Notes

Early life[edit]
Anderson was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Rosemary Anderson (née Lane), a computer analyst, and Homer Edward "Ed" Anderson III, who owned a film post-production company.[3][4] She is of English, German, and Irish ancestry.[5] Soon after her birth, her parents moved to Puerto Rico for 15 months, then to London, England. The family made the relocation so that her father could attend the London Film School.[6] Anderson spent her childhood growing up in north London's Crouch End and Harringay.[7] She was a pupil of Coleridge Primary School.[8] When Anderson was 11 years old, her family moved again, this time to Grand Rapids, Michigan.[9] Yet, they continued to have a flat in London, where Anderson spent her summers.[10] In Grand Rapids, she attended Fountain Elementary and then City High-Middle School; a program for gifted students with a strong emphasis on the humanities.[11]

Following the move to Grand Rapids, Anderson went through a rebellious stage; experimenting with drugs, dating a much older boyfriend and having a punk appearance (dyeing her hair various colours, shaving the sides of her head, sporting a nose piercing and an all-black wardrobe).[10][11][12] Anderson recalled: "We were in a small Republican town. There were only six punks there. We were weird. It’s not like London".[13] She listened to bands such as Dead Kennedys and Skinny Puppy. Anderson was voted by her classmates: "class clown", "most bizarre girl" and "most likely to be arrested". She was arrested on graduation night for breaking and entering into her high school in an attempt to glue the locks of the doors. She later managed to reduce the charges to trespassing.[14][15]

At a young age Anderson was interested in marine biology, but after becoming interested in theatre during her teenage years, she began acting in high school productions during her freshman year and later in community theatre.[11] She also served as a student intern at the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre & School of Theatre Arts.[16] After graduating high school in 1986, she attended The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1990.[17] Anderson also participated in the National Theatre of Great Britain's summer program at Cornell University.[11] To support herself financially during her student years, she worked at the Goose Island Brewpub in Chicago and after Anderson became famous, the brewery named one of their beers after her; a Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale – Gillian.[18][19]

Anderson is the eldest of three siblings. Her brother Aaron – who was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis – died in 2011 of a brain tumor, at the age of 30. Aaron was a DJ, a mentor and a practicing Buddhist. He was in his second year of a PhD program in Developmental Psychology at Stanford University when he was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2008.[20][21] Her sister Zoe is a ceramicist, who Anderson calls "an exceptional artist".[22] Zoe is openly gay and is married to her partner.[23]

Anderson is bidialectal. With her English accent and background, she was mocked and felt out of place in the American Midwest and soon adopted a Midwestern accent. To this day, her accent depends on her location, as she easily shifts between her American and English accents.[24] In May 2013, during an interview with BlogTalkRadio, Anderson addressed the matter of her national identity: "I've been asked whether I feel more like a Brit than an American and I don't know what the answer to that question is. I know that I feel that London is home and I'm very happy with that as my home. I love London as a city and I feel very comfortable there. In terms of identity, I'm still a bit baffled."[25]

Career[edit]

Anderson at the stage door for the play The Sweetest Swing In Baseball at the Royal Court Theatre, 2004
1990s[edit]
Anderson moved to New York when she was 22 years old.[26] To support herself when she started her career, Anderson worked as a waitress. She began her career in Alan Ayckbourn's play, Absent Friends at the Manhattan Theatre Club alongside Brenda Blethyn; for her role she won the 1990–91 Theatre World Award for "Best Newcomer".[27] Her next theatrical role was in Christopher Hampton's The Philanthropist at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut.[28] Anderson moved to Los Angeles in 1992, spending a year auditioning. The same year, she appeared in her first feature-length film The Turning, starring Karen Allen and Tess Harper – the film drama is an adaptation of the play Home Fires Burning. She also did the narration for the audiobook of Anne Rice’s novel Exit to Eden. Although she had once vowed she would never do TV, being out of work for a year changed her mind. Anderson recalled: "First of all, I swore I'd never move to Los Angeles, and once I did, I swore I'd never do television. It was only after being out of work for almost a year that I began going in [to auditions] on some stuff that I would pray that I wouldn't get because I didn't want to be involved in it."[26] She broke into mainstream television in 1993, with a guest appearance on the collegiate drama, Class of '96, on the fledgling Fox Network.[6]

As a result of her guest appearance in Class of 96, Anderson was sent the script for The X-Files at the age of 24. She decided to audition because, "for the first time in a long time, the script involved a strong, independent, intelligent woman as a lead character."[29] Producer Chris Carter wanted to hire her, but Fox wanted someone with previous TV exposure and greater sex appeal.[26] Fox sent in more actresses, but Carter stood by Anderson, and she was eventually cast as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully. Anderson got the part assuming it would run for 13 episodes, the standard minimum order for American TV networks. Filmed for the first five seasons in Vancouver before moving to Los Angeles, the series would run for nine seasons, and included two films, released in 1998 and 2008. During her time on The X-Files, Anderson won numerous awards for her portrayal of Special Agent Scully, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series,[30] a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama, two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series and a Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television. Anderson is the first actress to win an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a SAG Award in the same year.[31] In total, she received for the role, four Emmy nominations, four Golden Globe nominations and nine SAG nominations. Anderson was the first woman to write and direct an episode of the X-Files (“All Things”). During The X-Files run – in between the fifth and sixth seasons – Anderson co-starred in The X-Files: Fight the Future, a 1998 motion picture that continued the The X-Files storyline. Anderson also provided the voice for a parody of her Scully character in "The Springfield Files", an episode of the animated comedy TV series The Simpsons. While filming the X-Files, Anderson met assistant art director Clyde Klotz, who became her first husband.[11]

Anderson’s character on X-Files, initiated a phenomenon which was referred to as "The Scully Effect"; as the medical doctor and the FBI Special Agent inspired many young women to pursue careers in science, medicine and law enforcement, and as a result brought to a perceptible increase in the number of women in those fields.[32][33] At the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International, Anderson noted that she has long been aware of "The Scully Effect" and stated: "We got a lot of letters all the time, and I was told quite frequently by girls who were going into the medical world or the science world or the FBI world or other worlds that I reigned, that they were pursuing those pursuits because of the character of Scully. And I said, 'Yay!'"[34] "The Scully Effect" remains a subject of academic inquiry.[35]

In 1996, Anderson narrated the television documentaries Spies Above[36] and Why Planes Go Down.[37] While hosting the BBC documentary series Future Fantastic, she became impressed by the featuring theme music of the show, by the electronic duo Hal and initiated a collaboration with them. In 1997, Anderson provided vocals and starred in the music video for their single “Extremis”, which was frequently aired on MTV. She also helped to assemble an album of electronic music, Future: A Journey Through The Electronic Underground, for Virgin Records, which won praises from European music critics.[38][39]

In 1997, Anderson appeared in the independent film Chicago Cab. In 1998, she starred in the film Playing by Heart with Sean Connery, Angelina Jolie, Ellen Burstyn and Jon Stewart.[6] Anderson also had a supporting role in the film, The Mighty with Gena Rowlands, Harry Dean Stanton, James Gandolfini and Sharon Stone.[6] In 1999, Anderson had a supporting role in the English-language release of Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke, where she voiced the character of Moro. Anderson is a fan of Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki's work.[40] She also took part in Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.[41]

2000s[edit]

Anderson pregnant with her son Felix at the premiere of The X-Files: I Want to Believe, July 25, 2008
In 2000, Anderson starred in the film The House of Mirth with Eric Stoltz – Terence Davies' adaptation of the Edith Wharton novel of the same name, for which she won critical acclaim and awards such as the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress, Village Voice Film Poll Best Lead Performance and a nomination for the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress. When The X-Files ended in 2002, she moved to London for a complete change of pace and the opportunity to return to the stage.[42][43] She performed in several stage productions, including What The Night Is For and The Sweetest Swing in Baseball.[44]

In 2005, she appeared as Lady Dedlock in the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Bleak House, and had a starring role in the Irish film The Mighty Celt, for which she won an IFTA award for Best International Actress.[45] The same year she also appeared in A Cock and Bull Story with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon – a film version of the novel Tristram Shandy. In 2006, Anderson won the Broadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Award for Best Actress for her role in Bleak House.[46] She was nominated for a British Academy Television Award (BAFTA) for Best Actress, she also received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, a nomination for a Golden Globe, a Satellite Award nomination and came in second place in the Best Actress category of the 2005 BBC Drama website poll for her portrayal of Lady Dedlock in the adaptation.[47]

During 2006 and 2007, Anderson appeared in two British films: The Last King of Scotland with James McAvoy[48] (2006) and Straightheads with Danny Dyer (2007).[49] In 2008, Anderson hosted Masterpiece Theatre during the Jane Austen series;[50] she was the first woman to host the series since it began in 1971.[51] The same year, Anderson starred in the second X-Files film, The X-Files: I Want to Believe[52] and appeared alongside Simon Pegg in the British comedy film How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. In 2009, she starred in the British comedy film Boogie Woogie with Alan Cumming, Danny Huston and Stellan Skarsgård. Anderson portrayed Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Donmar Warehouse in London's West End during a limited engagement which ran from May 14, 2009, until July 18, 2009.[53][54] Anderson has received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress, for productions which opened in the 2009 calendar year for her portrayal of Nora.[55]

2010s[edit]

Anderson at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con International
In November 2010, Anderson portrayed Wallis, Duchess of Windsor in Any Human Heart – a TV adaptation of William Boyd’s novel of the same name, for which she was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress on Television. In April 2011, she starred in the BBC adaptation The Crimson Petal and the White as Mrs. Castaway, for which she was nominated for the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress. In August 2011, she appeared in a television miniseries Moby Dick based on Herman Melville's 1851 novel of the same name, as Elisabeth, Ahab’s wife. The same year, Anderson appeared as the head of MI7, Pamela Thornton, in the British comedy Johnny English Reborn. She starred as Miss Havisham in a three-part BBC adaptation of Great Expectations that aired in late December 2011.[56] For her portrayal in the adaptation she won the Artistic Excellence Award,[57] was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries and for the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress.[58]

In 2012, Anderson appeared in a Swiss drama film Sister and in Shadow Dancer – a British-Irish drama film based on the novel of the same name, about the Irish republican movement. Anderson voiced the character of Dr. Miki Hokuto in the English-language version of Studio Ghibli’s From Up On Poppy Hill, which was released In March 2013. The same year, she starred in the Canadian techno-thriller I'll Follow You Down and appeared in Mr. Morgan's Last Love with Michael Caine. In May 2013, Anderson began starring as the lead DSI Stella Gibson in The Fall, a critically acclaimed crime drama series for BBC Two and RTÉ ONE.[59][60] Anderson was praised for her portray of the cool, self-assured Gibson,[61] and was nominated for several awards; including the Golden Nymph Award, a Satellite Award and the Broadcasting Press Guild Award nominations for Best Actress.[62][63][64] She also became an executive producer for the programme from its second series.[65][66] From 2013 till 2015, she played Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier, Hannibal Lecter's psychiatrist, in the NBC series Hannibal. In 2014, Anderson was promoted from a recurring character during the first two seasons, to a series regular for the third season.[67] In 2014, Anderson starred in the British independent science fiction film Robot Overlords alongside Ben Kingsley. That year, she also appeared in Jeffrey D. Brown's drama Sold, portraying Sophia, a character based on the humanitarian photographer Lisa Kristine. The film presents the issues of child trafficking and sexual slavery in India, and is based on Patricia McCormick's novel of the same name.[68]

In July 2014, Anderson gained critical acclaim for her performance as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams at the Young Vic Theatre in London,[69] for which she won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress and received her second Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress. The production became the fastest-selling show in the theatre's history and the run was extended by two weeks due to the demand for tickets.[70] In the first collaboration between the Young Vic Theatre and National Theatre Live, the show was broadcast live to over 1100 venues on 16 September 2014.[71] Thus far, it has been screened in over 2000 venues.[7] In February 2015, Anderson directed and starred in a short film prequel to A Streetcar Named Desire, titled The Departure. The prequel was written by novelist Andrew O'Hagan and is part of the Young Vic's short film series, which is produced in collaboration with The Guardian.[72]

In October 2014, Anderson published her first book A Vision of Fire, co-authored by Jeff Rovin – it's the first book from the Earthend Saga series. The novel is described as "a science fiction thriller of epic proportions".[73][74] In February 2015, Anderson narrated the medical documentary The Widowmaker.[75] In December 2015, Anderson and Rovin published their second novel of the Earthend Saga series – A Dream of Ice.[76] In January 2016, Anderson portrayed Anna Pavlovna Scherer in BBC One's television adaptation War and Peace.[77] The same month, Anderson was back portraying FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in a six-episode miniseries revival of The X-Files.[78]