Gillian Anderson

Gillian Anderson is an Emmy-winning actress known for her role on the thriller series The X-Files. Anderson joined an amateur acting group while in high school and went on to study acting at DePaul University’s Theatre School.

At 22, she moved to New York and worked as a waitress, landing a few theater roles before making the decision to move to Los Angeles. She first appeared in the film The Turning and on the show Class of ‘96 before being invited to read a script for Fox’s The X-Files. Anderson remained with the show for all nine seasons, earning multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards for her performance as Dana Scully.

After the show’s end, Anderson moved to London and went on to appear in films such as The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) and The Sunlit Night (2019). She also starred in a BBC adaptation of Great Expectations, which earned her a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries. Some of her other notable roles include her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher on The Crown and Elenore Roosevelt in The First Lady.

In 2019, Anderson joined the cast of Sex Education as Jean Milburn; she remained with the show until its end in 2023. In 2024, she starred in the movie adaptation of the memoir The Salt Path as Raynor Winn.

Anderson wed art director Clyde Klotz in 1994, and the pair welcomed daughter Piper later that year. They divorced in 1997.

The actress was briefly married to Kenyan filmmaker Julian Ozanne in 2004, and the couple split in 2006. She later entered a relationship with Mark Griffiths, with whom she shares sons Oscar (born in 2006) and Felix (born in 2008); they parted ways in 2012.

Anderson dated screenwriter Peter Morgan from 2016 to 2020.