Age, Biography, and Wiki
Gillian Anderson is currently 56 years old. Born in Chicago, Illinois, she has a mixed heritage, with her father being of English descent and her mother of Irish and German ancestry. She moved to London with her family at a young age and later attended the Goodman Theatre School in Chicago. You can find more details about her life on her Wikipedia page.
| Occupation | Women's Rights Activists |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 9 August 1968 |
| Age | 56 Years |
| Birth Place | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Leo |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
- Height: 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm)
- Weight: 52 kg (115 lbs)
- Measurements: 34-24-35 inches (86-61-89 cm) [Source: Celebrity Measurements]
| Height | 5 feet 3 inches |
| Weight | 115 lbs |
| Body Measurements | |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Gillian Anderson has been married three times: to Clyde Klotz from 1994 to 1997, to Julian Ozanne from 2004 to 2006, and to Peter Morgan from 2016 to 2020, although they never officially married. She has three children from her previous marriages.
Soon after her birth, her parents moved to Puerto Rico for 15 months before relocating to the United Kingdom so her father could attend the London Film School in London. She lived in Crouch End and Harringay, and attended Coleridge Primary School. When she was 11 years old, her family returned to the US and settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan, maintaining an apartment in London and spending their summers there. Having always intended to return to London, she later moved there in 2002. In Grand Rapids, she attended Fountain Elementary and City High-Middle School. She later said of her time there, "We were in a small Republican town. There were only six punks there. We were weird. It's not like London."
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. He was a DJ, mentor, and practicing Buddhist, and was in his second year of a PhD program in developmental psychology at Stanford University when he was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2008. Her sister Zoe is a ceramicist, whom she has called "an exceptional artist". Anderson went through a rebellious stage as a teenager in Grand Rapids, taking drugs, dating a much older boyfriend, and cultivating a punk appearance (dying her hair various colors, shaving the sides of her head, sporting a nose piercing and an all-black wardrobe). She was put in therapy at the age of 14. She listened to bands like Dead Kennedys and Skinny Puppy. She was voted by her classmates as "class clown", "most bizarre girl", and "most likely to be arrested". She was indeed arrested on graduation night for breaking into her high school in an attempt to glue the locks of the doors shut. She later managed to reduce the charges from breaking and entering to trespassing.
Anderson was the first woman to write and direct an episode of The X-Files ("all things"). During its run – between the fifth and sixth seasons – Anderson co-starred in The X-Files: Fight the Future, a 1998 film that continued 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 television series The Simpsons. While filming The X-Files, she met assistant art director Clyde Klotz, who became her first husband. Anderson's character on The X-Files initiated a phenomenon 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. It contributed to the increase in the number of women in those fields. "The Scully Effect" remains a subject of academic inquiry.
In November 2010, Anderson portrayed Wallis, Duchess of Windsor in Any Human Heart – a television 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 the television miniseries Moby Dick based on Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick (1851), 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. For her portrayal in the adaptation she won the Artistic Excellence Award, 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.
In February 2021, Anderson started filming White Bird. It was initially scheduled to be released on September 16, 2022, but after several delays was rescheduled for October 2024. In November 2021 Anderson voiced the cat in Robin Robin, a stop-motion short Christmas film about a bird raised by mice who is questioning where she belongs. Robin Robin was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. In December 2021, she played Joanna, mother to Catherine the Great in season two of Hulu's The Great.
Anderson met Canadian art director Clyde Klotz when they worked together on The X-Files, and they were married in a Buddhist ceremony in Hawaii on January 1, 1994. The X-Files creator and showrunner Chris Carter named the episode "Piper Maru" after the couple's daughter. The two divorced in 1997. On December 29, 2004, Anderson married Kenyan-born documentary filmmaker Julian Ozanne on Lamu Island. They separated in 2006 and divorced in 2007. Anderson began dating British businessman Mark Griffiths in 2006, and they had two sons together, born in 2006 and 2008, before splitting up in 2012.
In March 2012, Anderson revealed to Out magazine that she had a long-term relationship with a girl while in high school. She also told CBS News that she had dated other women, though most of her relationships had been with men. In December 2014, she described herself to the London Evening Standard as "an actively heterosexual woman who celebrates however people want to express their sexuality". She reiterated this in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter the following month. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph in March 2015, she said she was open to the idea of entering another same-sex relationship: "To me a relationship is about loving another human being; their gender is irrelevant." She told The Times in February 2018, "I could be with a woman next year [...] It's just who I am. I have absolutely no issue with it whatsoever, and I don't really care if other people have an issue with it." On Watch What Happens with Andy Cohen, she said that the last time she had been with a woman was when she moved to New York City right after college.
Anderson resides with her three children in London, where she has lived since 2002. She has been in a relationship with British screenwriter Peter Morgan since 2016 apart from a short break in 2020.
| Parents | |
| Husband | Clyde Klotz (m. 1994-1997) Julian Ozanne (m. 2004-2007) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Gillian Anderson's net worth is estimated to be around $40 million to $45 million, primarily due to her successful acting career in films and television series like "The X-Files" and "The Crown" . Her annual income is reported to be over $3 million .
In October 2014, Anderson published her first book, A Vision of Fire, co-authored with Jeff Rovin. The book is the first novel of what has developed as The Earthend Saga trilogy. The publisher describes it as "a science fiction thriller of epic proportions". In December 2015, Anderson and Rovin published their second novel of the trilogy, A Dream of Ice. In January 2016, Anderson portrayed Anna Pavlovna Scherer in BBC One's television adaptation War & Peace. The same month, she returned to portray FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the six-episode tenth season of The X-Files. Anderson has fought and succeeded in securing equal pay with her male co-star on The X-Files in the '90s and again in 2015, when negotiating her salary with the network. She has always been outspoken about her struggle for equal pay in the role.
Career, Business, and Investments
Gillian Anderson's career spans both film and television, with notable roles in "The X-Files," "The Crown," "Sex Education," and "The Fall." She has also been involved in theater performances and has supported various charitable causes. Her real estate includes properties in London and a mansion in Malibu, California .
Born in Chicago, Anderson was raised first in London and then Grand Rapids, Michigan, later starting her career onstage in New York City before achieving international recognition for her work on The X-Files. Her film work includes the dramas The Mighty Celt (2005), The Last King of Scotland (2006), Shadow Dancer (2012), and Viceroy's House (2017), as well as the X-Files films Fight the Future (1998) and I Want to Believe (2008). Her television credits include Lady Dedlock in Bleak House (2005), Wallis Simpson in Any Human Heart (2010), Miss Havisham in Great Expectations (2011), Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier on Hannibal (2013–2015), Media in the first season of American Gods (2017), and Eleanor Roosevelt on The First Lady (2022).
Anderson has supported numerous charities and humanitarian organizations, being an honorary spokesperson for the Neurofibromatosis Network and a co-founder of South African Youth Education for Sustainability (SAYes). She has lived in London since 2002 and was appointed an honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2016 for her services to drama.
Anderson moved to New York City at the age of 22 and worked as a waitress to support herself. 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". Her next theatrical role was in Christopher Hampton's The Philanthropist at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut.
In February 2022, Anderson launched her first audio show titled What Do I Know?! on Curio. The fortnightly podcast explores "deeply human stories of social challenges, sexual liberation, phenomenal women". In March 2022, it was announced that Anderson had signed a first look deal with Netflix. It is a two-year deal with her company, Fiddlehead Productions. In April of the same year, she portrayed Eleanor Roosevelt in the TV series The First Lady on Showtime. The series was cancelled after the one season. Released in theatres in December 2022 and on Netflix in 2023, Anderson starred in director Scott Cooper's The Pale Blue Eye alongside Christian Bale.
Anderson is a feminist. She told Glamour magazine in August 2014, "I have feminist bones and when I hear things or see people react to women in certain ways I have very little tolerance." She has several tattoos, all of them, as she described, are in some way about "peace of mind, right mind, right action". She practices meditation daily. She owned an estate in Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2012 that formerly belonged to painter Justin Deraniyagala. She is teetotal and launched the soft drink company G-Spot in 2023.
Anderson has been active in supporting numerous charity organizations and social causes, as well as running her own humanitarian ventures. She supports The Trevor Project organization, focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth and attended three of the Trevor Project's "Cracked X-Mas" events to benefit the organization. In 2013, Anderson was made a patron of the Charles Dickens Statue Fund, and was instrumental in securing the funding for UK's first Dickens statue, located in Portsmouth, Hampshire. In June 2016 she became a patron of the Temple Legal Centre, a London-based organization that assists people through the legal process by providing them free family law advice and support.
Anderson is an honorary spokesperson for the Neurofibromatosis Network. She often holds auctions with the profits benefiting the Neurofibromatosis Network. Her brother Aaron died from Neurofibromatosis type I in 2011. In May 1996, Anderson addressed the United States Congress urging for more education and funding for neurofibromatosis research projects. She partners with Doodle 4 NF – an annual fundraiser for the Neurofibromatosis Network. She also supported the Children with Tumours organization and the Global Genes movement, which is devoted to helping children with neurofibromatosis. .
In 2008, Anderson co-founded South African Youth Education for Sustainability (SAYes), which helps in empowering marginalised young people in South Africa through youth mentoring. The nonprofit organization provides youth leaving children's homes with guidance that enables them to develop their skills, further their education, and source suitable housing in order to participate in society as independent adults.
In 2012, Anderson joined Greenpeace in standing with the people of Brazil for a zero-deforestation law to save the Amazon. In 2013, she backed the Cheetah Conservation Fund by creating a short film together with the fund, advocating CCF's action to prevent the extinction of the cheetah. In 2013, she joined the Fishlove campaign, supporting the fight against unsustainable fishing practices that harm the marine ecosystem. In November 2015, Anderson was named a friend and supporter of Positive Luxury, a company that informs consumers on brands' commitment to quality, craftsmanship, service and sustainability.
Social Network
Gillian Anderson maintains a strong presence on social media platforms, with over 2.5 million followers on Instagram. She is active on these platforms, often engaging with her fans and promoting her projects.
In 2005, she appeared as Lady Dedlock in the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Bleak House. She had a starring role in the Irish film The Mighty Celt, for which she won an IFTA award for Best International Actress. 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. 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.
Due to her upbringing in both the United States and the United Kingdom, Anderson is bidialectal and can easily switch between an American or British accent depending on the situation. Her American accent is Midwestern as she adopted it after being teased by schoolmates for her British accent as a teenager in Grand Rapids, Michigan, while her British accent is a soft Received Pronunciation one due to her childhood in London. During an interview with BlogTalkRadio in May 2013, she discussed 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." In a September 2024 interview with the BBC, Anderson elaborated further stating: "My cells are American, but my soul is British".
Anderson is an advocate for reproductive rights. In 2001, she emceed the Rock for Choice concert fundraiser, featuring musicians Sarah McLachlan, Paula Cole, and Melissa Etheridge as well as actresses Helen Hunt, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, and Kathy Najimy. The concert supported reproductive options for unplanned pregnancies, including the morning-after pill. For International Women's Day 2014, Anderson was one of the artist signatories of Amnesty International's letter to UK Prime Minister David Cameron campaigning for women's rights in Afghanistan. In March 2015, Anderson backed the Women at the Well drop-in centre for vulnerable women in London, which is supported financially by Comic Relief. Anderson supports the Refuge, a United Kingdom charity providing specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic violence. For International Women's Day 2016, Anderson was one of the high-profile women that signed Burma Campaign UK's pledge to end and investigate crimes of sexual violence against girls and women in Myanmar. Anderson is a speaker for Thomson Reuters Foundation's Trust Women Conference.
Education
Gillian Anderson attended the Goodman Theatre School (now known as DePaul University) in Chicago, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting. Her early education was in London, where she moved with her family.
Gillian Leigh Anderson (born August 9, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and activist. She is best known for her roles as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the sci-fi series The X-Files (1993–2002; 2016–2018), Lily Bart in the drama film The House of Mirth (2000), Det Supt Stella Gibson in the BBC/RTÉ crime drama series The Fall (2013–2016), Jean Milburn in the Netflix comedy drama series Sex Education (2019–2023), and Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season of the Netflix drama series The Crown (2020). Among other honors, she has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Anderson was interested in marine biology at an early age, but later became more interested in theatre and began acting in high school productions during her first year and later in community theatre. She also served as a student intern at the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre & School of Theatre Arts. After graduating from high school in 1986, she returned to her birthplace of Chicago to attend The Theatre School at DePaul University, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1990. She also participated in the American National Theater and Academy's summer program at Cornell University. To support herself financially during her student years, she worked at the Goose Island Brewery in Chicago. After she became famous, the brewery named one of their Belgian-style farmhouse ales "Gillian".
Although she had once vowed she would never do television work, being out of work for a year changed her mindset. 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." She broke into mainstream television in 1993 with a guest appearance on the collegiate drama, Class of '96, on the fledgling Fox Network.
On March 7, 2017, Anderson and the journalist-activist Jennifer Nadel published their self-help guide book for women, titled WE: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere. Anderson stated that the book is a "call-out to all women around the world – and by women I include girls, transgender, anyone who identifies themselves as being intrinsically female." In April 2017, she played goddess Media in the first season of American Gods – a television series adaptation of Neil Gaiman's science fiction novel of the same name. Following the departure as showrunners of the show's creators, Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, Anderson stated she would not return to the show. In October 2017, Anderson appeared alongside Glenn Close and Christina Hendricks in Crooked House – a film adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel of the same name. In January 2018, she was back playing FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the eleventh season of The X-Files. In January 2018, she confirmed that she would be leaving The X-Files after the end of the season. Anderson is set to portray the role of Captain MacLaren in Star Citizen's single-player component Squadron 42. In January 2019, she began playing Jean Milburn in the Netflix dramedy Sex Education.
In June 2016, Anderson expressed her opposition to Brexit in the lead-up to the referendum on that issue. In January 2018, she was given a City Lit Lifetime Fellowship Award by the adult education college City Literary Institute. In 2020, she narrated a Marks & Spencer Christmas commercial in the UK which also served as a charity initiative, highlighting the work of and offering donations to charities chosen by Anderson and other acting talents. The Felix Project, Southall Black Sisters, and Blueprint for All were her chosen charities.
While filming The Last King of Scotland in 2005, Anderson started a crowdfunding venture that benefited the Alinyiikira Junior School in Kampala, Uganda. She ran the philanthropic project until 2011. 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. She was a patron of the Friends of Treatment Action Campaign (FoTAC) which worked with the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa to ensure greater access to treatment to reduce the effects of HIV and prevent new infections. Anderson also supported Buskaid – a charitable trust aiming to help young black musicians in South Africa.
In 2009, Anderson was named as one of 20 most powerful women in British theatre and was dubbed "The Honorary Brit" by Harper's Bazaar and Tiffany & Co.'s list. In 2010, Anderson was named Honorary Associate of The London Film School (LFS).
In 2013, Anderson received a City Lit Lifetime Fellowship Award as recognition for the support and inspiration she provided to adult education provider City Lit and its students.
