Cynthia Nixon clarifies sexual orientation

Following a backlash by gay advocates, actress Cynthia Nixon Monday clarified a controversial comment she made in the Jan. 22 New York Times Magazine, in which she said that, for her, being gay is a choice.

In an interview with the website of the gay and lesbian news magazine The Advocate, Nixon said, "While I don't often use the word, the technically precise term for my orientation is bisexual. I believe bisexuality is not a choice, it is a fact. What I have 'chosen' is to be in a gay relationship."

Nixon had two children with her longtime partner Danny Mozes before falling in love with Christine Marinoni, now her fiancee. The couple, who began dating in 2004 and became engaged in 2009, has an 11-month-old, Max Ellington.

She reiterated a qualifying statement she had given The Times, telling The Advocate, "I do, however, believe that most members of our community -- as well as the majority of heterosexuals -- cannot and do not choose the gender of the persons with whom they seek to have intimate relationships because, unlike me, they are only attracted to one sex."

"Our community is not a monolith, thank goodness," she continued, "any more than America itself is. I look forward to and will continue to work toward the day when America recognizes all of us as full and equal citizens."

The former "Sex and the City" co-star is currently playing a cancer patient in the Broadway run of "Wit."