Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress and writer born in Chicago in 1968. She gained international recognition for her role as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the Fox science fiction mystery series The X-Files, winning a Primetime Emmy Award for the performance. Beyond The X-Files, Anderson has built a diverse acting career across film and television. She played socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's 2000 film The House of Mirth and took on the role of DSU Stella Gibson in the BBC/RTÉ crime drama series The Fall, which ran from 2013 to 2016. In recent years, Anderson has appeared in Netflix productions, including the role of sex therapist Jean Milburn in the comedy-drama series Sex Education from 2019 to 2023. She also portrayed British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season of the Netflix drama series The Crown in 2020, earning her a second Golden Globe Award and a second Primetime Emmy Award.