50 facts about actress Gillian Anderson

50 things about Gillian Anderson, an actress whose credits include the roles of Special Agent Dana Scully in FOX Television's long-running and critically acclaimed drama series The X-Files.

1. Gillian Leigh Anderson is a film, television, and theatre actress whose credits include the roles of Special Agent Dana Scully in FOX Television's long-running and critically acclaimed drama series The X-Files, ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies' film The House of Mirth (2000), and Lady Dedlock in the successful BBC production of Charles Dickens' Bleak House.

2. After beginning her career on stage, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully on the American sci-fi horror drama series The X-Files for all nine seasons (1993-2002).

3. Her film work includes The House of Mirth (2000), the dramas The Mighty Celt (2005), The Last King of Scotland (2006), Shadow Dancer (2012), Sister (2012) and two X-Files films: the science fiction-thriller The X-Files (1998) and the supernatural fiction-thriller The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008).

4. In 2013, Anderson was cast as serial killer Hannibal Lecter's psychotherapist, Bedelia Du Maurier, on the psychological thriller-horror television series Hannibal.

5. That same year, she began starring on the BBC/Netflix crime television series The Fall.

6. Gillian Anderson has received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations (winning one), five Golden Globe Award nominations (winning one) and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations (winning two).

7. Aside from film and TV, Anderson has taken on the stage and has received both awards and critical acclaim.

8. Her stage work includes Absent Friends (for which she won a Theatre World Award for Best Newcomer), A Doll's House and A Streetcar Named Desire (both earned her Laurence Olivier Award nominations for Best Actress).

9. Gillian 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.

10. Gillian Anderson has Scottish, German, and Irish ancestry.

11. Soon after her birth, her family moved to Puerto Rico for 15 months, then to England, where she lived until she was 11 years old.

12. Gillian Anderson lived for five years in London's Crouch End and 15 months in London's Stroud Green, so that her father could attend the London Film School.

13. Gillian Anderson was a pupil of Coleridge Primary School.

14. When Anderson was 11 years old, her family moved again, this time to Grand Rapids, Michigan.

15. Gillian Anderson attended Fountain Elementary and then City High-Middle School, a program for gifted students with a strong emphasis on the humanities, graduating in 1986.

16. Gillian Anderson is bidialectal.

17. With her English accent and background, she was mocked and felt out of place in the American Midwest and soon adopted a Midwestern accent.

18. To this day, her accent depends on her location; she spoke in an American accent for an interview on Live with Kelly and Michael, but shifted it for an interview with English broadcaster Michael Parkinson.

19. Anderson also spoke with an English accent during her interview with host Jeremy Clarkson as the guest on Series 22, Episode 6 of Top Gear.

20. Anderson also spoke with an English accent during her interview with host Jeremy Clarkson as the guest on Series 22, Episode 6 of Top Gear.

21. Gillian Anderson attended The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1990.

22. Gillian Andersonalso participated in the National Theatre of Great Britain's summer program at Cornell University.

23. Gillian Anderson moved to New York when she was 22 years old.

24. To support herself when she started her career, Anderson worked as a waitress.

25. Gillian Anderson began her career in Alan Ayckbourn's play, Absent Friends at the Manhattan Theatre Club alongside Brenda Blethyn; she won the 1990-91 Theatre World "Newcomer" Award for her role.

26. Her next theatrical role was in Christopher Hampton's The Philanthropist at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut

27. Gillian Anderson moved to Los Angeles in 1992, spending a year auditioning.

28. Although she had once vowed she would never do TV, being out of work for a year changed her mind.

29. Gillian Anderson did Home Fires Burning for a cable station, as well as the audiobook version of Exit to Eden.

30. Gillian Anderson broke into mainstream television in 1993, with a guest appearance on the collegiate drama, Class of '96, on the fledgling Fox Network.

31. 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."

32. Producer Chris Carter wanted to hire her, but Fox wanted someone with previous TV exposure and greater sex appeal. Fox sent in more actresses, but Carter stood by Anderson, and she was eventually cast as Special Agent Dana Scully.

33. During her time on The X-Files, Anderson won several awards for her portrayal of Special Agent Scully, including an Emmy Award, Golden Globe and two Screen Actors Guild awards for "Best Actress in a Drama Series."

34. While filming, Anderson met assistant art director Clyde Klotz, whom she would eventually marry.

35. In 1997 Anderson worked on the independent film Chicago Cab.

36. In 1998 she starred in the film Playing by Heart with Sean Connery, Angelina Jolie, Ellen Burstyn and Anthony Edwards.

37. Gillian Anderson also had a supporting role in the film, The Mighty with Gena Rowlands, Harry Dean Stanton, James Gandolfini and Sharon Stone.

38. 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.

39. Gillian Anderson is a fan of Miyazaki's work.

40. In 2000, Anderson starred in the film The House of Mirth with Eric Stoltz, an 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.

41. 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. She performed in several stage productions and worked on various film projects.

42. Gillian Anderson is an honorary spokesperson for the Neurofibromatosis Network. Her brother Aaron died from the disease and was diagnosed when Gillian was just a teenager.

43. She also supports the Children with Tumours organisation a new UK group devoted to helping children with NF.

44. Gillian Anderson is a member of the board of directors for Artists for a New South Africa and a campaigner for ACTSA: Action for Southern Africa.

45. Gillian Anderson is an active member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and supports animal rights.

46. Gillian Anderson also supports tribal rights charity Survival International leading to her performance in a London stage fundraiser in early 2010.

47. Gillian Anderson married her first husband, Clyde Klotz, The X-Files series assistant art director, on New Year's Day 1994, in Hawaii in a Buddhist ceremony. They had a daughter, Piper Maru, for whom Chris Carter named the X-Files episode of the same name, and divorced in 1997.

48. In December 2004, Anderson married Julian Ozanne, a documentary filmmaker, on Lamu Island, off the coast of Kenya.

49. Gillian Anderson announced their separation on April 21, 2006.

50. Gillian Anderson and former boyfriend, Mark Griffiths, have two sons: Oscar and Felix. She ended their relationship in 2012.

Source: Wikipedia.org