{"id":1005334,"date":"2026-08-16T23:09:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T23:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1005334\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T23:09:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T23:09:23","slug":"gillian-anderson-admits-x-files-fame-came-at-a-cost-for-her-daughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1005334\/","title":{"rendered":"Gillian Anderson admits X-Files fame came at a cost for her daughter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

Gillian Anderson is looking back at the sacrifices she made as her Hollywood career took off \u2014 and acknowledging that some of those choices came at a cost for her family.<\/p>\n

In a new interview with The Sunday Times<\/a>, the 58-year-old actress \u2014 who became a household name playing FBI Special Agent Dana Scully on “The X-Files” \u2014 opened up about her regrets as a young mother and explained how the show\u2019s grueling production schedule affected her ability to be present for her daughter.<\/p>\n

“I have absolutely no regrets in my life,” Anderson initially told the outlet before reconsidering. “No, there are a couple of things, in terms of early parenting, that I now would say, I wish I\u2019d thought this through or I wish I\u2019d been less selfish.”<\/p>\n

SCARLETT JOHANSSON, WHO EARNED $43 MILLION IN 2025, SAYS LIFE IS A CONSTANT ‘DEFICIT’ AT HOME<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Gillian <\/p>\n

Gillian Anderson said she regrets working so much when her daughter was a young child. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Anderson became a mother<\/a> at 26, welcoming daughter Piper with her first husband, “The X-Files” assistant art director Clyde Klotz, just over a year after she began filming the hit Fox sci-fi series.<\/p>\n

Her career was rapidly accelerating at the time, with “The X-Files” becoming a global phenomenon and Anderson facing grueling days on set.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

After Anderson and Klotz divorced in 1997, Piper split her time between her mother, who was working on “The X-Files” in Los Angeles, and her father in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

OLIVIA WILDE SPEAKS OUT ABOUT THE EXACT MOMENT SHE KNEW RELATIONSHIP WITH JASON SUDEIKIS WAS OVER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In an effort to maintain consistency in her daughter’s education, Piper attended a French lyc\u00e9e in both cities. The arrangement, however, meant the young girl was regularly traveling between her parents.<\/p>\n

\"Gillian <\/p>\n

Anderson is mom to three children. (Gareth Cattermole\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

“It was intense for her<\/a>, with no French in the household, to suddenly be getting a plane every three weeks,” Anderson recalled. “It\u2019s a lot to ask of a six-year-old.”<\/p>\n

The actress said she was working 17-hour days and didn’t believe she was in a position to push back against the demanding schedule, despite being one of the show’s two central stars alongside David Duchovny.<\/p>\n

TOM SELLECK SAYS ‘BLUE BLOODS’ CAST MADE MAJOR SACRIFICE TO SAVE SHOW BEFORE CANCELLATION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“That show couldn\u2019t have done without [me], and so I had leverage that I\u2019m not sure I knew,” Anderson said.<\/p>\n

Anderson has previously spoken about wondering whether she could have made different choices as a working mother.<\/p>\n

LIKE WHAT YOU\u2019RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In a previous interview with The Sunday Times, the actress acknowledged there was another version of her life in which she could have worked less, lived on a smaller scale and been more present for her children<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"David <\/p>\n

Gillian Anderson starred as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully on “The X-Files” opposite David Duchovny, who played FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder, from 1993 to 2002. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

“There’s another version of my life where I could have worked less, had a smaller life and been more present as a parent. I could have chosen that, that could happen,” she said. “But sometimes it feels like why would you, if you keep getting work as an actor, doing things you dreamt of doing and being offered incredible roles at this age, while paying the bills, and you still get to see them a huge percentage of the time and they witness a mother enjoying her work?<\/p>\n

Her approach to parenting changed when she later welcomed sons Oscar and Felix with businessman Mark Griffiths.<\/p>\n

GOLDIE HAWN SOUNDS THE ALARM ON CHILDHOOD CELEBRITY CULTURE: ‘ALL I CAN SAY IS IT’S A NIGHTMARE’<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Despite reflecting on what she might have done differently, Anderson has continued working steadily decades after “The X-Files” made her famous.<\/p>\n

\"Gillian <\/p>\n

The actress turned 58 on Aug. 9. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

HEATHER GRAHAM SAYS CLASSMATES DISMISSED HER AS ‘NERDY’ BEFORE HOLLYWOOD BREAKTHROUGH PROVED THEM WRONG<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Her more recent credits<\/a> include “The Crown,” “Sex Education” and “The Salt Path.” She also stars opposite Hannah Einbinder in filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun\u2019s “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.<\/p>\n

Anderson suggested that her relationship with work remains complicated as she approaches 60.<\/p>\n

“I feel very lucky to still be working,” she told The Sunday Times, adding that while she once imagined slowing down in her 60s to direct and make art, she is reconsidering those plans.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“I\u2019m having so much fun,” she said.<\/p>\n

Christina Dugan Ramirez is an entertainment journalist with more than 15 years of experience, including a decade at PEOPLE writing high-profile cover stories, covering Hollywood’s biggest events, and interviewing many of the industry’s most influential stars before joining Fox News Digital in 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Gillian Anderson is looking back at the sacrifices she made…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1005335,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[185,171,4757,173,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1005334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-parenting","tag-tv","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117107712881139639","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1005334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1005335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1005334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1005334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1005334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}