Gillian Anderson

At 55 years old, Gillian Anderson has this physical status:

Career

Anderson, a 22-year-old waitress, moved to New York when she was 22 years old and worked as a waitress to support herself. She began her career at the Manhattan Theatre Club with Absent Friends; she was a recipient of the 1990-1991 Theatre World Award for "Best Newcomer." At the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, she appeared in Christopher Hampton's The Philanthropist.

Anderson went to Los Angeles in 1992 and spent a year performing. Karen Allen and Tess Harper appeared in her first feature film The Turning, which was released in the same year. The film version is a direct sequel to Home Fires Burning.

Although she had promised that she would never do television work, being out of work for a year changed her mind. Anderson said, "First and foremost, I swore I'd never move to Los Angeles," and if I did, I swear I'd never do television." It was only after being out of work for nearly a year that I started [to auditions] on some topics that I would hope that I didn't want to get because I didn't want to be involved in it." On the fledgling Fox Network, she made her first appearance on mainstream television in 1993 with a guest appearance on the collegiate drama Class of '96.

Anderson was sent the script for The X-Files as a result of his guest appearance. "For the first time in a long time, the script featured a strong, independent, intelligent woman as a lead character" in its audition. Producer Chris Carter wanted to fire her, but Fox needed someone with more television experience and greater sex appeal. More actresses joined Fox, but Carter stayed by Anderson and was later named as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully. Before heading to Los Angeles, the series was shot for the first five seasons in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1998 and 2008, two related films were also produced, with both being released. Anderson received numerous accolades for her role as Special Agent Scully, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, two Television Actor Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actress in a Drama Series, and a Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television. Anderson is the first actress to win an Emmy and a SAG Award in the same year. She has received four Emmy nominations, four Golden Globe awards, and nine SAG nominations for the role.

Anderson was the first woman to write and direct an episode of The X-Files ("all things"). Anderson co-starred in The X-Files: Fight the Future, a 1998 film that continued The X-Files storyline during its run from fifth to sixth seasons. In "The Springfield Files," an episode of the animated comedy television series The Simpsons, Anderson provided the voice for a parody of her Scully character. Clyde Klotz, her first husband, was interviewed while filming The X-Files. Anderson's character on The X-Files sparked a phenomenon known as "The Scully Effect"; as the medical doctor and the FBI Special Agent encouraged many young women to pursue careers in science, medicine, and law enforcement, many young women were inspired by Anderson's character. It was instrumental in the rise in the number of women working in those professions. The effect of "The Scully Effect" remains a subject of academic inquiry.

Anderson narrated the television documentaries Spies Above and Why Planes Go Down in 1996. She became captivated by the show's theme music by the electronic duo Hal and began a collaboration with them while filming Future Fantastic. Anderson produced spoken word vocals and appeared in the music video for their single "Extremis" in 1997, which was also broadcast on MTV. Future: A Journey Through The Electronic Underground, a compilation of experimental music for Virgin Records, has also received praise from European music critics.

Anderson appeared in the independent film Chicago Cabin in 1997. She appeared in the film Playing by Heart in 1998. Anderson appeared in The Mighty as a supporting actor. Anderson played a supporting role in Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke's English-language translation, where she portrayed Moro. Anderson is a fan of Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki's work. Eve Ensler's The Vain Monologues were also included.

Anderson appeared in the film The House of Mirth with Eric Stoltz – Terence Davies' adaptation of the Edith Wharton film of the same name – for which she received critical acclaim and accolades including the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress, Village Voice Film Poll Best Lead Actor, and a National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress.

When The X-Files finished in 2002, she returned to London for a change of pace and the opportunity to return to the stage. Anderson made her West End debut in Michael Weller's play What The Night Is For at the Comedy Theatre in 2002. Anderson performed in Rebecca Gilman's play The Sweetest Swing in Baseball in 2004, as artist Dana Fielding assumes the identity of the struggling baseball player Darryl Strawberry – a role for which she received raves.

Lady Dedlock appeared in the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' book Bleak House in 2005. She appeared in The Mighty Celt, an Irish film for which she received an IFTA award for Best International Actress. Tristram Shandy was released on film in the same year as she appeared in A Cock and Bull Story with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. Anderson received the Broadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Award for Best Actress for her role in Bleak House in 2006. She was nominated for a British Academy Television Award (BAFTA) for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, as well as a nomination for a Golden Globe for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, a Satellite Award nomination, and finished in second place in the 2005 BBC Drama website poll for her portrayal of Lady Dedlock in the film.

Anderson appeared in two British films, The Last King of Scotland (2006) and Straightheads (2007), respectively. During the Jane Austen series in 2008, Anderson hosted Masterpiece Theatre; she was the first female to host the series after it began in 1971. Anderson appeared in The X-Files: I Want to Believe, and appeared alongside Simon Pegg in the British comedy film How to Lose Friends & Alienate People the same year. She appeared in Boogie Woogie, alongside Alan Cumming, Danny Huston, and Stellan Skarsgrd in 2009.

During a limited engagement that ran from May 14, 2009 to July 18, 2009, she played Nora in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House in London's West End. Anderson received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress for her 2009 calendar year role of Nora.

Any Human Heart, a television adaptation of William Boyd's book of the same name, portrayed Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, for which she was nominated for a British Academy of Television in November 2010. Mrs. Castaway appeared in BBC's version The Crimson Petal and the White as Mrs. Castaway, for which she was nominated for the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress in April 2011. Elisabeth, Ahab's wife, appeared in the television miniseries Moby Dick (1851), based on Herman Melville's book Moby-Dick (1851). Anderson appeared in the British comedy Johnny English Reborn the same year. Pamela Thornton, Anderson, appeared as the head of MI7, Pamela Thornton. Miss Havisham appeared in a three-part BBC adaptation of Great Expectations that aired in late December 2011. She was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Minsteries and the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries for her role in the adaptation, as well as the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress.

Anderson appeared in Sister, a Swiss drama film based on the novel of the same name, and Shadow Dancer, a British-Irish drama film based on the same name, about the Irish republican movement in 2012. In the English-language version of Studio Ghibli's From Up on Poppy Hill, which was published in March 2013, Anderson portrayed Dr. Miki Hokuto. She appeared in I'll Follow You Down, a Canadian techno-thriller, and appeared in Mr. Morgan's Last Love with Michael Caine the same year.

Anderson debuted as DSI Stella Gibson in The Fall, a critically acclaimed crime drama for BBC Two and RTÉ One in May 2013. Anderson was praised for her portrayal of the cool, self-assured Gibson, and she was nominated for several awards. She has also been an executive producer for the program's second season. Anderson starred Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier, Hannibal Lecter's psychiatrist, on the NBC series Hannibal between 2013 and 2015. Anderson went from a recurring character in the first two seasons to a series regular in the third season in 2014. Anderson appeared in the British independent science fiction film Robot Overlords with Sir Ben Kingsley in 2014. Sophia, a figure based on humanitarian photographer Lisa Kristine, appeared in Jeffrey D. Brown's drama Sold in 2006. The film, which is based on Patricia McCormick's book of the same name, addresses child trafficking and sexual slavery in India.

Anderson won critical acclaim for her role as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams in July 2014. She was named Best Actress by the Evening Standard Theatre Award, as well as her second Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress. The performance became the fastest-selling show in theatre history, and the show was postponed by two weeks due to a demand for tickets. The performance was broadcast live to over 1100 venues on September 16, 2014 in the first partnership between the Young Vic Theatre and National Theatre Live. It has been seen in more than 2000 theatres so far. Anderson produced and starred in a short film prequel to A Streetcar Named Desire, written by novelist Andrew O'Hagan in February 2015. This is part of Young Vic's short film collection, which is produced in association with The Guardian.

Anderson co-authored A Vision of Fire, her first book, in October 2014. The book is the first book in what has been described as the Earthend Saga trilogy. It's described as a "science fiction thriller of epic proportions" by the publisher. Anderson and Rovin released their second book of the trilogy, A Dream of Ice, in December 2015. In BBC One's television adaptation War & Peace, Anna Pavlovna Scherer appeared in January 2016. In the six-episode tenth season of The X-Files, she reprised to play FBI Special Agent Dana Scully. When discussing her salary with the network, Anderson fought and succeeded in securing equal pay for her male co-star on The X-Files in the 1990s and again in 2015. She has always been outspoken about her fight for equal pay in the position.

Anderson reimagined her role as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire on stage at the new St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York City, from April 23, 2016, to June 4, 2016. Anderson and Rovin published The Sound of Seas, their third and final book in the EarthEnd Saga trilogy, which was published on September 13, 2016. In the third season of The Fall, she returned to playing DSU Stella Gibson. Anderson is the narrator of Ronja the Robber's Daughter, Studio Ghibli's anime, which debuted on Amazon Prime in January 2017. In Gurinder Chadha's Partition drama film Viceroy's House (2017), Anderson portrayed Edwina Mountbatten.

Anderson and Jennifer Nadel, a journalist and activist, released WE: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere on March 7, 2017. Anderson said that the book is a "call-out to all women around the world" – and that includes girls, transgender, and anyone who identifies themselves as feminine." She appeared in the first season of American Gods in April 2017, a television series based on Neil Gaiman's science fiction book of the same name. Anderson said she would not return to the show after being shownrunners of the show's creators, Bryan Fuller and Michael Green. Anderson appeared in Crooked House alongside Glenn Close and Christina Hendricks in October 2017 – a film version of Agatha Christie's book of the same name. In the eleventh season of The X-Files, Dana Scully appeared as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully. In January 2018, she announced that she would leave The X-Files after the season's end. In Star Citizen's single-player component Squadron 42, Anderson is expected to play Captain MacLaren. In January 2019, she debuted Jean Milburn in the Netflix dramedy Sex Education series.

Anderson played Margo Channing in a stage performance of All About Eve at No.l Coward Theatre, for which she received her third Laurence Olivier Award nomination from February 2, 2019, to May 11, 2019. In the fourth season of Netflix's historical drama series The Crown, it was announced on September 7, 2019. Margaret Thatcher would play former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Anderson is the second American actress (after Meryl Stingman) to portray Thatcher in a major film. In a tweet, Anderson said, "I am so excited to be joining The Crown's cast and crew and to have the opportunity to portray such a complex and controversial woman." Thatcher was unquestionably strong, but I'm enjoying delving below the surface and, dare I say, falling in love with the icon who, whether beloved or not despised, embodied an age." Anderson received critical acclaim for her role in winning an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal.

Anderson began filming White Bird: A Wonder Story in February 2021. It was originally scheduled to be released on September 16, 2022, but it was postponed to October 14, 2022. Lionsgate pulled the film from the release schedule in September 2022. In November 2021, Anderson narrated the cat in Robin Robin, a stop-motion short Christmas film about a bird raised by mice and wondering where she belongs. Robin Robin was nominated for the Best Animated Short Film by the Academy of Music. In season two of Hulu's The Great, she played Joanna, mother to Catherine the Great in December 2021.

Anderson's first audio show, What Do I Know?!, debuted in February 2022. Curio is a Latin word that means "curio." "Intuitive tales of social injustice, sexual liberation, and extraordinary women are explored on the fortnightly podcast." Anderson had signed a first glance contract with Netflix in March 2022. Fiddlehead Productions is a two-year contract with her company. Eleanor Roosevelt was portrayed in Showtime's TV series The First Lady in April of the same year. After the one season, the show was cancelled. Anderson will appear in The Pale Blue Eyes in December 2022 and on Netflix in 2023.

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