The classy and poised Gillian Anderson is a skilled character actor best known for portraying FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in The X-Files. A Chicago native, Anderson grew up in both the United States and England, giving her the ability to float between American and British accents with ease.
Soon after beginning her career as a stage actor, Gillian Anderson landed her role alongside David Duchovny in Chris Carter's The X-Files, launching both actors into the public sphere. Thanks to the success of the series, Anderson has gone on to star in multiple television shows, films, and stage productions – both in the US and across the pond in Great Britain.
Miss Havisham In Great Expectations (2011 - 2012) - 7.6
A three-part BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1861 novel, Great Expectations is a dark, Victorian tale set during England's Industrial Revolution. It tells the story of Pip, a young orphan who must create a life for himself in a cruel, unforgiving world.
Anderson plays the eccentric widow Miss Havisham, who lives in a dilapidated mansion and dons her wedding dress every day. Miss Havisham raises an orphan named Estella, eventually welcoming Pip into her home as a companion for her adopted daughter.
Media In American Gods (2017 - ) - 7.8
Anderson plays the shapeshifting goddess Media in this series based on Neil Gaiman's epic fantasy novel of the same name. Developed by Hannibal's Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, the series traces a large-scale conflict between Old Gods and New Gods in America. The live-action adaptation of American Gods stars Ricky Whittle as Shadow Moon, a former convict who becomes the bodyguard for the god Odin – a member of the Old Gods.
Anderson's Media is the face of the New Gods. She appears in the forms of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, and David Bowie. However, after only one season, Anderson left the show. Media was then reworked into New Media, who is now portrayed by Kahyun Kim.
Wallis, Duchess Of Windsor In Any Human Heart (2010) - 7.9
Another BBC miniseries, Any Human Heart is adapted from the novel of the same by William Boyd. The novel and show follow a British man named Logan Mountstuart through the 20th century, exploring the social and political shifts that informed him.
Jim Broadbent, Matthew Macfayden, and Sam Claflin play Mountstuart at various points over the course of his life. Anderson plays the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson, a real-life British socialite who married Edward, the Duke of Windsor. Simpson's status as a divorcee led to a constitutional crisis resulting in Edward's abdication from the throne.
Anna Pavlovna Scherer In War & Peace (2016) - 8.2
The BBC tackled Leo Tolstoy's 1869 magnum opus about three privileged young adults living in the 19th-century Russian Empire via this eight-hour miniseries. Paul Dano, Lily James, and James Norton play the iconic Pierre, Natasha, and Andrei – respectively – in this ensemble drama.
Told in six parts, BBC's War & Peace (like the novel) begins in 1805 and ends in 1812, coinciding with the French military campaign against Russia headed by Napoleon Bonaparte. Anderson's character Anna Pavlovna Scherer is a wealthy St. Petersburg socialite.
Stella Gibson In The Fall (2013 - 2016) - 8.2
The Fall is an Irish crime drama about a police detective who is sent to Belfast in search of an elusive serial killer. Anderson plays the detective, Stella Gibson. Instead of focusing on the whodunit aspect of the story, The Fall identifies the serial killer in its first episode – a family man played by Jamie Dornan.
As Anderson's character hunts for Dornan's Paul Spector, their parallel storylines eventually merge into each other. Dornan's character is inspired by the American serial killer Dennis Rader, a man who was able to hide in plain sight for decades.
Lady Dedlock In Bleak House (2005) - 8.3
Clearly a fan of literary adaptations, Anderson stars in this BBC miniseries based on another Charles Dickens novel: Bleak House. Released in serial form between 1852 and 1853, the novel depicts characters involved in a longstanding battle over the eponymous estate.
Anderson plays one of the potential benefactors of Bleak House, Lady Dedlock. The wife of Sir Leicester, Lady Dedlock harbors many secrets, secrets her lawyer Tulkinghorn must suss out.
Jean Milburn In Sex Education (2019 - ) - 8.3
The British show Sex Education on Netflix comedy about an insecure teenager named Otis Milburn. Anderson plays his mother Jean, who just so happens to be a sex therapist. Despite being uncertain about sex himself, Otis sets up a sex advice business with his classmate Maeve.
As Otis navigates high school, his well-known mother navigates life as a single mother. Jean's career makes her frank about sex, and she doesn't hide her liaisons from her son.
Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier In Hannibal (2013 - 2015) - 8.5
It's hard to imagine anyone other than Anderson in the role of Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier, the therapist of serial killer Hannibal Lecter. Bryan Fuller's Hannibal takes the story of Hannibal the Cannibal into uncharted territory. Mads Mikkelsen is enthralling as the refined, yet psychopathic, forensics psychologist who makes meals out of humans.
Like everyone else in Hannibal's life, Anderson's Dr. Du Maurier is engaged in a tense cat and mouse game with her patient. While well aware of her predicament, Dr. Du Maurier knows she has no choice but to play Hannibal's game.
Dana Scully In The X-Files (1993 - 2018) - 8.6
The resident skeptic in the long-running Fox series The X-Files, Anderson's Dana Scully is one of the most memorable FBI agents in television history. A medical doctor by trade, Agent Scully approaches the supernatural with a scientific lens, ready to find a logical explanation for the unexplainable.
Scully's forensic approach is challenged by David Duchovny's Agent Fox Mulder, an investigator who embraces the otherworldly. Over the show's decades-spanning run, the pair fight monsters, aliens, and government conspiracies. While this is undoubtedly her most popular role, it is surprisingly not her highest rated.
Margaret Thatcher In The Crown (2016 - ) - 8.7
Anderson is set to play former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in season four of Netflix's The Crown. The expansive series is a fictionalized retelling of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Claire Foy plays Elizabeth in the first two seasons, and Olivia Colman took over the role in season three.
Colman will return as Elizabeth in season four, with an anticipated release date late in 2020. The Crown will also feature a fifth and sixth season, following Elizabeth into the 21st century.