GILLIAN ANDERSON: BIOGRAPHY
Name: Gillian Leigh Anderson
DOB: August 9, 1968
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois
Height: 5' 3"
Hair: Ash Blonde originally. It has been Auburn, black, purple, spiked, mohawked and, by her own confession, not even combed for a year once.
Eyes: Blue
Parents: Edward & Rosemary Anderson. Rosemary runs a support group for those suffering from Neurofibromatosis in West Michigan
Siblings: Two; Younger brother Aaron was born with the genetic disorder Neurofibromatosis. Sister's name is Zoe.
Children: Daughter, Piper Maru Anderson, with Clyde Klotz - born September 25, 1994
Marital Status: Married and separated from Errol Clyde Klotz, a former X-Files crewmember. They were married on New Years Day 1994 in Hawaii after an engagement that lasted "shorter than a month but longer then a week," . Says Gillian, "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." They separated in October 1996.
Educational Information
-Attended Fountain Elementary, Grand Rapids, Michigan
-Graduated from City High, Grand Rapdis, Michigan, 1986
-Attended DePaul University's prestigious Goodman Theater School, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
-Studied at the National Theater of Great Britain at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
FACTS
She lived in Puerto Rico, and then in London for nine years, (her family still owns a flat there). At age eleven she moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she graduated from City High in Grand Rapids in 1986. Gillian then 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 in 1990.
Rick Murphy, one of her teachers at Goodman, said in a People magazine cover story that Anderson "had an eight-line part in a French farce but turned it into a star role just by the attitude she brought to it."
Gillian also attended a summer program at the National Theater of Great Britain at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. She then moved to Chicago where she went to college. Once she gained her BFA, she moved to New York, New York, where she made several theater performances and then to Los Angeles in about '91/'92.
The New York-based talent agency William Morris offered to represent her after seeing her perform at an actors' showcase.
Anderson had gained recognition as an actress for her off-Broadway performance in Alan Ayckborne's Absent Friends at the Manhattan Theater Club, for which she won a Theater World Award. She also appeared in Christopher Hampton's The Philanthropist at the Long Wharf Theater. Her love of theater began in high school, when she participated in community theater productions. Gillian Anderson's first big break came when she was cast in a starring role in The X-Files in September of 1993.
Upon gaining the role of Dana Scully, Gillian then relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where she resided with her daughter, Piper. She now shuttles between Vancouver and Los Angeles where the show has moved.
Trivia
She does charity work for the non-profit organization NF,Inc. which deals with genetic disorder Neurofibromatosis. She has a tattoo done in 1996 while Gillian toured the South Pacific. It is on her right ankle and is a symbol from a native group on the island where Gillian got the tattoo - it is of two turtles. She had a nose ring and recently Gillian added a pierced naval ring.
In 1997 she was chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.
She is a natural blonde. Her hair was dyed and styled into the famous bob by Malcom Marsden who was immortalised as the British MP in the episode "Fire".
AWARDS WON
Gillian has appeared in movies like Playing by Heart, The Mighty and The Turning. She has done voice-over work for the animated movie Princess Mononoke. In 2000, she will appear in the movie House of Mirth. Her television credits besides the X Files include voice-over work for Harsh Realm (another Chris Carter series, now cancelled), the Simpsons and Frasier. She hosted the TV series Future Fantastic for the BBC.