Starting with her role as FBI Agent Dana Scully in The X-Files and her award-winning performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Crown, the 55-year-old actress has always played unforgettable characters. Here are details about Gillian Anderson, revealing insights into her life and accomplishments in the entertainment world.
Gillian Anderson was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 9, 1968. Her mother, Rosemary Lane, worked as a computer analyst, and her father, Homer Edward Anderson III, owned a company that worked on film post-production.
When she was 22, Andersonmoved to New York, where she worked as a waitress to support herself.
Following her graduation from DePaul University, Gillian Anderson moved to New York City in 1990. She auditioned for the role of Evelynin Absent Friends, originally earmarked for Mary-Louise Parker, who later decided to star in Grand Canyon. Her career got its start in theatre.
Gillian Anderson spent her early years in Crouch End and Harringay, north London, where she was a student at Coleridge Primary School. When she turned 11, her family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in the United States. This explains her ability to speak with an American accent in the U.S. and her British accent when she is in the UK.
Gillian Anderson shares her passion for literature and frequently suggests books to her social media followers.
Anderson's role in The X-Files brought her worldwide fame in which she played as Special Agent Dana Scully.
In honour of her contributions to the world of drama, Anderson was granted the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Besides her acting career, Gillian Anderson is an accomplished author. One of her notable works, “We: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere,” was co-authored with Jennifer Nadel and published in 2017.
Gillian Anderson's remarkable career has been marked by numerous accolades. She has won multiple Primetime Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards for her performances.
The award-winning actress was announced to portray former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Crown's fourth season on September 7, 2019. She received both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her performances in the Netflix royal drama.
The X-Files actress also engages in philanthropy in which she supports a range of organisations dedicated to causes such as women's rights, mental health, and environmental conservation.
The activist enjoys architecture and interior design, often engaging in floor and house planning projects.
The 55-year-old actress has several tattoos, and she has stated that each of them symbolises "peace of mind, right mind, right action" in some way.
Anderson married her first husband, Clyde Klotz, an X-Filesassistant art director, in Hawaii on New Year’s Day 1994. Their daughter was born on September 25, 1994, but Andersonand Klotz divorced in 1997.
On December 29, 2004, she married Julian Ozanne, a documentarian, in a ceremony held on Lamu Island, off the coast of Kenya. Unfortunately, they separated on April 21, 2006.
The writer Gillian Anderson and her former partner, businessman Mark Griffiths, have two children together, Oscar, 16, and Felix Griffins, 14.
Gillian Anderson has three children: a daughter named Piper Anderson-Klotz from her first husband Clyde Klotz, and two sons, Oscar and Felix Griffiths, whom she shares with Mark Griffiths. The actress resides with her three children in London.
In her self-help book entitled “We: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere”, the author Gillian Anderson opens up about her struggles with mental health, and how practising daily meditation helps her overcome them.
The American actress enjoys collecting art and bought a David Blackburn lithograph with her first X-Files pay cheque. Her collection also features pieces by artists like Diane Arbus, Cindy Sherman, Helen Levitt, and Alexis Rockman.
