Who Is Cynthia Nixon's Wife, Christine Marinoni? Actor Announces New York Governor Run

Actress and activist Cynthia Nixon announced on Monday that she would be running against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the upcoming Democratic primary, meaning that the Empire State could soon have a new first lady in Nixon's wife Christine Marinoni.

Marinoni, who has been with Nixon since 2004 and married to her since 2012, is a prominent LGBTQ advocate and policy wonk. She served as senior advisor for community partnerships in New York City, reporting directly to the city's Deputy Mayor Richard Buery, before she resigned earlier this month, presumably to help with her wife's campaign.

Along with Nixon, Marinoni has been a big supporter of progressive causes and of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The two each donated $4,950—the maximum campaign contribution allowed for an individual—to his campaign, where Marinoni worked as a full-time volunteer. According to the New York Daily News, she even helped spearhead an ad that included Nixon's Sex and the City co-star Chris Noth.

According to an interview she did with City & State New York, Marinoni first became an LGBTQ advocate after a friend of hers was the victim of a hate crime. Later, she ramped up her advocacy work in a push to legalize same-sex marriage.

"We organized some events to bring attention to [the hate crime], and call for more police attention and protection for the community," she told City & State New York of her early advocacy efforts. "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."

The couple welcomed a son together in 2011. Nixon has two children, a boy and a girl, from a previous marriage with schoolteacher Danny Mozes.

In addition to Marinoni's committment to LGBTQ advocacy, she has been involved in a slew of other community projects through her work. She is an outspoken supporter of New York's public school system, serving under the chancellor in the city's Department of Education. Her mother was also a school teacher in her home state of Washington.

"Some houses have TV as background noise, in mine it was my mother on the phone, ironing out some work issue for one of her fellow teachers," Marinoni said at a 2014 event for public schools.

Nixon and Marinoni attended both the 2017 and 2018 women's marches, and have been spotted at a number of small community meetings and protests across the city. The Sex and the City star has spoken openly about her relationship with Marinoni in the past, saying that the two immediately had chemistry.

"It wasn't something in me that was waiting to come out," she told Radio Times about being in a romantic relationship with a woman for the first time. "It was like, this person is undeniable. How can I let this person walk by?"