New York actress who has worked on the stage and screen since her adolescence, Cynthia Nixon is probably best known to pop culture aficionados as Miranda Hobbes, the high-powered lawyer who has dated some of New York City's most dysfunctional men on HBO's Sex and the City. Although Nixon's starring role on the hugely popular series may have brought her to the attention of a new audience, observers of the New York theater had been watching the actor on and off Broadway since 1980, where she had performed in productions that included David Rabe's Hurlyburly, Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, Angels in America, and Indiscretions, for which she earned a Tony nomination.Born in New York City on April 9, 1966, Nixon made her film debut in the 1980 movie Little Darlings. She worked steadily through the rest of the decade, appearing in films ranging from Sidney Lumet's Prince of the City (1981) to Milos Forman's Oscar-winning Amadeus (1984) to Robert Altman's satirical Tanner '88, which cast her as the daughter of the titular politician. Nixon also worked on television, popping up in various miniseries, including the 1982 abortion drama My Body, My Child, in which she co-starred with Vanessa Redgrave and future Sex and the City co-star Sarah Jessica Parker.
Continuing to appear on-stage in productions of Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (for which she won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award), and Philadelphia Story (for which she won a Theater World Award), Nixon also became a founding member of the off-Broadway theater group The Drama Dept. In 1998, after appearing onscreen sporadically throughout the 1990s, in such films as Addams Family Values (1993), the actor landed the most widely recognized role of her career up to that point, on Sex and the City. Co-starring alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, and Kristin Davis, Nixon, as the hilariously caustic Miranda, enjoyed critical praise and a number of awards and nominations for her work on the show, which formed another entry on an already long and varied resumé. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 1981
- R
Bruce Dern stars in this disturbing shocker about a mentally unbalanced tattoo artist named Karl Kinski, who is hired to put a series of fake tattoos on fashion model Maddy (Maud Adams) as part of an advertising campaign. But Kinski becomes obsessed with Maddy and decides to kidnap her. Keeping her a captive, he uses her body as a living canvas for his tattoo designs. During its initial release, the film raised the ire of feminist groups because of the ad campaign that featured a naked woman bound at the ankles. The film was scripted by Joyce Bunuel, (Luis Bunuel's daughter-in-law). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Dern, Maud Adams, (more)
- 1980
- R
Little Darlings is a teen sex comedy about a group of 15-year-old girls at a summer camp who establish a contest to see which one of them will lose their virginity first. Tatum O'Neal stars as Ferris, a naive but sexually aware rich girl on the make with the older camp swimming instructor Gary (Armand Assante). Her rival in this race for deflowering is Angel (Kristy McNichol), who is quick to point out, "Don't let the name fool you." She sets her sights on the young Randy (Matt Dillon). But the contest gets obscured by inter-personal crises: Cinder (Krista Errickson), a young tease in a bunny suit, seduces Randy away from Angel, while Ferris has second thoughts about offering herself to the camp counselor. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tatum O'Neal, Kristy McNichol, (more)
- 1979
Twelve-year-old Calvin Brundage (Robbie Rist) may be the richest kid in town, but that certainly doesn't mean that he's the happiest. Unable to make friends -- or even buy them -- the lonely Calvin has become a couch potato glued to his television. Then one day, a genie (played by the inimitable Butterfly McQueen!) appears on his TV screen, informing him that he has won the "Seven Wishes Sweepstakes." But as the story draws to its conclusion, Calvin comes to realize that the secret to true happiness has been within his grasp all along, genie or no genie. Christopher Hewett of Mr. Belvedere fame co-stars in this fanciful ABC Afterschool Special. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robbie Rist, Butterfly McQueen, (more)
