Gillian Anderson

Personal context

Summary

Gillian Anderson is an actor known for The X-Files, The Fall, The Crown, and Sex Education, and for playing complex, often forceful women. Her public work also focuses on women’s empowerment and sexuality: she co-wrote WE: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere, edited books collecting women’s sexual fantasies, and has spoken about equal pay after being offered less than a male co-star. She has supported women’s and reproductive rights for decades and has campaigned on issues including sexual violence, domestic violence, and women’s rights in Afghanistan; she has also served as an ambassador for Women for Women International. Anderson has said she avoids taking positions on complex partisan issues such as Trump and Brexit, while describing herself as pansexual.