Spooky good. Gillian Anderson is an American-British actress, born in Chicago on August 9, 1968. She began her career on stage before rocketing to fame as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully on The X-Files alongside David Duchovny. Gillian played the skeptical scientist throughout the show’s original nine-season run from 1993 to 2002, as well as in two feature films, before reprising the iconic role when The X-Files returned for two additional seasons in 2016 and 2018.
From there, major dramatic roles followed, including appearances in The House of Mirth, Bleak House, The Fall and Hannibal. She later introduced herself to a new generation of fans as sex therapist Jean Milburn in Netflix’s Sex Education and earned widespread acclaim for portraying British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season of The Crown. Her performance earned her both an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
Gillian has continued taking on a wide range of roles in recent years. She starred opposite Lena Headey in Netflix’s Western drama The Abandons, which premiered in 2025, and returned to the horror genre in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. The film, co-starring Hannah Einbinder, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival before arriving in U.S. theaters on August 7, 2026.
Decades after first stepping into Dana Scully’s shoes, Gillian remains a celebrated presence across television, film and theater. Scroll through the gallery to see photos of the actress throughout her life and career.
