Gillian Anderson
Biography
Gillian
Leigh Anderson was born on August 9th, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois.
Soon after, she moved to Puerto Rico and then England. During the
nine years that her family lived in England, her father took a course
on Film Production. Her family then moved to Grand Rapids Michigan
where Anderson was often teased about her English accent. In Michigan
she formed a punk rock appearance by spiking her hair and getting
her nose peirced. However, her appearance wasn't the only punk rock
thing about her. On the night of graduation, she was arrested for
trying to glue shut the doors to her high school.
Anderson
had become interested in acting after auditioning for a play while
attending City High School. When she was 14, she won the role of
Juliet in Romeo & Juliet. Her success in this role wiped away
her previous dreams of being an archaeologist or a marine biologist.
After graduating from high school, she studied at DePaul University’s
Goodman Theatre.
Upon
graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, Anderson,
then 22, moved to New York. Soon after, she won a Theatre World
Award for her part in the Broadway play ‘Absent Friends’.
The next year, she appeared in The Turning, her first movie. Although
the movie was filmed in 1992, it wasn’t released until 1997,
well after Anderson had become a major star.
With
her career stalled, Anderson moved to Los Angeles. After going a
whole year without work, she settled for television and made a guest
appearance on the short-lived Fox series ‘Class of 96’.
That same year, she auditioned for ‘The X-Files’. Producer/director
Chris Carter decided to cast her as Special Agent Dana Scully, going
against the advice of Fox executives who wanted a ‘sex symbol’
in the lead female role. Upon being told that she had the part,
Anderson, who had just received her last unemployment check, immediately
left for Vancouver to begin filming. The massive success of the
show was a surprise. Previously, most science-fiction shows developed
only a small but dedicated following. The X-Files changed all of
this, sparking a wave of interest in all things alien.
Anderson’s
role in ‘The X-Files’ garnered her much critical attention.
She was nominated for the Best Actress in a TV-Series-Drama Golden
Globe in 1996, 97, 98, and 99. She won in 1997. Similarly, she was
nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy
in 1996, 97, and 98. She also won that award in 1997.
While
working on the show, Anderson met assistant art director Clyde Klotz.
On New Years Day of 1994, they were married by a Buddhist monk on
the 17th hole of a golf course in Hawaii. A month later, Anderson
became pregnant. To accommodate for this, Chris Carter wrote Scully’s
abduction into the script so that Anderson could take a ten day
maternity leave. Piper Maru Anderson was born on September 25th,
1994. Due to complications, she was delivered by Caesarean section
and Gillian had to spend the next six days in hospital. Four days
later, she went back to work on the show. Anderson and Klotz later
divorced.
Acting
on ‘The X-Files’ and raising her daughter kept Anderson
busy for the next several years. Then in 1998, she found the time
to appear in four movies. Playing by Heart also starring Sean Connery
and Dennis Quaid, The Mighty, Chicago Cab also starring John Cusack,
Julianne Moore, and Laurie Metcalf, and The X-Files.
In 1999
Anderson starred in the theater production The Vagina Monologues.
In 2000 she had the starring role in The House of Mirth, directed
by Terence Davies. Her role as Lily Bart garnered her a British
Independent Film Award for Best Actress (2000).
The X-Files
completed its ninth and final season in 2002, when Gillian was 34
years old. After the show came to a close, Gillian moved to London
and began doing theater work again, starring in the Michael Weller
play What the Night is For, from November 2002 to February 2003.
Meanwhile,
Gillian is doing her best to promote awareness for charitable causes
including Neurofibromatosis, Inc. (her brother has the disease),
Buskaid, The Trevor Project, and Tusk Trust.
Anderson
is currently married to producer Julian Ozanne.
Gillian Anderson Filmography
The Last King of Scotland
(2006) .... Sara Zach
No One Gets Off in This Town (2006)
"Bleak House" (2005) (mini) TV Series .... Lady Honoria
Dedlock
A Cock and Bull Story (2005) .... Widow Wadman
The Mighty Celt (2005) .... Kate
The X Files: Resist or Serve (2004) (VG) (voice) .... Dana Scully
The X-Files: The Truth (2002) (TV) .... Special Agent Dana Scully
Richard Rodgers: Some Enchanted Evening (2002) (TV) .... Performer
The House of Mirth (2000) .... Lily Bart
... aka Chez les heureux du monde (France)
... aka Haus Bellomont (Germany)
Playing by Heart (1998) .... Meredith
The X Files (1998) .... Special Agent Dana Scully
... aka Aux frontières du réel (Canada: French title)
The Mighty (1998) .... Loretta Lee
Chicago Cab (1998) .... Brenda, Southside Girl
... aka Hellcab (USA: video title)
The X Files Game (1998) (VG) .... Special Agent Dana Scully
... aka The X-Files (USA)
Mononoke-hime (1997) (voice: English version) .... Moro
... aka Princess Mononoke (USA)
The Turning (1997) .... April Cavanaugh
... aka Pocahontas, Virginia
The X-Files: The Unopened File (1996) (V) .... Special Agent Dana
Scully
"The X Files" (1993) TV Series .... Dana Scully
The X-Files (1993) (TV) .... Special Agent Dana Scully
A Matter of Choice (1988)
Three at Once (1986) |
