1990s Anderson moved to
New York when she was 22 years old, and worked as a waitress to support herself. She began her career in
Alan Ayckbourn's play
Absent Friends at the
Manhattan Theatre Club alongside
Brenda Blethyn; for her role she won the 1990–91
Theatre World Award for "Best Newcomer". Her next theatrical role was in
Christopher Hampton's
The Philanthropist at the
Long Wharf Theatre in
New Haven, Connecticut. Anderson moved to Los Angeles in 1992 and spent a year auditioning. The same year, she appeared in her first feature-length film,
The Turning, starring
Karen Allen and
Tess Harper. The film drama is an adaptation of the play
Home Fires Burning. Producer
Chris Carter wanted to hire her, but Fox wanted someone with previous television exposure and greater sex appeal. a
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama, two
Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series and a
Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television. Anderson is the first actress to win an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a SAG Award in the same year. For the role, she received a total of four Emmy nominations, four Golden Globe nominations and nine SAG nominations. "The Scully Effect" remains a subject of academic inquiry. In 1996, Anderson narrated the
television documentaries Spies Above and
Why Planes Go Down. While hosting the
BBC documentary series
Future Fantastic, she became impressed by the theme music of the show, by the electronic duo Hal and initiated a collaboration with them. In 1997, Anderson provided spoken word vocals and starred in the music video for their single "Extremis", which was frequently aired on
MTV. She also helped to assemble an album of
electronic music,
Future: A Journey Through The Electronic Underground, for
Virgin Records, which won praise from European music critics. In 1997, Anderson appeared in the independent film
Chicago Cab. In 1998, she starred in the film
Playing by Heart. She also took part in
Eve Ensler's
The Vagina Monologues.
2000s In 2000, Anderson starred in the film
The House of Mirth with
Eric Stoltz –
Terence Davies' adaptation of the
Edith Wharton novel of the
same name – for which she won critical acclaim and awards such as the
British Independent Film Award for Best Actress,
Village Voice Film Poll Best Lead Performance, and a nomination for the
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress.When
The X-Files ended in 2002, she moved back to London for a change of pace and the opportunity to return to the stage. In 2002, Anderson made her
West End debut in
Michael Weller's play
What The Night Is For at the
Comedy Theatre. In 2004, Anderson starred in the
Royal Court Theatre's production of
Rebecca Gilman's play
The Sweetest Swing in Baseball, as artist Dana Fielding who assumes the personality of the troubled
baseball player
Darryl Strawberry – a role for which she earned rave reviews. In 2005, she appeared as Lady Dedlock in the
BBC adaptation of
Charles Dickens' novel
Bleak House. It was her first major role since the end of X-Files, and she received critical acclaim for her portrayal of the icy aristocrat. She had a starring role in the Irish film
The Mighty Celt, for which she won an
IFTA award for Best International Actress. The same year she also appeared in
A Cock and Bull Story with
Steve Coogan and
Rob Brydon – a film version of the novel
Tristram Shandy. In 2006, Anderson won the Broadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Award for Best Actress for her role in
Bleak House. She was nominated for a
British Academy Television Award (BAFTA) for
Best Actress, she also received an Emmy nomination for
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, a nomination for a
Golden Globe, a
Satellite Award nomination, and came in second place in the Best Actress category of the 2005 BBC Drama website poll for her portrayal of Lady Dedlock in the adaptation. During 2006 and 2007, Anderson appeared in two British films:
The Last King of Scotland (2006) and
Straightheads (2007). In 2008, Anderson hosted
Masterpiece Theatre during the Jane Austen series; she was the first woman to host the series since it began in 1971. The same year, Anderson starred in the second
The X-Files film,
The X-Files: I Want to Believe and appeared alongside
Simon Pegg in the British comedy film
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. In 2009, she starred in the British comedy film
Boogie Woogie with
Alan Cumming,
Danny Huston and
Stellan Skarsgård. She portrayed Nora in
Henrik Ibsen's ''
A Doll's House'' at the
Donmar Warehouse in London's West End during a limited engagement which ran from May 14, 2009, until July 18, 2009. Anderson received a nomination for the
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress, for productions which opened in the 2009 calendar year, for her portrayal of Nora.
2010s In November 2010, Anderson portrayed
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor in
Any Human Heart – a television adaptation of
William Boyd's novel of
the same name, for which she was nominated for a
BAFTA for
Best Supporting Actress on Television. In April 2011, she starred in the BBC adaptation
The Crimson Petal and the White as Mrs. Castaway, for which she was nominated for the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress. In August 2011, she appeared in the television miniseries
Moby Dick based on
Herman Melville's novel
Moby-Dick (1851), as Elisabeth, Ahab's wife. The same year, Anderson appeared as the head of
MI7, Pamela Thornton, in the British comedy
Johnny English Reborn. She starred as
Miss Havisham in a
three-part BBC adaptation of
Great Expectations that aired in late December 2011. For her portrayal in the adaptation she won the Artistic Excellence Award, was nominated for the
Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries and for the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress. In 2012, Anderson appeared in a Swiss
drama film,
Sister, and in
Shadow Dancer – a British-Irish drama film based on the novel of the same name, about the Irish republican movement. Anderson voiced the character of Dr. Miki Hokuto in the English-language version of
Studio Ghibli's
From Up on Poppy Hill, which was released in March 2013. The same year, she starred in the Canadian
techno-thriller ''
I'll Follow You Down and appeared in Mr. Morgan's Last Love with Michael Caine.In May 2013, Anderson began starring as DSI Stella Gibson in The Fall'', a critically acclaimed crime drama series for
BBC Two and
RTÉ One. Anderson was praised for her portrayal of the cool, self-assured Gibson, and was nominated for several awards. She also became an executive producer for the programme from its second series. Between 2013 and 2015, Anderson played
Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier,
Hannibal Lecter's psychiatrist, on the
NBC series
Hannibal. In 2014, Anderson was promoted from a recurring character during the first two seasons, to a series regular for the third season. In 2014, Anderson starred in the British
independent science fiction film Robot Overlords alongside Sir
Ben Kingsley. That year, she also appeared in
Jeffrey D. Brown's drama
Sold, portraying Sophia, a character based on the humanitarian photographer
Lisa Kristine. The film presents the issues of
child trafficking and
sexual slavery in India, and is based on
Patricia McCormick's novel of the
same name. In July 2014, Anderson gained critical acclaim for her stage performance as
Blanche DuBois in
A Streetcar Named Desire by
Tennessee Williams at the
Young Vic Theatre in London. She won the
Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress and received her second
Laurence Olivier Award nomination for
Best Actress. The production became the fastest-selling show in the theatre's history, and the run was extended by two weeks due to the demand for tickets. In the first collaboration between the
Young Vic Theatre and
National Theatre Live, the show was broadcast live to over 1100 venues on September 16, 2014. Thus far, it has been screened in more than 2000 venues. In October 2014, Anderson published her first book,
A Vision of Fire, co-authored with
Jeff Rovin. The book is the first novel of what has developed as
The Earthend Saga trilogy. The publisher describes it as "a science fiction thriller of epic proportions". In December 2015, Anderson and Rovin published their second novel of the trilogy,
A Dream of Ice. In January 2016, Anderson portrayed Anna Pavlovna Scherer in
BBC One's television adaptation
War & Peace. The same month, she returned to portray
FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the six-episode
tenth season of
The X-Files. Anderson has fought and succeeded in securing
equal pay with her male co-star on
The X-Files in the '90s and again in 2015, when negotiating her salary with the network. She has always been outspoken about her struggle for equal pay in the role. From April 23, 2016, through June 4, 2016, Anderson reprised her role of Blanche DuBois in
A Streetcar Named Desire on stage at the new
St. Ann's Warehouse in
Brooklyn, New York City. On September 13, 2016, Anderson and Rovin published
The Sound of Seas; their third and final novel of
The EarthEnd Saga trilogy. The same month, she returned to portraying
DSU Stella Gibson in the third series of
The Fall. Anderson is the narrator of the English
dub of ''
Ronja, the Robber's Daughter'' – Studio Ghibli's
anime, which began streaming on
Amazon Prime in January 2017. In February 2017, Anderson portrayed
Edwina Mountbatten in
Gurinder Chadha's Partition drama film ''
Viceroy's House'' (2017). On March 7, 2017, Anderson and the journalist-activist
Jennifer Nadel published their
self-help guide book for women, titled
WE: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere. Anderson stated that the book is a "call-out to all women around the world – and by women I include girls,
transgender, anyone who identifies themselves as being intrinsically female." In April 2017, she played goddess Media in the first season of
American Gods – a television series adaptation of
Neil Gaiman's science fiction novel of the
same name. Following the departure as showrunners of the show's creators,
Bryan Fuller and
Michael Green, Anderson stated she would not return to the show. In October 2017, Anderson appeared alongside
Glenn Close and
Christina Hendricks in
Crooked House – a film adaptation of
Agatha Christie's novel of
the same name. In January 2018, she was back playing FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the
eleventh season of
The X-Files. In January 2018, she confirmed that she would be leaving
The X-Files after the end of the season. Anderson is set to portray the role of Captain MacLaren in
Star Citizens
single-player component
Squadron 42. In January 2019, she began playing Jean Milburn in the
Netflix dramedy Sex Education. From February 2, 2019, through May 11, 2019, Anderson portrayed Margo Channing in a stage production of
All About Eve at the
Noël Coward Theatre for which she received her third Laurence Olivier Award nomination. On September 7, 2019, it was announced that she will portray former British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season of the Netflix
historical drama series
The Crown. Anderson is the second American actress (after
Meryl Streep in
The Iron Lady) to portray Thatcher in a major production. In a statement Anderson said: "I am so excited to be joining the cast and crew of
The Crown and to have the opportunity to portray such a complicated and controversial woman, Thatcher was undoubtedly formidable but I am relishing exploring beneath the surface and, dare I say, falling in love with the icon who, whether loved or despised, defined an era."
2020s In February 2021, Anderson started filming
White Bird. It was initially scheduled to be released on September 16, 2022, but after several delays was rescheduled for October 2024. In November 2021, Anderson voiced the cat in
Robin Robin, a stop-motion short Christmas film about a bird raised by mice who is questioning where she belongs.
Robin Robin was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. In December 2021, she played Joanna, mother to Catherine the Great in season two of Hulu's
The Great. In February 2022, Anderson launched her first audio show titled
What Do I Know?! on Curio. The fortnightly podcast explores "deeply human stories of social challenges, sexual liberation, phenomenal women". It is a two-year deal with her company, Fiddlehead Productions. In April of the same year, she portrayed
Eleanor Roosevelt in the TV series
The First Lady on Showtime. The series was cancelled after the one season. Released in theatres in December 2022 and on Netflix in 2023, Anderson starred in director
Scott Cooper's The Pale Blue Eye alongside
Christian Bale. In February 2023, Anderson announced her "Dear Gillian" project with Bloomsbury, where she asked for women to write letters to her personally about sexual fantasies and stories that she will turn into a book. The book,
Want was released in September 2024. On February 7, 2023, Netflix announced that Anderson had been cast as
Emily Maitlis in
Scoop, a film about
Prince Andrew's 2019
Newsnight interview. The film was released in April 2024. In April 2023, Anderson launched G Spot Beverages. The beverages are soft drinks with "life-enhancing adaptogens and nootropics". In June 2023, Anderson signed on to
The Abandons on Netflix. Filming was due to take place in late 2023 but was pushed back till 2024 due to the SWG writers' strike and is set for release in 2025. In August 2024, Anderson signed on to the adaptation of Louise Kennedy’s
Trespasses. In an interview with Bustle in October 2024, Anderson announced she would be co-producing the adaptation of
The Coast Road by Alan Murrin. In October 2025, Anderson was announced as part of the voice cast for the upcoming animated fantasy film
The Turning Door, alongside
Alicia Vikander,
Jamie Dornan,
Jodie Turner-Smith, and
Bill Nighy. ==Personal life==