Here is a brief bio of my favourite actress for those of you too dedicated to E2 to visit the Internet Movie Database.
Gillian Anderson was born in Chicago on August 9, 1968. Raised in Britain until she was 11, she started acting in high school in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Later she obtained her B.F.A. from Goodman Theater School at DePaul University and also attended a summer theater program with the National Theater of Great Britain at Cornell University.
She worked on stage in New York before her first (brief) movie appearance in "The Turning." Not wanting to become a TV actor, she was reluctant to audition for the pilot of a new Fox show called "The X-Files." Fortunately, she did. Despite playing Dana Scully for over 8 years, she has remained resistant to typecasting and seems to do pretty well in a variety of roles. Her 5-minute appearance in "Chicago Cab" is about as un-Scully as it gets, and she is breathtaking as Lily Bart in "The House of Mirth."
She has also appeared in the stage production "The Vagina Monologues" and performed vocals for the song "Extremis" by Hal (as well as appearing in the very sexy video). In 2000, she directed the (rather good) X-Files episode "All Things."
Anderson has a daughter, Piper, with her ex-husband Clyde Klotz. Her pregnancy necessitated the "Scully's abduction" storyline of the X-files' second season, arguably shaping the entire subsequent story arc of the series.
Awards:
1991: Theater World award (for the play Absent Friends).
1996: SAG award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
1997: SAG award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Golden Globe award for Best Lead Actress in a Television Series, Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
1999: Viewers for Quality Television award for Best Actress.
(and numerous nominations as well)
(Sources: www.imdb.com, www.mrshowbiz.com, gaws.ao.net, gauk.net) | 
