Gillian Anderson
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).
Anderson was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Rosemary Anderson (née Lane), a computer analyst, and Edward Anderson, who owned a film post-production company.Her father was of English descent, while her mother was of Irish and German ancestry. 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, 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. 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.
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.
Anderson was interested in marine biology, 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. She also participated in the National Theatre of Great Britain's summer program at Cornell University.
Anderson's brother died in 2011 of a brain tumor, at the age of 30.
Anderson married her first husband, Clyde Klotz, The X-Files series assistant art director, on New Year's Day, 1994, in Hawaii in a Buddhist ceremony. They had a daughter, Piper Maru (born September 1994), for whom Chris Carter named the X-Files episode of the same name, and divorced in 1997.] 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.
Anderson and former boyfriend, Mark Griffiths, have two sons: Oscar, born November 2006 and Felix, born October 2008. She ended their relationship in 2012. In March 2012, Anderson told Out magazine about her past relationship with a girl while in high school.
In 1997, she was chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. Askmen listed her at No. 6 on their Top 7: '90s Sex Symbols. In 2008, she was listed 21st in FHM's All Time 100 Sexiest Hall of Fame.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 34.416 |
Birthday | 1968-08-09 |
Place of Birth | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
Also Known As | Gillian Leigh Anderson, Джілліан Андерсон, Τζίλιαν Άντερσον, 질리언 앤더슨, ジリアン・アンダーソン, 吉蓮·安德森, |
2006
The Last King of Scotland
7.4/2097
Young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan decides it's time for an adventure after he finishes his formal education, so he decides to try his luck in U...
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The Last King of Scotland
1998
Playing by Heart
6.6/222
In a vibrant tapestry of love and longing, nine interconnected souls navigate romance and heartbreak in L.A., where passions collide and truths unfold...
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Playing by Heart
1998
The X Files
6.9/1587
Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about...
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The X Files
2005
The Mighty Celt
6.4/12
Donal is a 14-year old who develops a passion for greyhound racing. He works in a kennel, which is owned by Good Joe. Good Joe promises Donal ownershi...
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The Mighty Celt
2024
Scoop
6.377/167
Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization gives an insider account of how the women of Newsnight secured Prince Andrew's infamous intervie...
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Scoop
1992
The Turning
3.3/5
Gillian Anderson in her first ever screen role. Anderson's psycho boyfriend, Cliff, returns to his home town seething with pent-up frustration and rag...
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The Turning
2005
A Cock and Bull Story
6.167/132
Steve Coogan, an arrogant actor with low self-esteem and a complicated love life, is playing the eponymous role in an adaptation of "The Life and Opin...
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A Cock and Bull Story
2008
The X Files: I Want to Believe
5.8/1485
Six years after the events of The X-Files series finale, former FBI agent Doctor Dana Scully is now a staff physician at Our Lady of Sorrows, a Cathol...
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The X Files: I Want to Believe
2000
The House of Mirth
6.183/71
In early 20th century New York City, an impoverished socialite desperately seeks a suitable husband as she gradually finds herself betrayed by her fri...
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The House of Mirth
1998
The Mighty
7.1/247
Kevin, an intelligent guy helps out Maxwell to improve his reading skills. In return, Kevin wants Maxwell to take him out places since he is not autho...
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The Mighty
2008
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
6.005/754
Sidney Young is a down-on-his-luck journalist. Thanks to a stint involving a pig and a glitzy awards ceremony, Sidney turns his fortunes around, attra...
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How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
2007
Straightheads
5.2/103
There is instant chemistry between Alice (Gillian Anderson), a businesswoman, and Adam (Danny Dyer), a younger working-class man who installs a securi...
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Straightheads
2022
The Pale Blue Eye
6.85/1817
West Point, New York, 1830. When a cadet at the burgeoning military academy is found hanged with his heart cut out, the top brass summons former New Y...
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The Pale Blue Eye
2009
Boogie Woogie
5/91
In London's contemporary art world, everyone has a hustle. Art Spindle runs a high-end gallery: he hopes to flip a Mondrian for millions. One of his a...
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Boogie Woogie
2012
FOX 25th Anniversary Special
7.3/3
A special celebrating FOX's 25 years on the air. Highlights from iconic series and tributes to memorable moments, as well as celebrities honoring the...
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FOX 25th Anniversary Special
2024
The Salt Path
0/0
Based on the memoir about a couple who lose their home and days later discover the husband has been diagnosed with a terminal illness as they embark o...
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The Salt Path
2012
Shadow Dancer
5.904/249
In 1990s Belfast, a woman is forced to betray all she believes in for the sake of her son.
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Shadow Dancer
2011
Johnny English Reborn
6.235/3263
The most prominent heads of state in the world begin gathering for a conference that could have a major impact on global politics. When MI-7 receives...
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Johnny English Reborn
2002
Richard Rodgers: Some Enchanted Evening
0/0
This star-studded gala celebrates the centenary of the birth of legendary Broadway composer Richard Rodgers. Rodgers' contribution to musical theatre...
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Richard Rodgers: Some Enchanted Evening
2012
Sister
6.7/156
A drama set at a Swiss ski resort and centered on a boy who supports his sister by stealing from wealthy guests.
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Sister
2017
Heroes Manufactured
10/1
A documentary following Canadian artists and their ability to break into the comic book industry while dealing with fandom and the craze of comic book...
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Heroes Manufactured
2012
Room on the Broom
6.495/97
Animated film based on the wonderful children's picture book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The story of a kind witch...
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Room on the Broom
1998
Chicago Cab
5.3/15
A day in the life of a Chicago cab driver is examined as he picks up fares from the good and bad parts of the city and emotionally connects to many of...
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Chicago Cab
2023
White Bird
8/74
After being expelled from Beecher Prep for his treatment of a classmate with a facial deformity, Julian has struggled to fit in at his new school. To...
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White Bird
2013
Mr. Morgan's Last Love
6.7/284
A widowed professor living in Paris develops a special relationship with a younger French woman.
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Mr. Morgan's Last Love
2014
Robot Overlords
4.8/257
Earth has been conquered by robots from another galaxy and the human survivors must stay in their homes, or risk incineration.
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Robot Overlords
2016
Sold
6.5/34
Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her family in a small hut on a mountain in Nepal. When the Himalayan monsoons wash away all that re...
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Sold
2013
I'll Follow You Down
6/170
After the disappearance of a young scientist on a business trip, his son and wife struggle to cope, only to make a bizarre discovery years later - one...
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I'll Follow You Down
1986
Three at Once
3.5/2
This black and white student short is a whimsical absurdist comedy about a happy-go-lucky girl, a sardonic feminist and a vain philosopher who meet at...
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Three at Once
1988
A Matter of Choice
0/0
A short, silent, black-and-white film dealing with a young woman's moment of choice before entering a back-alley abortion clinic.
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A Matter of Choice
2014
National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire
7.5/17
As Blanche’s fragile world crumbles, she turns to her sister Stella for solace – but her downward spiral brings her face to face with the brutal, unfo...
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National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire
2010
No Pressure
7/2
No Pressure is a controversial 2010 short film produced by the global warming mitigation campaign 10:10. Intended for cinema and television advertise...
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No Pressure
1998
Akte X Intern - Was Sie schon immer wissen wollten
0/0
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Akte X Intern - Was Sie schon immer wissen wollten
2014
The Departure
9/3
Inspired by the Young Vic theatre's acclaimed production in 2014, the film takes place in the days before Blanche arrives at her sister Stella's home.
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The Departure
2025
TRON: Ares
0/0
A highly sophisticated Program called Ares is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind's first encoun...
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TRON: Ares
2015
The Widowmaker
6.8/7
Every minute of every year an American drops dead of a heart attack, hundreds of thousands without any warning or prior symptom. But these people coul...
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The Widowmaker
1998
Inside The X-Files
6.7/20
Inside the X-Files for a behind-the-scenes look at the show. Also included are interviews with the cast and creator Chris Carter, never before seen se...
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Inside The X-Files
2015
Getting the Old Scent Again: Reimagining Red Dragon
0/0
An in depth feature length piece on the creative efforts to approach the Hannibal television series' third season "reboot" of the Red Dragon arc.
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Getting the Old Scent Again: Reimagining Red Dragon
2024
Woolf Works
0/0
Wayne McGregor’s award-winning ballet triptych Woolf Works re-creates the emotions, themes, and fluid style of three of Virginia Woolf’s novels: Mrs....
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Woolf Works
2017
Crooked House
6.388/898
A private investigator helps a former flame solve the murder of her wealthy grandfather, who lived in a sprawling estate surrounded by his idiosyncrat...
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Crooked House
2018
UFO
6.886/437
A college student, who sees a UFO, uses his exceptional math skills to investigate the sighting with his friends while the FBI follows closely behind.
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UFO
2017
Viceroy's House
6.7/276
In 1947, Lord Mountbatten assumes the post of last Viceroy, charged with handing India back to its people, living upstairs at the house which was the...
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Viceroy's House
2007
Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind
5/8
Robbie and Donner's wedding is interrupted when Donner is kidnapped by aliens. Robbie saves the day again though with the help of his friends and an a...
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Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind
2017
Woolf Works
2/1
The first revival of Wayne McGregor’s critically acclaimed ballet triptych to music by Max Richter, inspired by the works of Virginia Woolf.
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Woolf Works
2017
The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism
8.5/2
Taking its lead from French artists like Renoir and Monet, the American impressionist movement followed its own path which over a forty-year period re...
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The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism
2018
The Spy Who Dumped Me
6.4/2202
A couple of thirtysomething best friends unwittingly become entangled in an international conspiracy when one’s ex-boyfriend shows up at their apartme...
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The Spy Who Dumped Me
2019
This Changes Everything
6.2/39
An investigative look and analysis of gender disparity in Hollywood, featuring accounts from well-known actors, executives and artists in the Industry...
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This Changes Everything
2020
The Sunlit Night
5.4/30
An aspiring painter meets eccentric locals and a fellow New Yorker while working on a barn in Norway.
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The Sunlit Night
2019
National Theatre Live: All About Eve
8.5/14
The story of Margo Channing. Legend. True star of the theatre. The spotlight is hers, always has been. But now there’s Eve. Her biggest fan. Young, be...
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National Theatre Live: All About Eve
2021
Robin Robin
7.1/191
A bird raised by mice begins to question where she belongs and sets off on a daring journey of self-discovery.
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Robin Robin
2021
Letters Live from the Archive: International Women’s Day
8/2
Celebrate International Women’s Day with this brand new inspiring film from LETTERS LIVE. In “LETTERS LIVE from the Archive: International Women’s Day...
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