Actress Gillian Anderson has publicly stated that she identifies as pansexual, defining the orientation as being attracted to all people regardless of their gender identity. According to USA Today, the 58-year-old X-Files
star opened up about her sexuality during an interview published on September 10 by The Australian.
Gillian Anderson Identifies as Pansexual
During the interview, Anderson discussed how her understanding of her sexuality has evolved over time. In my younger years, I was in relationships with women,
she told the publication, while noting that she is currently in a relationship with a man. She added, The person I consider my life partner happens to be male, but I think I would feel the same way if it were a woman.
Them noted that the profile in The Australian was written by Nikki Gemmell, who detailed that Anderson stated she is attracted to all genders. The announcement follows a 2024 conversation with The New Yorker where Anderson had questioned whether bisexual or pansexual was the correct description for her identity.
Past Relationships and Early Experiences
Anderson has previously spoken about her relationships with women, dating back to her high school years after moving to the United States from London at age 11. In an interview with The Sunday Times, she described a teenage relationship with an older girl, noting, It felt secretive and illicit and wrong and we had to hide.
She admitted she lacked the terminology at the time to properly identify her sexuality because she was simultaneously interested in men, adding that she did not always view her past relationships with women as permanent.
Anderson has been married twice, first to production designer Clyde Klotz from 1994 to 1997, and subsequently to documentary filmmaker Julian Ozanne from 2004 to 2006. She shares a 31-year-old daughter, Piper, with Klotz, and has two sons, Oscar, 19, and Felix, 17, whom she shares with former partner Mark Griffiths. According to USA Today, she has been linked on and off to The Crown
creator Peter Morgan since 2016, though neither has publicly confirmed the relationship.
Career Influences and Sex Positivity
Anderson credited her role on Netflix’s Sex Education
—where she played therapist and mother Jean Milburn across four seasons—with helping her become significantly more sex positive. It all came from that character,
she stated. Her professional work has frequently intersected with themes of sexuality and identity, from her breakout role as FBI agent Dana Scully in The X-Files
to playing Stella Gibson in The Fall,
a character comfortable with her attraction to both men and women.
Her recent projects continue to explore these themes. Anderson stars in the film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,
which was released in theaters on August 7 and explores sapphic love and intimacy. Additionally, she is promoting her upcoming book, More: Sexual Fantasies by Anonymous,
which publishes on September 15 as a follow-up to her 2024 collection of anonymous letters from women titled Want.
The Australian interview and subsequent book release mark the closing of a particular chapter in her personal and professional life.
