7 Interesting But Surprising Facts About Gillian Anderson

Quick Facts

Gillian Anderson is a talented British-American actress who is well-known for her role as Dana Scully, an FBI officer in the X-Files. Furthermore, she has appeared in several stage and theatrical productions and featured in numerous films, as well as television series. Gillian is really an Amazon in the entertainment industry and her prowess has earned her several awards, nominations, and recognition.

Short Bio

Gillian Leigh Anderson was born on the 9th of August 1968 in Chicago Illinois, the U.S.A. She is of mixed ethnicity as she has English, German and Irish Lineage. Gillian was raised along with her three younger siblings by her parents. Her father – Homer Edward “Ed” Anderson III, worked as a movie producer who runs his own movie post-production company, while her mother, Rosemary “Posie” Alyce was a computer analyst. Immediately after her birth, her parents relocated to Puerto Rico and after staying there for 15 months, the family moved to London, when her father got enrolled in the London Film School, where he studied Film production.

When it comes to her educational background, Gillian was enrolled in the Coleridge Primary School as a child and later on studied at the Fountain Elementary and City High-Middle School. Upon graduation from high school in 1986, she proceeded to The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago where she bagged a degree in Fine Arts after four years.

Interesting But Surprising Facts About Gillian Anderson

• 1. She started acting at a very young age

Gillian Anderson was fortunate enough to know what she wanted to be at an early age. Although she initially had immense passion for Marine Biology but during her teens, she picked interest in theatrical performance and started acting first in high school productions then subsequently entered into community theatres and this must have been the reason she got enrolled into the Theatre School in Chicago immediately after she graduated from high school to gather more knowledge.

• 2. Her professional acting spell

Although Gillian Anderson had been acting since she was a child, it is said that she kicked off her professional acting career two years after graduation from the university and landed a part in the film The Turning where she played the role of April Cavanaugh. At this time, Gillian had no intention of acting in television dramas but later changed her mind as she was cast in the sitcom Class of ’96. Furthermore, she was seen in the X-Files series as special FBI officer Dana Scully and this earned her numerous awards and recognition.

• 3. She has a track record of failed relationships

It is worthy to know that the British-American actress was first married to Clyde Klotz, who was an X-Files assistant art director, and the duo tied the knot of marriage on the 1st of January 1994 in Hawaii in a typically Buddhist wedding ceremony. The couple welcomed their first daughter that same year on the 25th of September and after three years of marriage, the pair parted ways.

At the end of her first marriage, Gillian Anderson got married in 2004 to , an American filmmaker but the marriage ended shortly after it started. The actress then moved on with her life and later in 2006, she hooked up with her old-time boyfriend Mark Griffiths, a business mogul and their romantic relationship brought forth two sons Oscar and Felix. However, their relationship hit the rocks in 2012 and Gillian is said to have made up her mind to be a single mum but love crossed her path again in 2016 when she met Peter Morgan, an American artist cum scriptwriter whom she is still dating till date.

• 4. Gillian Anderson is an activist and avid philanthropist

The talented actress has been noted for her doggedness towards supporting several humanitarian organizations. Gillian Anderson is a major supporter of a suicide prevention foundation with the name Trevor Project. She is an active member and one of the patrons of organizations like the Charles Dickens Statue Fund and the Temple Legal Centre, an organization that provides free family legal aid. The actress also offers support to Children with Tumours Organization and the Global Genes movement, an organization that provides aid for children with genetic diseases. More so, She runs her own charitable organization and co-founded the SAYes Foundation, an organization with the aim of helping Marginalized South African youths.

Furthermore, she is a children and women’s rights activist, who has been a longtime member of the Feminist Majority Foundation and has served in various capacities for the organization. Gillian Anderson is also a part of organizations that advocate for children’s rights like Childreach International and International Literacy Centre.

• 5. Gillan Anderson is a recipient of numerous awards 

Gillian Anderson is a proud recipient of several awards and nominations. She is known to have been nominated in different categories including the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie, and so many others. Additionally, Gillian has been named the winner of several awards like the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress, and her role as a Special FBI agent in the movie X-File earned her several awards which include an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series, two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series and a Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television.

More so, Gillian Anderson is the first actor to win an Emmy, a SAG and a Golden Globe award in one year.

• 6. She is also a writer

The British-American actress is not only an actress but also writes. Gillian Anderson worked with Jeff Rovin to publish her first book “A Vision of Fire” which was later renamed to “The Earthend Saga”. In addition to that, she is also the author of the feminist self-help book titled “We: a manifesto for women everywhere”.

• 7. She is a big art fan

Gillian Anderson is an art fan as she loves artefacts and she is ever ready to pay any amount to get any artwork of her choice. Her love for artworks made her to even use her first paycheck from the X-File movie to buy a David Blackburn lithograph and she is said to have several other collections from artists like Diane Arbus, Helen Levitt, Cindy Sherman, Francesco Clemente, and many others.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.