Gillian Leigh Anderson (born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. After beginning her career in theatre, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the American television series The X-Files. Her film work includes The House of Mirth (2000), The Mighty Celt (2005), The Last King of Scotland (2006), and two X-Files films, The X-Files (1998) and The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008).
Early life
Anderson was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Rosemary
Anderson, a computer analyst, and Edward Anderson, who owned a film
post-production company.[2][3] Her father was of English descent, while her mother was of Irish and German ancestry.[4] Soon after her birth, her family moved to Puerto Rico for 15 months; her family then moved to the United Kingdom where she lived until she was 11 years old. She lived for five years in Rosebery Gardens, Crouch End, London, and for 15 months in Albany Road, Stroud Green, London,[5] so that her father could attend the London Film School. She was a pupil of Coleridge Primary School. When Anderson was 11 years old, her family moved again, this time to Grand Rapids, Michigan.[6] She attended Fountain Elementary and then City High-Middle School, a program for gifted students with a strong emphasis on the humanities; she graduated in 1986.[5]
Along with other actors (notably Linda Thorson and John Barrowman) Anderson is bidialectal. With her English accent and background, Anderson was mocked and felt out of place in the American Midwest and soon adopted a Midwest accent. To this day, her accent depends on her location — for instance, in an interview with Jay Leno she spoke in an American accent, but shifted it for an interview with Michael Parkinson.[7][8][9]
Anderson was interested in marine biology,[5]
but began acting her freshman year in high school productions, and
later in community theater, and served as a student intern at the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre & School of Theatre Arts. She attended The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago (formerly the Goodman School of Drama), where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1990.[10] She also participated in the National Theatre of Great Britain's summer program at Cornell University.[5]
Anderson's brother died in 2011 of a brain tumor, at the age of 30.[11][12]
Career
1990s
Anderson moved to New York when she was 22 years old.[13] To support herself when she started her career, Anderson worked as a waitress. She began her career in Alan Ayckbourn's play, Absent Friends at the Manhattan Theatre Club alongside Brenda Blethyn; she won the 1990–91 Theatre World "Newcomer" Award for her role.[5] Her next theatrical role was in Christopher Hampton's The Philanthropist at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut.[14]
Anderson moved to Los Angeles in 1992, spending a year auditioning.
Although she had once vowed she would never do TV, being out of work for
a year changed her mind.[15] Anderson did Home Fires Burning for a cable station, as well as the audio book version of Exit to Eden. She broke into mainstream television in 1993, with a guest appearance on the collegiate drama, Class of '96, on the fledgling Fox Network.[15]
As a result of her guest appearance in Class of 96, Anderson was sent the script for The X Files
at the age of 24. She decided to audition because "for the first time
in a long time, the script involved a strong, independent, intelligent
woman as a lead character." Producer Chris Carter wanted to employ her, but Fox wanted someone with previous TV exposure and greater sex appeal.[16]
Fox sent in more actresses, but Carter stood by Anderson, and she was
eventually cast as Special Agent Dana Scully. Anderson got the part
assuming it would run for 13 episodes, the standard minimum order for
American TV networks. Filmed for the first five seasons in Vancouver
before moving to Los Angeles, the series would run for nine seasons, and
included two films, released in 1998 and 2008. During her time on The X Files, Anderson won several awards for her portrayal of Special Agent Scully, including an Emmy Award,[17] Golden Globe and two Screen Actors Guild awards for "Best Actress in a Drama Series." While filming, Anderson met assistant art director Clyde Klotz,[5] whom she would eventually marry.
In 1997 Anderson worked on the independent film Chicago Cab. In 1998 she starred in the film Playing by Heart with Sean Connery, Angelina Jolie,[15] Ellen Burstyn and Anthony Edwards. Anderson also had a supporting role in the film, The Mighty with Gena Rowlands, Harry Dean Stanton, James Gandolfini and Sharon Stone.[5]
In 1999, Anderson had a supporting role in the English-language release of Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke, where she voiced the character of Moro. Anderson is a fan of Miyazaki's work.[18] She also took part in Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.[19]
2000–present
In 2000, Anderson starred in the film The House of Mirth with Eric Stoltz, an adaptation of the Edith Wharton novel of the same name, where she won such awards as the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress, also British Independent Film Award for Best Actress and Village Voice Film Poll Best Lead Performance.[15]
Anderson at the stage door for the play The Sweetest Swing In Baseball in 2004.
When The X-Files ended, Anderson performed in several stage
productions and worked on various film projects. She has participated in
narrative work for documentaries on scientific topics. In 2005, she
appeared as Lady Dedlock in the BBC television adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Bleak House,[15] had a starring role in the Irish film The Mighty Celt (for which she won an IFTA award for Best International Actress) and performed in A Cock and Bull Story, a film version of the novel Tristram Shandy.[15] In 2006, Anderson was nominated for a British Academy Television Award (BAFTA) for Best Actress and won the Broadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Award for Best Actress for her role in Bleak House.[15]
Anderson also received an Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Lead Actress
in a Miniseries or Movie" for her performance as Lady Dedlock. She was
nominated for a Golden Satellite Award and Golden Globe for her
performance in Bleak House and came in second place in the Best Actress category of the 2005 BBC Drama website poll for her performance as Lady Dedlock (Billie Piper came in first and Anna Maxwell Martin came in third).[15]
During 2006 and 2007, Anderson appeared in two British films: The Last King of Scotland with James McAvoy[15][20] (2006) and Straightheads with Danny Dyer (2007).[21] Anderson hosted Masterpiece Theatre during the Jane Austen series.[22] From December 2007 to March 11, 2008, Anderson filmed The X-Files: I Want to Believe.[23] Anderson portrayed Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Donmar Warehouse in London's West End during a limited engagement which ran from May 14, 2009 until July 18, 2009.[24][25]
Anderson had a nomination for Best Actress in the Lawrence Olivier
Awards 2010, for productions which opened in the 2009 calendar year for
her portrayal of Nora.[26] In April 2011 she starred in the BBC adaptation The Crimson Petal and the White as Mrs. Castaway.
Anderson appears as the head of MI7 Pamela Thornton in Johnny English Reborn, which opened internationally in Australia on September 15, 2011,[27] and to some acclaim as Miss Havisham in a three-part BBC adaptation of Great Expectations that aired in late December 2011.[28][29][30] In May 2013, Gillian Anderson appeared in the lead role in The Fall, a drama serial for BBC Two and RTÉ ONE.[31]
Personal life
Anderson pregnant with her son Felix at the premiere of The X-Files: I Want to Believe, July 25, 2008
Relationships
Anderson married her first husband, Clyde Klotz, The X-Files series assistant art director, on New Years Day, 1994, in Hawaii in a Buddhist ceremony. They had a daughter, Piper Maru (born September 1994) and divorced in 1997.[32] In December 2004, Anderson married Julian Ozanne, a documentary filmmaker, on Lamu Island, off the coast of Kenya. Anderson announced their separation on April 21, 2006.[33] Anderson and former boyfriend, Mark Griffiths, have two sons, born November 2006[34] and October 2008.[35] She ended their relationship in 2012.[36] In March 2012, Anderson told Out magazine about her past relationship with a girl while in high school.[37]
Celebrity ratings
In 1996, Anderson was voted the "Sexiest Woman in the World" for FHM's 100 Sexiest Women poll.[38] In 1997, she was chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.[39] Askmen listed her at No. 6 on their Top 7: '90s Sex Symbols.[40] In 2008, she was listed 21st in FHM's All Time 100 Sexiest Hall of Fame.[41]
Activism and charity work
Anderson serves as NF, Inc.'s honorary spokesperson and is a patron of the UK-based Neurofibromatosis Association. Her support stems from her brother Aaron's diagnosis of and eventual death from Neurofibromatosis.[42] She is also a member of the board of directors for Artists for a New South Africa and a campaigner for ACTSA: Action for Southern Africa. Anderson is an active member of PETA, and supports animal rights.[43] She also supports tribal rights charity Survival International leading to her performance in a London stage fundraiser in early 2010.[44] In late 2010, Anderson and other celebrities joined a campaign to boycott Botswana diamonds over the government's treatment of the Kalahari Bushmen.[45] On February 2011, Anderson narrated a short film about recent footage of an uncontacted tribe.[46] The Amazon Indians were spotted from the air on the Brazil-Peru
border. Anderson has said, "What comes across powerfully from this
amazing footage is how healthy and confident these people appear. I hope
they can be left alone – but that will only happen if the loggers are
stopped."[47] In June 2011, Anderson became an ambassador for Survival.[48] Anderson has also been active in the LGBT community, particularly with youth.[49]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Three at Once | Woman 1 | B&W student production |
| 1988 | A Matter of Choice | B&W student production | |
| 1992 | The Turning | April Cavanaugh | |
| 1993–2002 | The X-Files | Dana Scully | Series Regular Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Drama Series, 1997 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, 1997 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, 1996 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, 1997 Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television, 1997 Viewers for Quality Television Award: Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series, 1998, 1999 Blockbuster Entertainment Award – Favorite Sci-Fi Actress, 1999 Sci-Fi Universe Magazine Reader's Choice Award – Best Actress in a Genre TV Series, 1995 SFX Awards for Best SF/Fantasy Actress, 1997 Aftonbladet TV Prize for Best Foreign TV Personality, 1997, 1998 Telegatto award for Best Foreign TV series (Miglior Telefilm Straniero) - best actor, 1996 Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Drama Series, 1996, 1998, 1999 Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, 1996, 1998, 1999 Nominated, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, 1997, 1998, 1999 Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001 Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award: Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series, 1995 Nominated—National Television Award (UK)—Most Popular Actress, 1996, 1997 Nominated—TV Guide Award for Favorite Actress in a Drama, 1999, 2000 Nominated—TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama, 1997 Nominated—People's Choice award for favorite female TV performer, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 Nominated—Kids' Choice Awards, Best TV Friends (shared with David Duchovny), 2000 |
| 1998 | The X-Files (film) | Dana Scully | |
| 1998 | Chicago Cab, aka Hellcab | Southside Girl or Brenda | |
| 1998 | The Mighty | Loretta Lee | |
| 1998 | Playing by Heart | Meredith | |
| 1999 | Princess Mononoke | Moro | Voice |
| 1999 | Harsh Realm | Video Narrator | Voice (Uncredited) |
| 2000 | The House of Mirth | Lily Bart | British Independent Film Award for Best Actress Village Voice Film Poll – Best Lead Performance Nominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year Nominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress (2nd place) Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (2nd place) Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
| 2005 | The Mighty Celt | Kate | People's Choice Award at the Irish Film and Television Awards |
| 2005 | A Cock and Bull Story | Herself/Widow Wadman | |
| 2005 | Bleak House | Lady Dedlock | Broadcasting Press Guild Awards for Best Actress – Drama Series Nominated—BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film |
| 2006 | The Last King of Scotland | Sarah Merrit | |
| 2007 | Straightheads, aka Closure | Alice Comfort | |
| 2008 | The X-Files: I Want to Believe | Dana Scully | |
| 2008 | How to Lose Friends & Alienate People | Eleanor Johnson | |
| 2009 | Boogie Woogie | Jean Maclestone | |
| 2010 | Any Human Heart | Duchess of Windsor | Nominated—BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2010 | No Pressure | Herself | Short produced by climate change mitigation campaign 10:10 |
| 2011 | Johnny English Reborn | Pamela Thornton | |
| 2011 | The Crimson Petal and the White | Mrs. Castaway | Nominated, Broadcasting Press Guild Awards for Best Actress – Drama Series |
| 2011 | Moby Dick | Elizabeth | TV miniseries |
| 2011 | Great Expectations | Miss Havisham | Nominated, Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television Nominated, Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress (also for The Crimson Petal and the White) |
| 2012 | Sister | Kristin Jansen | |
| 2012 | Shadow Dancer | Kate Fletcher | Screened out of competition at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, February 2012.[50] |
| 2013 | The Fall | Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson | Series Regular [31] |
| 2013 | Mr. Morgan's Last Love | Karen | |
| 2013 | From Up On Poppy Hill | Hana Matsuzaki | Voice[51] |
| 2013 | Hannibal | Bedelia Du Maurier | Recurring[52] |
| 2014 | Crisis | Meg Fitch | Series Regular |
| 2014 | Sold | Sophia | |
| 2014 | Our Robot Overlords | Kate | Filming |
- Other TV appearances
- ReBoot as Agent Data Nully – "Trust No One" January 1996
- Future Fantastic as herself – July/August 1996
- The Simpsons as Agent Scully – "The Springfield Files" January 1997
- Concert for Diana as herself – July 1, 2007
- Robbie the Reindeer (Close Encounters of the Herd Kind) as Vorkana, Queen of the Nargathrons – December 25, 2007
- Masterpiece Theatre as herself (host) – January 2008[53]
- Room on the Broom - as The Witch (Voice) - December 2012
- Stage appearances
- Arsenic and Old Lace (1983) – City High School, Grand Rapids, Michigan, two performances, as "Officer Brophy"[54]
- A Flea in Her Ear (1990) – The Theatre School, Depaul University
- Absent Friends (1991) – Manhattan Theatre Club. Won a Theatre World Award for Best Performance
- The Philanthropist (1992) – Long Wharf Theatre
- The Vagina Monologues (1999, London)/(2000, LA)
- What The Night Is For (November 7, 2002 to February 9, 2003). A new play which ran at the Comedy Theatre in London, and was Anderson's West End debut.
- The Sweetest Swing in Baseball (2004). World premiere at the Royal Court Theatre, London.
- A Doll's House (2009) at the Donmar Warehouse in London.
- We Are One: A celebration of tribal peoples (2010) at the Apollo Theatre in London.
- Other works
- Wrote and directed the X-Files episode "all things".
- Provided the voice for the ship's computer in the 1996 video game Hellbender by Terminal Reality and Microsoft.
- Compiled a collection of electronica music inspired by Future Fantastic, entitled Future: A Journey Through The Electronic Underground. Contributed vocals to one track "Extremis", with music by HAL. The song was distributed by EMI Records in 1997. It was a minor hit in both the UK[55] and Australia.
- Appeared in two X-Files games, The X-Files Game and provided her voice and likeness for The X-Files: Resist or Serve.
- Provided the voice for Jenny in the sitcom Frasier, Jenny calls Frasier's show for advice about her boyfriend.
- Provided the voice for Moro in the English dub of the Japanese anime Princess Mononoke.
- Read books Exit to Eden and The X-Files: Ground Zero.
- Narrated movie about the release of footage of uncontacted Indians on the Brazil-Peru border, as part of Survival International's campaign to protect some of the world's last uncontacted tribes.
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