Gillian Anderson

Born: August 9 1968
Where: Chicago, Illinois, USA

The actress will always be remembered as special agent Dana Scully in the popular TV sci-fi series The X-Files.

However, she has also made several well-regarded forays into film, including her portrayal of Lily Bart in The House of Mirth.

After moving to London at the age of two, she moved to Grand Rapids, Michegan, where she was voted "girl most likely to get arrested" by her classmates.

After studying fine arts at the Goodman Theatre of Drama and Arts at Chicago's DePaul University, she made her big screen debut in the 1992 drama The Turning.

However, it was the following year that she landed her big break as Scully opposite David Duchovny's Mulder in The X-Files.

(at just 5ft 3ins many of her scenes had to be shot with her standing on an apple crate).

Her commitment to the series restricted her film outings to the comedy dramas Chicago Cab and The Mighty and the rom-com Playing By Heart with Angelina Jolie.

In 2000, she attracted critical acclaim after Terence Davies cast her in his big screen version of Edith Wharton's House of Mirth.

Recent work includes the Belfast-set The Mighty Celt, for which Anderson had to deliver a thick Irish accent.