As well as talking about her professional life, the 46-year-old mother of three, also discussed her rebellious teenage phase and was voted the girl most likely to get arrested by her school friends.

“I did drugs, and I went to concerts, and I snuck out of the house and I did all that stuff that rebellious teenagers do.”

In 2012 Gillian came out as being bisexual, an act which was spurred on by the fact her ex-girlfriend had passed away from a brain haemorrhage, but recognises that it's still very hard in Hollywood to be gay.

“There are a lot of actors who are in the closet because they know if they came out it would be certain death to their career. It would. There’s still enough prejudice out there, also within the casting business, that their careers would shift as a result. I’m not saying they’re right [not to come out], I’m saying I understand it. They’re protecting themselves.”

It was around this time that the star's brother also passed away from a brain tumour. While it was a tough time for the family, she concedes it was easier owing to her brother's Buddhist beliefs:

“Because he was who he was and he had very strong Buddhist practice, he made it an extraordinary experience for all of us because he embraced it, so to speak. It was what it was, and he lived the last few years of his life with incredible grace and it brought us all closer together. He never ever complained. There was no self-pity whatsoever. Even though I have Buddhist leanings, I think I would feel sorry for myself all the time. I just would.”

As for her own family, the star has three children, one, a girl Piper Maru (21) with first husband, Clyde Klotz, former assistant art director on The X-Files, and two boys, Oscar and Felix (seven and five respectively) with former boyfriend Mark Griffiths.

The actress has lived on both sides of the Atlantic, and has in fact been working and living in London for 13 years.

She is currently best known for her role as tough detective Stella Gibson in The Fall and her recent stint on stage at the Young Vic in July 2014 as the iconic Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire.

[Via]

‘There were periods when we hated each other’ Gillian Anderson talks X-Files fallouts and rebelling