She graduated from high school in 1986, and then moved to Chicago and studied acting at the Goodman Theater School at DePaul University. When she left the university she went to New York to look for a job. There she got parts in the plays Absent Friends at the Manhattan Theater Club, and The Philanthropist at the Long Wharf Theater. She also had a small part in the movie The Turning.
She then moved to Los Angeles, and after a long dry spell with some waitressing to make a little money, she auditioned for a TV show called The X-Files. Even though she had sworn she would never do TV she auditioned. She thought they would only make a pilot or maybe 13 episodes. The creator of the show, Chris Carter wanted Gillian to play the part of Dana Scully, a FBI agent. Fox studio executives disagreed with Carter's decision. They wanted a tall, blonde, large breasted, super model type of woman to play the part. Eventually, Carter convinced Fox to cast Gillian, although it did not take long to see that this show would not be a flop. The X-Files is not only one of the most popular shows in America, but in many other countries as well. Recently, a X-Files movie came out and was very successful.
During the first season of The X-Files Gillian met Clyde Klotz, an artistic director for the show. They were later married, and soon afterward Gillian learned she was pregnant. At first she thought she would lose the part on the show, but they improvised for her pregnancy. During the second season she gave birth to a daughter, Piper Maru (who they named an X-Files episode after). Unfortunately, Gillian and Clyde broke up in early 1997.
The X-Files has one the Golden Globe award for Best Dramatic Television Series, and Gillian has also won Best Actress on a Dramatic Television series. And she deserved them.
Gillian also has roles in two upcoming
movies, The Mighty and Hellcab. Besides work on The
X-Files, she has also done the voice of Dana Scully on an episode of
The Simpsons titled "The Springfield Files", was the voice of the
computer EVE on the computer game Hellbender, hosted the British
documentary Future Fantastic, and recorded a song called "Extremis"
with the British techno-band HAL, which goes along with the music to Future
Fantastic.
My source was the book Mulder It's Me The Gillian Anderson Files, and I would like to thank the authors, Gil Adamson and Dawn Connolly, for putting together an amazing biography.