Gillian Leigh Anderson was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 9, 1968. Soon after her birth, the family relocated to Puerto Rico for 15 months and then moved to England. Gillian spent the next 9 years of her childhood growing up in London's North End - first in Stamford Hill and later in Crouch End - while her father Edward studied film production at the London School of Film Technique in Covent Garden for 2 years. Eventually the family moved back to the U.S.A. and settled in Grand Rapids where her father ran a film post-production company and her mother worked as a computer analyst.
Gillian's love for acting began when she decided to audition for a community play while attending City High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
"Somehow, I have no idea how the transition was made from wanting to be an archeologist or a marine biologist, to wanting to be an actress, but it just kind of happened," says Gillian.
As a child, Gillian showed a flair for drama but was more of a tomboy who harbored dreams of becoming a Marine Biologist rather than those of movie stardom. "I loved digging up worms and cutting them up into little pieces. In the interests of science, of course!"
Her mother Rosemary recalls, "From the start Gillian had a real flare for the dramatic. That has simply always been her personality. But the first time I knew something was really up with her and acting was when she was 14 and a teacher assigned her the "Romeo And Juliet" balcony scene. Gillian had no background in Shakespeare, acting or anything remotely like it. Nobody on either side of our family had any experience with acting. Her father was interested in film production, but that had mostly been connected with industrial training films and commercials. But she studied that scene and mastered it with no effort whatever. When she performed it for me my jaw just dropped."
Gillian, pronounced Jill'-ee-un,was born on August 9, 1968 in Chicago, IL, to Ed and Rosemary Anderson and is one of 3 children. She lived in Puerto Rico, and then in London, so her father could attend a film school there (Her family still owns a flat there).At age 11 she moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she attended elementary and then high school. She then moved to Chicago where she went to college and once she had gained her BFA she then moved to New York, N.Y. where she made several theater performances and then to Los Angeles in about '91/'92. Upon gaining the role of Dana Scully, Gillian then relocated to Nth Vancouver, Canada where she now resides with her husband and daughter.Gillian attended Fountain Elementary and then City High in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating in 1986 she moved to Chicago and attended the Goodman Theater School at DePaul University (a major theater conservatory), in Chicago, IL where she obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. While attending DePaul Uni, she also studied at the summer program at the National Theater of Great Britain at Cornell Universityin Ithaca, N.Y.
After initially wanting to be a marine biologist, at about age 17, she was in ''a couple of auditions'' in the Grand Rapids Community Theater, where she was ''cast in a couple of things,'' and from then it was as if she ''had never thought about marine biology.''While studying for her Bachelor of Fine Arts at DePaul University, Gillian spent some time in the National Theater of Great Britain. During this time, she also had a role in a film named ''The Turning'' in 1988. After receiving her degree, she moved to New York and embarked on a serious career in theater - including an off-Broadway production of Alan Ayckbourne's ''Absent Friends,'' for which she won a Theater World award in 1991. Also ''The Philanthropist ''at the Long Wharf Theater in New HavenGillian then moved to Los Angeles and spent a year auditioning for various things, during which time she did ''Home Fires Burning'' for a cable station as well as the audiocassette version of ''Exit to Eden''Although she had once vowed she would ''never do TV'', and seemed set on a career in film or theater, being out of work for a year or so changed her mind and she had a role in an episode of ''Class of '96'' and then was impressed enough by the role of Dana Scully that she auditioned for the role.''The chance to play FBI Special Agent Dana Scully was the series key attraction, I was reading something that for the first time in a long time involved a strong, independent intelligent woman as a lead character''-GAThe auditioning went well and it seems Chris Carter had decided on casting Gillian for the role. The network (FOX) ''freaked'' at the possibility of casting someone with as little TV experience as Gillian and also appeared to be looking for someone more ''bimboish''. So they flew in more actresses from New York, but Chris stood his ground and they cast Gillian as Special Agent Dana Scully. Gillian, who was also somewhat surprised at being cast said ''I was convinced they were looking for someone leggier, and with a biggerchest.'' - GAGillian is enjoying working on the show, even if it was a little stressful at first and sees the recognition she has been getting as a great step which will open many doors for her, as her goal is to do some more theater as well as feature and independent films eventually.But it was first when she got the role as ''Dana Scully'' in the ''X-Files'' she became real famous.Gillian has become somewhat of a '90's icon through her role on the incredibly popular X-Files TV show, game and now movie. She seemingly strode out of nowhere into the national limelight as the scientist/FBI agent, but few know that she was a movie actress first - having starred in The Turning.As for her views about the X-files and her character she has conveniently summed it up. ''The more I get comfortable with the character, the more she's becoming like me in some of her mannerisms. I'm *not* that much of a skeptic. I do believe in UFO's, I do believe in certain paranormal phenomena, like ESP and psycho kinesis and all that. I've always been fascinated with it and I think, on a certain level, I've just known or assumed it to be reality. In that respect we're very different. I think that I have a tendency to get as single-minded and obsessed with my work as Dana does, but in a different way. She's a medical doctor and an FBI agent and I'm an actress.''
As for her love life Gillian is presently married after an engagement that lasted ''shorter than a month but longer then a week,'' with, well she wants it kept quiet .... Anyway they met on the set of the X-Files where he worked for several of the early episodes and the couple tied the knot on New Years Day('94) on a golf course in Hawaii.''�We kept it very, very small. In fact, it was just the two of us and a Buddhist priest on the 17th hole of thisgolf course in Hawaii�''Gillian has also had a baby and was due on the 09/13 and gave birth on the 09/25. The baby'sname is Piper Anderson a baby girl, 8 lb. 10 oz,
Real Name : Gillian Leigh Anderson
Date of Birth : August 9th, 1968
Place Of Birth : Cook County, ChicagoIllinois, USA
Sign : Sun in Leo, Moon in Aquarius
Height : 5'3''
Hair : Ash blond
Eye : Blue
Education : B.F.A., DePaul University
Occupation : Actress
Husband : Clyde Klotz (divorced)
Daughter : Piper Maru
Parents : Edward & Rosemary
Fan Mail : c/o The X-Files Production Office
110-555 Brooks Bank Avenue,
North Vancouver, BC,
V7J 3S5, Canada.
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