Gillian Leigh Anderson ( JIL-ee-ən; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress and writer. She received international fame for starring as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the Fox science fiction mystery series The X-Files (1993–2002; 2016–2018), winning a Primetime Emmy Award for the role. Her other credits include socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film The House of Mirth (2000), DSU Stella Gibson in the BBC/RTÉ crime drama television series The Fall (2013–2016), sex therapist Jean Milburn in the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education (2019–2023), and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season of Netflix drama series The Crown (2020), for which she earned her second Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Awards. Born in Chicago, Anderson grew up in North London in the UK and Grand Rapids, Michigan. She graduated from The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, then moved to New York City to further her acting career. After beginning her career on stage, she achieved international recognition for her role in The X-Files (1993–2002). She reprised her role in the films The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998) and The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) as well as a revival series from 2016 to 2018. Her film roles include in The Mighty Celt (2005), The Last King of Scotland (2006), Shadow Dancer (2012), Viceroy's House (2017), Tron: Ares (2025), and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026), with further television work playing Lady Dedlock in Bleak House (2005), Wallis Simpson in Any Human Heart (2010), Miss Havisham in Great Expectations (2011), Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier in Hannibal (2013–2015), and Media in American Gods (2017). Aside from film and television, Anderson has taken to the stage and received awards and critical acclaim. Her stage work includes Absent Friends (1991), for which she won a Theatre World Award for Best Newcomer; A Doll's House (2009), for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award, and a portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (2014, 2016), winning the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress and receiving a second Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress. In 2019, she portrayed Margo Channing in the stage production of All About Eve for which she received her third Laurence Olivier Award nomination. Over her career she has received various accolades including two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for three Laurence Olivier Awards. She was appointed an honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2016 for her services to drama. Anderson has supported numerous charities and humanitarian organizations. She is an honorary spokesperson for the Neurofibromatosis Network and a co-founder of South African Youth Education for Sustainability (SAYes). She has resided in London since 2002, after earlier years divided between the United Kingdom and the United States.