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Gillian Anderson

Acting 57 years old Chicago, Illinois, USA ★ 6.7
Born: August 9, 1968

Biography

Gillian Leigh Anderson OBE (born August 9, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and activist. She is best known for her roles as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the sci-fi series The X-Files (1993–2002; 2016–2018), Lily Bart in the drama film The House of Mirth (2000), DSI Stella Gibson in the BBC/RTÉ crime drama series The Fall (2013–2016), Jean Milburn in the Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education (2019–2023), and Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season of the Netflix drama series The Crown (2020). She has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Born in Chicago, Anderson was raised first in London and then in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She later started her career onstage in New York City before achieving international recognition for her work on The X-Files. Her film work includes the dramas The Mighty Celt (2005), The Last King of Scotland (2006), Shadow Dancer (2012), and Viceroy's House (2017), as well as the X-Files films Fight the Future (1998) and I Want to Believe (2008). Her television credits include Lady Dedlock in Bleak House (2005), Wallis Simpson in Any Human Heart (2010), Miss Havisham in Great Expectations (2011), Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier on Hannibal (2013–2015), Media in the first season of American Gods (2017), and Eleanor Roosevelt on The First Lady (2022).

Anderson has also received awards and acclaim for her stage work, which includes Absent Friends (1991), for which she won a Theatre World Award for Best Newcomer; A Doll's House (2009), for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress; Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (2014 and 2016), for which she won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress and received a second Laurence Olivier Award nomination; and All About Eve (2019), for which she received a third Laurence Olivier Award nomination.

Anderson has supported numerous charities and humanitarian organizations, being an honorary spokesperson for the Neurofibromatosis Network and a co-founder of South African Youth Education for Sustainability (SAYes). She has lived in London since 2002 and was appointed an honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2016 for her services to drama.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Gillian Anderson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

External Links

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Known For

The Simpsons
The Simpsons Dana Scully (voice) 1989
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen Self - Guest 2009
The X-Files
The X-Files Dana Scully 1993
The Crown
The Crown Margaret Thatcher 2016
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards Self - Presenter 1944

Jimmy's Seen (1)

The Spy Who Dumped Me
The Spy Who Dumped Me Wendy 2018

Filmography

Acting Credits (111)

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma Billie 2026
The Salt Path Scandal
The Salt Path Scandal Self (archive footage) 2025
The Abandons
The Abandons Constance Van Ness 2025
Trespasses
Trespasses Gina 2025
TRON: Ares
TRON: Ares Elisabeth Dillinger 2025
Tron: Ares - A Special Look
Tron: Ares - A Special Look Elisabeth Dillinger 2025
The Salt Path
The Salt Path Raynor Winn 2025
Woolf Works
Woolf Works 2024
Scoop
Scoop Emily Maitlis 2024
White Bird
White Bird Vivienne Beaumier 2023
The Pale Blue Eye
The Pale Blue Eye Julia Marquis 2022
The First Lady
The First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt 2022
Robin Robin
Robin Robin Cat (voice) 2021
Letters Live from the Archive: International Women’s Day
Letters Live from the Archive: International Women’s Day Self 2021
The Savoy
The Savoy Self 2020
The Sunlit Night
The Sunlit Night Olyana 2020
This Changes Everything
This Changes Everything Self 2019
National Theatre Live: All About Eve
National Theatre Live: All About Eve Margo Channing 2019
Sex Education
Sex Education Jean Milburn 2019
UFO
UFO Dr. Hendricks 2018
The Spy Who Dumped Me
The Spy Who Dumped Me Wendy 2018
Crooked House
Crooked House Magda Leonides 2017
American Gods
American Gods Media 2017
The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism
The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism Narrator 2017
Heroes Manufactured
Heroes Manufactured Self (archive footage) 2017
Viceroy's House
Viceroy's House Edwina Mountbatten 2017
Woolf Works
Woolf Works Voiceover from a letter by Virginia Woolf (voice) 2017
The Crown
The Crown Margaret Thatcher 2016
Sold
Sold Sophia 2016
War and Peace
War and Peace Anna Pavlovna Scherer 2016
Getting the Old Scent Again: Reimagining Red Dragon
Getting the Old Scent Again: Reimagining Red Dragon Self 2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Self - Guest 2015
The Late Late Show with James Corden
The Late Late Show with James Corden Self - Guest 2015
The Widowmaker
The Widowmaker Narrator 2015
Robot Overlords
Robot Overlords Kate 2015
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors Self 2014
Ronja, the Robber's Daughter
Ronja, the Robber's Daughter Narrator 2014
The Departure
The Departure Blanche DuBois 2014
National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire
National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche DuBois 2014
Crisis
Crisis Meg Fitch 2014
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Late Night with Seth Meyers Self - Guest 2014
Mr. Morgan's Last Love
Mr. Morgan's Last Love Karen Morgan 2013
I'll Follow You Down
I'll Follow You Down Marika Whyte 2013
The Fall
The Fall Stella Gibson 2013
Hannibal
Hannibal Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier 2013
Room on the Broom
Room on the Broom Witch (voice) 2012
FOX 25th Anniversary Special
FOX 25th Anniversary Special Self 2012
Sister
Sister Kristin Jansen 2012
Shadow Dancer
Shadow Dancer Kate Fletcher 2012
Great Expectations
Great Expectations Miss Havisham 2011
Johnny English Reborn
Johnny English Reborn Pamela 2011
Moby Dick
Moby Dick Elizabeth 2011
The Crimson Petal and the White
The Crimson Petal and the White Mrs. Castaway 2011
Any Human Heart
Any Human Heart Duchess Of Windsor 2010
No Pressure
No Pressure Self 2010
Boogie Woogie
Boogie Woogie Jean Maclestone 2010
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen Self - Guest 2009
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People Eleanor Johnson 2008
The X Files: I Want to Believe
The X Files: I Want to Believe Dana Scully 2008
Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind
Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind Queen Vorkana (voice) 2007
Straightheads
Straightheads Alice 2007
The Graham Norton Show
The Graham Norton Show Self 2007
The Last King of Scotland
The Last King of Scotland Sarah Merrit 2006
Bleak House
Bleak House Lady Dedlock 2005
A Cock and Bull Story
A Cock and Bull Story Widow Wadman / Gillian Anderson 2005
The Mighty Celt
The Mighty Celt Kate 2005
Parkinson
Parkinson Self - Guest 2004
Celebrities Uncensored
Celebrities Uncensored Self 2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Jimmy Kimmel Live! Self - Guest 2003
Top Gear
Top Gear Self 2002
American Idol
American Idol Self 2002
V Graham Norton
V Graham Norton Self 2002
Richard Rodgers: Some Enchanted Evening
Richard Rodgers: Some Enchanted Evening Self - Performer 2002
Richard & Judy
Richard & Judy Self 2001
The House of Mirth
The House of Mirth Lily Bart 2000
Harsh Realm
Harsh Realm Video Narrator (uncredited) 1999
Playing by Heart
Playing by Heart Meredith 1998
Chicago Cab
Chicago Cab Southside Girl 1998
The X-Files
The X-Files Agent Dana Scully 1998
The Magic Hour
The Magic Hour Self 1998
The Mighty
The Mighty Loretta Lee 1998
Akte X Intern - Was Sie schon immer wissen wollten
Akte X Intern - Was Sie schon immer wissen wollten Dana Scully / Self 1998
Inside The X-Files
Inside The X-Files Self 1998
Parkinson
Parkinson Self 1998
The Making of 'The X Files: Fight the Future'
The Making of 'The X Files: Fight the Future' Self 1998
Future Fantastic
Future Fantastic Self - Host 1996
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
The Rosie O'Donnell Show Self - Guest 1996
More Secrets of the X-Files
More Secrets of the X-Files Self 1996
Why Planes Go Down
Why Planes Go Down Narrator 1996
Spies Above
Spies Above narrator 1996
Secrets of the X-Files
Secrets of the X-Files Self 1995
ReBoot
ReBoot Data Nully (voice) 1994
Frasier
Frasier Jenny (voice) 1993
The X-Files
The X-Files Dana Scully 1993
Class of '96
Class of '96 Rachel 1993
Eek! The Cat
Eek! The Cat Dana Scully (voice) 1992
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Self - Guest 1992
The Turning
The Turning April Cavanaugh 1992
The Simpsons
The Simpsons Dana Scully (voice) 1989
This Morning
This Morning Self - Guest 1988
A Matter of Choice
A Matter of Choice Woman 1988
Three at Once
Three at Once Woman 1 1986
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards Self - Presenter 1944
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards Self - Nominee 1944
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards Self - Nominee/Presenter 1944
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards Self - Audience Member 1944
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards Self - Winner 1944
Animals
Animals
The Julia Set
The Julia Set
The Turning Door
The Turning Door (voice)
The Boys from Brazil
The Boys from Brazil Frieda Steiner

Directing Credits (2)

Writing Credits (1)

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