Gillian Anderson is the actress who plays Special Agent Dana Scully, on the Fox Network's "The X-Files" on Friday nights.
Jill'-ee-un.
Gillian 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 Univeristy, she also studied at the summer program at the National Theater of Great Britain at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
Gillian is 5'2 ", smallish build, auburn hair, hazel eyes (although they appear to change color regularly, but that is probably due to different lighting) cute nose, fair complexion(slightly freckled), perfect lips, yatta yatta yatta ;)
Yes,
She was yes. (The last episode she appeared pregnant in was EP #06 of Season 2.)
Gillian was due on the 09/13 and gave birth on 09/25/94.
Gillian gave birth by Cesarean on the 09/25/94, to a baby girl, 8 lb. 10 oz, named
Piper Anderson.
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. She also appeared in
"The Philanthropist" at the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Connecticut. Gillian
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" by Anne Rice. 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 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 bigger chest." (Thank god for Chris Carter and small
miracles...) Gillian 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. (in an X-Files movie we all hope) :)
A quote from GA can sum it up better than I could:
From all reports she is a very intelligent, hardworking, and charming woman with an
easygoing and bubbly personality (in other words a heartbreaker to us guys) who
genuinely enjoys her work even though she found the schedule of working in a
weekly show very stressful at first, though you wouldn't guess it from her
consistently exemplary performances. She is also very open and honest, as well as
having a quirky and charming sense of humor. Glen Morgan has referred to her as
"very smart" and Chris Carter is also impressed by how hardworking she is. Gillian was
at work each day up until two days before the birth of Piper. She took 6 weeks off
to recover and spend some time at home.
Yes, she does know the GATB exists, and this is what she said in an article, "The
X-Philes," from Starlog Platinum #4, November 1994. (Shamelessly stolen from
Julianne Lee.)
Her phone number is unknown, which is just as well I think. From all reports
Gillian isn't on any computer service, but I asked if she had an Email address in
my letter anyway...not that I'd tell any of you (if I ever get a reply) :) As far
as a contact address for fan mail, gifts and such:
Gillian Anderson
"The Turning" (1988)
"The Turning" - Unknown. (If you know, tell me)
There are two places I know of so far:
S&P Parker's Movie Market (714)-376-0326. Two must have Gillian Anderson photo's are
#12684 and #12015 (8 x 10 Color - $5). They also have several David Duchovny photos.
Thanks to Gerald Hough (Weasel).
Another place is Hollywood Book and Poster Co, (213)-465-8764. They have about 50
GA shots, some from the series, some posed as DS and GA. (also a lot of DD ones)
However, there is no catalogue or numbering system so you have to order blind, but
if you describe the type of shot you want they will help you out. They are good
quality and you have a choice of a black or a cropped border. Color 8 x 10's are $5.
Thanks to Michael Lynch for correcting my atrocious sentence structuring :)
Gillian Anderson's hit TV show "The X-Files" is more entertaining than
most movies, and many people think she's a better actress than you
see in most movies, too.
VIRGINIA CAMPBELL: You haven't
paid too many dues to get where you are,
have you?
Q: Within one year, you went from being
unemployed to having a hit series, to
falling in love, to getting married, to getting
pregnant. Isn't that a breathtaking
pace of events?
Q: When did you realize you wanted to
be an actress?
Q: What happened to the older guy?
Q: When you did off-Broadway, did you
ever have stage fright?
Q: So how did you get cast in "The X-Files"?
Q: If your "X-Files" character, Scully,
didn't work with Mulder, would she fall
for him?
Q: What do you want to do with your
time when you're on hiatus?
Q: Did you meet Quentin Tarantino at
the Golden Globes?
Q: Whose screen work do you admire?
Q: Oh yeah? What about Romeo Is Bleeding?
Then again, he's quit drinking.
Q: How famous are you? Not famous
enough for Quentin Tarantino to know
you, but you are famous.
Q: I asked a male fan of "The X-Files" to
explain your attractiveness. He said:
"Unlike most actresses, who reveal, no
matter what they're playing, that they
know they're beautiful, Gillian Anderson
is beautiful, but gives you the impression
she doesn't know it." Is that true?
Virginia Campbell is one of the executive editors of Movieline.
Note: The short note on David Duchovny's musical preference appeared in the same
issue of Movieline and was written by Steve Pond. It can be found on page 24.
"We kept it very, very small. In fact, it was just the two of us and a Buddhist priest
on the 17th hole of this golf course in Hawaii"
7. Is Gillian pregnant?
8. What was the baby named?
9. How did she get into acting? How did she get the role of Dana Scully?
"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"
10. What is Gillian's view on the possibility of the phenomenon covered on the show?
"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 psychokinesis 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."
Also Gillian has said that when she was in Hawaii getting married she spent a lot
of time watching the sky looking for "them", and that she is "a full fledged believer"
in addition to being "one of the least straight laced people you will ever meet."
So yes, it's safe to say Gillian's view on such phenomenon is that anything is possible.11. What is Gillian Anderson like???
12. Does Gillian Anderson know that the GATB exists?
Anderson is surprised, though she says it's flattering. "It's something
I certainly didn't expect," she says, "especially with Scully. She's independent and
she's passionate about her work. The character is not just a little bit of those
attributes, she's very much so. I find it terrific that some people should find
that stimulating."
and also from the Sacramento Bee,10/09/94 "Creepy, smart "X-Files" Inspires
a cult following" by Steve Pond:
And while the actors aren't quite so computer literate, they are aware of the
attention. "I've been told that on one of the computer services there's something
called the Gillian Anderson Testosterone Brigade," says Anderson with a laugh.
"That just tickles me."
What can I say but... :)
13. What is Gillian's phone number/Email address, etc?
c/o The X-Files Production Office
Building 10
110-555 Brooks Bank Avenue,
North Vancouver, BC,
V7J 3S5, Canada.
14. What are Gillian's other performances?
"Home Fires Burning" (1992)
"Exit to Eden" - audiocassette/Lisa Kelly (1992)
"Class of '96" Episode #8 - "The Accused" (1993)
"The X-Files" Dana Scully (1993 - present)
15. Where else can I find Gillian Anderson on video, etc.?
"Home Fires Burning" - Hmm... might pop up on a cable station sometime...(If so tape
it and send me a copy :)
Exit to Eden by Anne Rice (writing as Anne Rampling) published by Random House
AudioBooks. The abridged audiocassette is $16 US, $18 CAN. Available at any bookstore.
(Note: If you like GA's voice, this is a must have)
"Class of '96" - Wait till it repeats and tape it (and send me a copy :).
"The X-Files" - Friday nights on FOX. (and affiliates)
16. Where can I find photographs of Gillian?
All quotations and such are taken without permission,
yatta yatta yatta......
GA FAQ 11/01/94. Edition 1.02
May, 1995.
Agent Of Fortune
by Virginia Campbell
Gillian Anderson probably had less on-screen experience than anyone but the Olsen twins when she was hired
to star opposite Dlavid Duchovny in TV's creepiest, rainiest, most addictive series, "The X-Files." But "X-Files"
creator Chris Carter's inlstincts were on the mark with Anderson, because she lends FBI agent Dana Scully a
slow-burn blend of gravity and humanity to spark with the off-the-wall quality of her partner Fox Mulder
(Duchovny) and to anchor the show's witty, dour weirdness. The ability to project gravity and humanity being in
such short supply among young screen actresses, perhaps Hollywood will find a role that calls for a younger,
softer-edged Jodie Foster and put Anderson to work on the big screen while she's on hiatus from "The X-Files."
GILLIAN ANDERSON: I feel I've paid a lot
of dues, not necessarily in the amount of time
I've pounded the pavement, but in my life.
A: From my perspective, I'm doing what
comes up in front of me. I didn't plan for
everything to happen in one year. In the
moment, these things didn't seem like they
were too much. Eventually it hit me that it was
too much. Not that I shouldn't have made the
decisions, but that I was going to pay for it.
A: In high school my grades were bad--I
was daydreaming, pulling pranks. I got into a
heavy punk scene. I had a nose ring and my
hair was purple and black and blue. I dressed
in black. I was very confused, and a loner. I
was in a relationship with a man 10 years
older than me when I was 14. He was in a
punk band, and I used to give him cans of
food from our house and buy him Big Gulps
and cigarettes. I was terrible. In 11th grade I
decided to audition for a community theater
play and I got the part, and then I felt
extremely happy, like I had found my place.
My grades went up and I was voted most
improved student.
A: I heard a while ago he was studying to
become an entertainment lawyer, which
scares the hell out of me because he was a
pathological liar [laughs].
A: Oh man. I've suffered life fright too,
wich I don't want to get into. Stage fright is
very simiar. I felt like somebody had shot
crysal Methedrine into my arm. It was physical--
l was shaking, and I just wanted to get
off the stage. I realized I had lines, but I was
just going blank. Then autopilot took over.
A: I came out to L.A. to visit a man I'd met
in a play in New Haven. I was going to stay
for two weeks and I got here and sold my
retum ticket. William Morris was already my
agency, and I went out on three or four film
auditions a day for a year and didn't get anything.
I didn't have any money and I was
relying on my boyfriend to help me out
financially. The day I got the pilot episode
my last unemployment check arrived.
A: I don't think so. Mulder's hip. It's their
work that makes them attracted to each
other.
A: I don't want to do a Movie of the Week. I
want a small role in a feature--that's my fantasy.
The script would be what's important. I
like movies that have something to say, or say
nothing extremely well, like Pulp Fiction.
A: I was assuming because of the genres he
likes that he would know "The X-Files," so I
walked up and said, "I just wanted to introduce
myself . . . " And he was polite, but he
had no idea who I was, and, as he put it very
eloquently onstage, he was "hammered."
A: Isabelle Adjani's--Camille Claudel has
a huge impact on me. I love Emma Thompson.
Patricia Arquette -she's amazing in
True Romance. And Gary OIdman can do no
wrong.
A: I'm very interested to see his work now
that he's sane. One fear of many actors is that
if they give up the crutch of an addiction,
they'll lose the edge. But it's not true. There's
more honesty in an actor who's had that
experience and has come out of it. It takes
more guts to remain in this business as an
awake and conscious person.
A: I haven't formed an opinion on the
fame thing yet. I don't get it. I'm grateful I'm
shielded by being in Vancouver [where "X-
Files" is shot].
A: An extra on one of our shows did this fortune
telling by drawing a triangle, a square and
a dot and asking you to draw around them. I
drew a petal and some leaves around the dot,
and she said, "You drew leaves, which are
green and represent growth, but you drew only
one petal, and this is how you perceive your-
self, as not a full flower." I used to not like
myself. I spent time overweight, underweight,
wearing black, hiding. In the past couple of
years, I've started to open up. What's scary is
I'm doing it in front of millions of people.
Does that answer the question?
David Duchovny
(actor, Kalifornia, Red Show Diaries, "The X-Files): "I would have
to say my favorite music right now is Peter Gabriel's 'Passion' from
The Last Temptation of Christ because, because, because, because . . .
because of the wonderful thinks he does."
Bibliographical Information
Author: Virginia Campbell
Graphics: Raul Vega
Publication: Movieline
Issue: June 1995
Pages: 64-65
Cédric / QueST