Speakers & VIPs

Gillian Anderson

Gillian Anderson is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress, best known for her roles as FBI Agent Dana Scully in the TV series The X-Files.

Born in Chicago to Edward and Rosemary Anderson, she started her career in Alan Ayckbourn's play Absent Friends at the Manhattan Theatre Club where she played alongside Brenda Blethyn. For this role she won a 1990-91 Theatre World "Newcomer" Award. She moved to Los Angeles in 1992 and broke into mainstream television in 1993 with a guest appearance on the collegiate drama Class of '96 on the fledgling Fox Network.

As a result of her guest appearance in Class of 96, Anderson was sent the script for The X-Files at the age of 24. Filmed in Vancouver, the series eventually ran for nine seasons, and included one film. During her time on The X Files, Anderson won several awards for her portrayal of Agent Scully, including an Emmy Award, Golden Globe, and two SAG awards for Best Actress in a Drama Series.

Since The X-Files ended, she has performed in several stage productions and worked on various film projects. She has also done narrative work for documentaries on scientific topics. In 2005, she appeared as Lady Dedlock in a BBC television adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Bleak House, for which she received a nomination for a British Academy Television Award (BAFTA) for Best Actress and the Broadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Award for Best Actress.

She also appears in the movie The Last King of Scotland released in late 2006 and the movie Straightheads, due for an April 2007 release.