Anderson was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Rosemary Anderson , a computer analyst, and Edward Anderson, who owned a film post-production company. Soon after her birth, her family moved to Puerto Rico for 15 months; she then lived for five years in Roseberry Gardens, London N4, and finally for 15 months in Albany Road, London N4, so that her father could attend the London Film School. When Anderson was 11 years old, her family moved again, this time to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Gillian Anderson attended Fountain Elementary and then City High-Middle School, a program for gifted students with a strong emphasis on the humanities; she graduated in 1986.
With her English accent and background, Anderson was mocked and felt out of place in the American Midwest and soon adopted a Midwest accent. To this day, her accent depends on her location — for instance, in an interview with Jay Leno she spoke in an American accent, but dropped it for an interview with Michael Parkinson. Gillian Anderson had her nose pierced in the early 1980s and dyed her hair various colors. Gillian Anderson high school classmates voted her as "Most Bizarre," "Class Clown", "Most Likely to go Bald" and "Most Likely to be Arrested." Fulfilling the last of these predictions, she was caught trying to jam the high school doors by filling their locks with glue on the eve of her graduation, for which she was arrested.
Anderson was interested in marine biology, but began acting her freshman year in high school productions, and later in community theater, and served as a student intern at the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre & School of Theater Arts. Gillian Anderson attended The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago (formerly the Goodman School of Drama), where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1990. Gillian Anderson also participated in the National Theater of Great Britain's summer program at Cornell University.
With her English accent and background, Anderson was mocked and felt out of place in the American Midwest and soon adopted a Midwest accent. To this day, her accent depends on her location — for instance, in an interview with Jay Leno she spoke in an American accent, but dropped it for an interview with Michael Parkinson. Gillian Anderson had her nose pierced in the early 1980s and dyed her hair various colors. Gillian Anderson high school classmates voted her as "Most Bizarre," "Class Clown", "Most Likely to go Bald" and "Most Likely to be Arrested." Fulfilling the last of these predictions, she was caught trying to jam the high school doors by filling their locks with glue on the eve of her graduation, for which she was arrested.
Anderson was interested in marine biology, but began acting her freshman year in high school productions, and later in community theater, and served as a student intern at the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre & School of Theater Arts. Gillian Anderson attended The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago (formerly the Goodman School of Drama), where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1990. Gillian Anderson also participated in the National Theater of Great Britain's summer program at Cornell University.
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