SHE first set pulses racing in The X Files, but Gillian Anderson’s appeal spans way beyond fans of the show.
Having spent 30 years in the spotlight, she has become a fully-fledged sex symbol – both on and off the small screen.
In her latest hit, Netflix’s Scoop, the 55-year-old effortlessly transforms into hard-nosed journalist Emily Maitlis– as she recreates that car crash interview with Prince Andrew.
As the Netflix drama premieres this week, Gillian is already being tipped for a Bafta along with countless other accolades – just as she was when she played The Iron Lady.
Behind the boxy powersuits and unflattering wigs though, she remains one of the world’s most beautiful women and has countless polls to prove this.
Despite playing straight-laced scientist Dana Scully in The X Files, it didn’t take long for fans to notice her natural beauty and in 1996, she was voted the Sexiest Woman in The World.
Since the For Him Magazine poll, she has also been dubbed ‘one of the World’s Most Beautiful Faces’ by People magazine and it’s not hard to see why.
NATURAL BEAUTY
According to Amish Patel, an Award-Winning Aesthetician and founder of Intrigue Cosmetic Clinic, the 55-year-old has a ‘classical’ appeal.
“Gillian has aged beautifully over the years.
“[She] has defined cheekbones, a slim nose and an oval-shaped face, all of which are considered desirable beauty traits in traditional beauty discussions,” he explained.
There is even science to back this up, as many of Gillian’s features fall within the ‘golden ratio’ – a mathematical principle that is used to work out well-proportioned and attractive our features are.
This isn’t the only reason why the sci-fi star is so appealing though.
“For me, it’s not about the ratio but the harmony within the face which is important: Gillian’s facial features are balanced,” Amish continued.
“She radiates good health and vitality – she has great skin and obviously follows a good skincare regime and diet/lifestyle.
“This all goes towards her allure.”
STEAL THE SHOW
Her slew of high-profile projects has also kept Gillian in the spotlight, with fans gushing over her role in racy dramas, such as The Great and A Streetcar Named Desire.
Even those she has portrayed have spoken about Gillian’s obvious appeal.
Former Newsnight anchor Emily Maitlis spoke about the awkwardness her sons felt seeing the actor play her on the small screen.
In an interview with GQ, she admitted: “I have teenage sons, so that was hormonally complicated.”
Despite the overwhelming response from fans and her decades-long status as a sex symbol, Gillian doesn’t buy into the hype around her.
“Sometimes I don’t think about [ageing] for long stretches and I’ll go through a few days where I feel particularly old, ugly, whatever…”
Gillian Anderson
Twenty years on from the FHM poll, the mum-of-three admitted that she often feels ‘old’ and ‘ugly’ – with The X-Files star even considering going under the knife.
In 2016, she told Haper’s Bazaar of the hype: “I never understood that. I had no clue what anybody was talking about.”
Unlike other A-Listers though, she isn’t afraid of ageing.
She told the outlet: “Sometimes I don’t think about [ageing] for long stretches and I’ll go through a few days where I feel particularly old, ugly, whatever…
“Then I’ll either get some sleep and it’s passed or I don’t care.”
SEX EDUCATION
Instead of focusing on her sexuality, Gillian prefers to help other women achieve theirs – much like her character Jean Milburn in Sex Education.
She previously said that playing the sex therapist opened her eyes to new forms of sensuality, despite being in her early fifties when the first series aired.
She later admitted how much of an impact the show had on her, candidly telling the Women’s Prize for Fiction podcast: “There was certainly some activities, particularly around gay sex, that I’d never heard of before.
“I felt like even though my character obviously is very open, sometimes too open, incredibly liberal and sexually free and I feel like… There’s nothing that usually shocks me.
“But even in watching the show and even though I had read the episodes… I remember gasping a few times,” she confessed, adding: “There were moments where I thought ‘can we say that? Really?”
It seems playing a sex guru has had a lasting impact on the actor.
JUST THE TONIC
After the series ended, the A-Lister launched a ‘pleasure empire’ with saucily named drinks and a book centred on the secret sex lives of women.
Though most of us were just getting by during the pandemic, the Netflix actor was busy founding her drinks and wellness company, G Spot.
Unlike other fizzy drinks that try to appeal to families, these drinks are strictly for adults, with names like ‘arouse’, and promise to ‘sweet spot between taste and functionality’.
I remember gasping a few times…There were moments where I thought ‘can we say that? Really?”
Gillian Anderson
Packed with botanical extracts and vitamins, the fizzy drinks claim to ‘invigorate and boost performance’.
Though it doesn’t say they are an aphrodisiac, the brand has had endless saucy marketing campaigns including urging women to ‘prioritise pleasure’.
FULLY BOOKED
Not satisfied with this, the X-Files actor will also be releasing her debut book, Want, later this year.
It explores women’s sexuality, with Gillian personally collecting 174 anonymous women’s deepest fantasies and thoughts.
In an open call for submissions, she wrote: “As women, we know that sex is about more than just sex. But so many of us don’t talk about it.
“Our deepest, most intimate fears and fantasies remain locked away inside of us until someone comes along with the key.
“Wherever you come from, whomever you do or don’t sleep with, whether you’re 18 or 80: I want to hear from you.”
As for her own anecdotes, Gillian said in a recent interview with the Guardian: “If I weren’t in the public eye, as I am, I’d be able to be much more frank when writing about how the fantasies relate to my own experience.”
She then joked that she doesn’t mind getting into ‘trouble from time to time’, after seeing the headlines around her growing empire.
DRESSED TO IMPRESS
Even on the red carpet, Gillian seems to embody her Netflix character as she tries to remove the stigma around sex.
During the 2024 awards season, the actor even wore a white gown embroidered with vaginas to the Golden Globes.
Designed in collaboration with designer Gabriela Hearst, it took over 150 hours to create – with every vagina being embroidered over three and a half hours.
The A-Lister made similarly bold statements about the importance of de-stigmatising female pleasure and women’s bodies.
Appearing in Porter magazine last year: “Pleasure is a right. It’s not trivial. It’s not frivolous. We’re trying to encourage women to let go of the shame, the guilt, the negative messaging around it.”
With her book set to hit shelves in September, don’t expect the actor to stop ‘prioritising pleasure’ any time soon.
