Gillian Anderson
Biography
Gillian Leigh Anderson OBE (born August 9, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and activist. Born in Chicago, Illinois, she spent her early childhood in London before moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Anderson achieved international recognition portraying FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the science‑fiction series The X‑Files, which aired from 1993 to 2002 and returned for additional seasons between 2016 and 2018. Her film work includes the role of Lily Bart in the 2000 drama The House of Mirth. She has earned two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards for her performances.
Career overview
Anderson’s breakthrough came with her casting as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the seminal science‑fiction series The X‑Files, which debuted in 1993. Her portrayal of the skeptical, scientifically minded partner to Mulder became a cultural touchstone, and she remained a central figure through the show's original nine‑season run ending in 2002. The series was revived for additional seasons from 2016 to 2018, allowing Anderson to reprise the role and reaffirm her association with the character. Following her X‑Files success, Anderson expanded into film and international television. In 2000 she played Lily Bart in the period drama The House of Mirth, demonstrating her range in literary adaptations. She later headlined the BBC/RTÉ crime drama The Fall as Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson, leading the series from 2013 to 2016. From 2019 to 2023 she appeared as Jean Milburn, a therapist and mother, in the Netflix comedy‑drama Sex Education, and in 2020 she portrayed former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season of Netflix’s historical series The Crown. Her performances have been recognized with two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards, underscoring her impact across both American and British television.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full filmography
- Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026) as Billy
- Sara Price: Chasing Dakar (2026) as Narrator
- TRON: Ares (2025) as Elisabeth Dillinger
- The Abandons (2025) as Constance Van Ness
- The Salt Path (2025) as Raynor Winn
- Trespasses (2025) as Gina
- Trespasses (2025) Executive Producer
- The Salt Path Scandal (2025) as Self (archive footage)
- Tron: Ares - A Special Look (2025) as Elisabeth Dillinger
- Scoop (2024) as Emily Maitlis
- Woolf Works (2024)
- White Bird (2023) as Vivienne Beaumier
- The Pale Blue Eye (2022) as Julia Marquis
- The First Lady (2022) as Eleanor Roosevelt
- Robin Robin (2021) as Cat (voice)
- Letters Live from the Archive: International Women’s Day (2021) as Self
- The Savoy (2020) as Self
- The Sunlit Night (2020) as Olyana
- Sex Education (2019) as Jean Milburn
- This Changes Everything (2019) as Self
- National Theatre Live: All About Eve (2019) as Margo Channing
- The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) as Wendy
- UFO (2018) as Dr. Hendricks
- American Gods (2017) as Media
- Crooked House (2017) as Magda Leonides
- Viceroy's House (2017) as Edwina Mountbatten
- Heroes Manufactured (2017) as Self (archive footage)
- Woolf Works (2017) as Voiceover from a letter by Virginia Woolf (voice)
- The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism (2017) as Narrator
- The Crown (2016) as Margaret Thatcher
- War and Peace (2016) as Anna Pavlovna Scherer
- Sold (2016) as Sophia
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015) as Self - Guest
- The Late Late Show with James Corden (2015) as Self - Guest
- Robot Overlords (2015) as Kate
- The Widowmaker (2015) as Narrator
- Getting the Old Scent Again: Reimagining Red Dragon (2015) as Self
- Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014) as Self - Guest
- Variety Studio: Actors on Actors (2014) as Self
- Crisis (2014) as Meg Fitch
- Ronja, the Robber's Daughter (2014) as Narrator
- National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire (2014) as Blanche DuBois
- The Departure (2014) as Blanche DuBois
- The Departure (2014) Director
- Hannibal (2013) as Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier
- The Fall (2013) as Stella Gibson
- Mr. Morgan's Last Love (2013) as Karen Morgan
- I'll Follow You Down (2013) as Marika Whyte
- Sister (2012) as Kristin Jansen
- Room on the Broom (2012) as Witch (voice)
- Shadow Dancer (2012) as Kate Fletcher
- FOX 25th Anniversary Special (2012) as Self
- Johnny English Reborn (2011) as Pamela
- Great Expectations (2011) as Miss Havisham
- Moby Dick (2011) as Elizabeth
- The Crimson Petal and the White (2011) as Mrs. Castaway
- Any Human Heart (2010) as Duchess Of Windsor
- No Pressure (2010) as Self
- Boogie Woogie (2010) as Jean Maclestone
- Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (2009) as Self - Guest
- The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) as Dana Scully
- How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) as Eleanor Johnson
- The Graham Norton Show (2007) as Self
- Straightheads (2007) as Alice
- Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind (2007) as Queen Vorkana (voice)
- The Last King of Scotland (2006) as Sarah Merrit
- Bleak House (2005) as Lady Dedlock
- A Cock and Bull Story (2005) as Widow Wadman / Gillian Anderson
- The Mighty Celt (2005) as Kate
- Parkinson (2004) as Self - Guest
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003) as Self - Guest
- Celebrities Uncensored (2003) as Self
- Top Gear (2002) as Self
- American Idol (2002) as Self
- V Graham Norton (2002) as Self
- Richard Rodgers: Some Enchanted Evening (2002) as Self - Performer
- Richard & Judy (2001) as Self
- The House of Mirth (2000) as Lily Bart
- Harsh Realm (1999) as Video Narrator (uncredited)
- Parkinson (1998) as Self
- The X-Files (1998) as Agent Dana Scully
- The Magic Hour (1998) as Self
- The Mighty (1998) as Loretta Lee
- Playing by Heart (1998) as Meredith
- The Making of 'The X Files: Fight the Future' (1998) as Self
- Chicago Cab (1998) as Southside Girl
- Inside The X-Files (1998) as Self
- Akte X Intern - Was Sie schon immer wissen wollten (1998) as Dana Scully / Self
- The Rosie O'Donnell Show (1996) as Self - Guest
- More Secrets of the X-Files (1996) as Self
- Why Planes Go Down (1996) as Narrator
- Future Fantastic (1996) as Self - Host
- Spies Above (1996) as narrator
- Secrets of the X-Files (1995) as Self
- ReBoot (1994) as Data Nully (voice)
- The X-Files (1993) as Dana Scully
- The X-Files (1993) Writer
- The X-Files (1993) Director
- Frasier (1993) as Jenny (voice)
- Class of '96 (1993) as Rachel
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) as Self - Guest
- Eek! The Cat (1992) as Dana Scully (voice)
- The Turning (1992) as April Cavanaugh
- The Simpsons (1989) as Dana Scully (voice)
- This Morning (1988) as Self - Guest
- A Matter of Choice (1988) as Woman
- Three at Once (1986) as Woman 1
- Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Presenter
- Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Nominee
- Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Nominee/Presenter
- Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Audience Member
- Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Winner
- The Boys from Brazil as Frieda Steiner
- The Julia Set
- The Julia Set Producer
- The Turning Door as (voice)
- Animals