gillian anderson

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gillian anderson
Gillian Anderson is one busy woman. When she's not chasing aliens and monsters or playing doctor, she's spending time with her daughter, Piper, speaking for her charity, Neurofibramatosis, Inc., or filming movies.

Gillian was born on August 9, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois. Her family moved to Puerto Rico, and then London, where she lived for most of her childhood. In her teen years, the family moved back to the U.S., to Grand Rapids, Michigan where Gillian entered the punk stage of her life... She sported various body piercings, dyed her hair as often as Dennis Rodman does, joined a rock band, and even glued shut the doors of her high school on graduation day... hmm...

After high school, Gillian stopped being a punk and attended De Paul University in Chicago. First she wanted to be a marine biologist, then she decided on acting. She participated in theater production in her college, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts.

Gillian moved to New York and acted in some off Broadway plays and kept a waitressing job on the side to earn money. Her big break came with her role in Absent Friends, which won her the Theatre World Award. She starred in a couple of other plays, and then moved to Los Angeles, California.

So... that didn't appear to be the greatest decision for a while. Gillian was unemployed for a time and took up odd jobs. Then everything started when her agent persuaded her to audition for the lead female role in some up and coming TV show about aliens... or something. Yeah. X-Files something or other. Whatever that was. Although Gillian swore never to act on television, she finally agreed to the audition.

So she auditioned. And Chris Carter, the creator of the X-Files really liked her. Even though he said she looked like a street urchin, he liked her. The people at Fox weren't convinced... because they wanted someone taller and blonder. But you know how the story goes. Gillian got the role of Agent Scully... so they cut her blonde hair, dyed it red, dressed her in a business suit, and flew her out on a plane to Vancouver, Canada.

Ok... the first year of the X-files was none too fun for Gillian, who had a hard time with Scully's scientific babble... and no one really knew that the X-Files existed for a while.

Gillian met X-Files art director Clyde Klotz, and they married in 1994, at an impromptu cermony on a golf course in Hawaii. (however, they divorced in 1996) Later, Gillian found out she was pregnant... which didn't bode well, since the X-Files was only in its first season. But Chris Carter decided not to recast her, and the writers worked the storylines around her pregnancy, dressing her in baggy trenchcoats and having ol' Scully abducted for a few weeks. Gillian's daughter, Piper Maru, was born in September 1994, and Gillian returned to the set of the X-Files just 10 days after her delivery and kept going...

And lately, it's been good... The X-Files has rocketed to major success, and Gillian has earned multiple awards, including a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy. The X-Files hit the big screen in 1998, which proved to be an interesting experience. Gillian's new hobby is filming movies-- she acted in The Mighty as an alcoholic extremely the opposite of Scully, and her most recent role was in Playing By Heart with Jon Stewart.

Gillian lives in L.A. with her daughter, and also keeps an apartment in Vancouver. Though the X-Files have skipped over to California, she splits her time between the two cities.


Trivia/Stats


full name: Gillian Leigh Anderson

date of birth: August 9, 1968

place of birth: Chicago, Illinois, USA

parents: Rosemary and Edward Anderson

siblings: Zoe and Aaron

husband: Clyde Klotz (divorced)

children: Piper Maru Anderson

pets: Cleo, Neopolitan Mastiff

education: De Paul University, Chicago

residence: Los Angeles, CA; Vancouver B.C.


height: 5'3"

hair: red (but naturally blonde)

eyes: blue


favorite x-files ep: "Bad Blood," season six

music: alanis morrissette, cake, foo fighters

habits: health food lover, but yet, a smoker

piercings: navel

car: Porsche

charity: Neurofibramatosis, Inc.

awards: >>Screen Actors Guild Award, 1996, 1997

>>Golden Globe Award, Outstanding Performance by Female Actor in a Drama Series, 1997

>>Emmy Award, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, 1997

>>Academy of Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy Films, Saturn Award, 1997

>>Quality Television Awards, 1995, 1998