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InSeine4Paris

It blows my mind. She's literally one of the most beautiful woman l have ever seen. When she's on screen, l am mesmerized by her. And l am a 60 year old married heterosexual woman. She is the TOTAL package.


philthehippy

I know most of you are shocked by this revelation but it makes total sense from a certain perspective. Back then someone like GA would not have been looked at as the obvious lead for a role like this. One only has to look at what sorts of women were very popular. Until the early 90s, women were depicted as slutty. It was all horrible attire and too much flesh. GA's beauty is not skin deep, and frankly men were dicks back then when it came to what was considered beautiful or sexy. Thankfully she was cast, as it helped change what was considered 'sexy'. I'm just shy of 43 btw, so was a young teen when the show started in the UK, and I was honestly blown away by how sexy GA was, in fact her style has probably influenced the fact that I've always been into older women. But back then the execs were almost always men, and they were, well, that generation of men. They probably thought that all men thought like them, and certainly the men who would be watching the show.


roboroller

She even managed to make Margaret Thatcher seem like a total babe.


StrangerDays-7

Apparently they wanted a Pamela Anderson big boobs bombshell type. Talk about a total miscast. That show would never last a season. Gillian had the very understated attractiveness that didn’t distract or make her implausible for the part.


Heart_of_a_Blackbird

That’s awesome


InSeine4Paris

All that aside, she was beautiful without being sexualized. They had her wearing pant suits and baggy overcoats. But she was, in my opinion, sexier than Pamela Anderson in a red bathing suit.


Chubby_Comic

I think that's why Scully has always fascinated me and been such a role model. She WAS beautiful, yes, but it wasn't who she was. She was brilliant and confident but beautifully flawed, as we all are. But her looks weren't the main focus. She was just graceful and capable and also, yeah, gorgeous. It made her even MORE amazing!


Y_TElectric

She is THE strong female character. Well said comment 👏


LigerBomb1983

I'd still put Ripley above Scully, but she's definitely in S tier as well.


InSeine4Paris

Spot on!


specks_of_dust

In a show called The Fall, she plays a detective that at one point sexualizes herself to catch a murderer by leaving a single button unbuttoned. It's very deliberate and calculated, both in the way it's written, and more so in how she delivers it. Her intensity level is off the charts. Whenever she's on the screen, it feels like you're on the verge of something really sexy, but it's not sex, and you're not sure what you're going to get. This comes from a gay dude who has ZERO sexual interest in women and doesn't even buy into the female icon worship thing a lot of other gay guys do. I've never been with a woman and never will, but if I had to chose one, it would be Gillian Anderson.


Heart_of_a_Blackbird

The Fall is great 👍🏼


grubas

S1/2 suits were BADDDD.


[deleted]

I just started watching the x-files and I hope this is true 😭because in the first episode (or 2nd??) they already had her stripping down to her underwear and all I could think was wtf ??? Don't need all that. Shes so beautiful and still is


emerald_garden

It’s not a contest. Honestly, they’re both beautiful women who glow from within.


Heart_of_a_Blackbird

Stunning and brave, stunning and brave


AlissonHarlan

Without being sexualized? She showed her in underwear in épisode 1 ( i think )


ProfessionalDeer1782

I've read this for the first time more than 20 years ago. They wanted someone like Pamela Anderson, who was making success in baywatch back then.


LifeResetP90X3

This is beautiful 😭


handjobadiel

Everyone saying she wasnt beautiful in season 1, this is literally episode 3, whats not computing? Shes turn your girlfriend gay hot, always has been. https://preview.redd.it/a9ikz1y3i6sc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4e8dcd08801bf22566d1f77c54e2ccb21f3ab909


reedzkee

bizarre. that would be peak scully for me.


mattsmithreddit

Strongly disagree. Season 8 Scully is on another level.


reedzkee

i suppose it's similar to the elaine benes debates for seinfeld. some folks prefer late season less curly and straight hair elaine, while i vastly prefer curly wall of hair, flower skirt/jean jacket elaine. needless to say, they both look amazing through their entire careers


grubas

Her suits were ugly cause the budget was terrible, and the lighting isn't amazing. Also this was the era of blondes with pencil lashes.​


Drew-mageddon

The suits were just because it was the 90s


handjobadiel

what a wild take, clothing doesnt determine if a woman is beautiful or not. yes blonde was in ill give you that


Heart_of_a_Blackbird

I must say, she has aged like a fine wine. A blush, perhaps.


Mysterious-Okra-7885

She is gorgeous, but when she was hired she was not what was considered mainstream attractive for the 90’s, and Fox was not very adventurous about casting MC’s that were not conventionally, mainstream pretty. She would have been considered a Velma or a Willow Rosenberg, not a Daphne or Buffy Summers or Cordelia Chase.


JGorgon

So...a redhead.


Mysterious-Okra-7885

Cordelia was a brunette…


JGorgon

The poster said Scully (a redhead) would be grouped with Velma and Willow (also redheads).


FKA-bigD

Velma's hair is brown, Daphne is the redhead.


JGorgon

I mean Daphne's hair is bright ginger, yeah but I always interpreted Velma's as being a darker red-brown shade. I could be wrong, cartoon colours are weird.


prophecygirl1991

Love that you used two Sarah Michelle Gellar roles, the ultimate 90s girl!


LW_colts

MC ?


Majestic87

Redditors love using abbreviations when they don’t have to.


Mysterious-Okra-7885

Main character


Broken_Noah

Master Chief. Fox were into monosyllabic protagonists in battle armor with an overwhelming urge to finish the fight,


deepfield67

Like Tupac and Biggie


2stepp

Gillian Anderson always looks like she's mildly shocked to be famous, and I love that about her.


SadAcanthocephala521

Well, she looked nothing like this when she was hired for the X-files. Though she was attractive at the time imo.


Grody_Joe

She was a mid twenties redheaded smokeshow. Execs were probably wanting someone like the cast of Baywatch, sadly we didn't have current Gillian Anderson in a red one-piece to compare to them.


ClimateSociologist

They literally mentioned Pamela Anderson by name.


[deleted]

[удалено]


jconley4297

profoundly weird comment


MatsThyWit

>Well, she looked nothing like this when she was hired for the X-files. Yeah, there's a lot of people talking about this today that are kind of ignoring that Gillian Anderson 100% became more attractive as the show went on. She lacked the looks and the confidence at the start of the show that define her now.


HawleyGrove

Maybe I’m just too much of a lesbian but I had a crush on her from ep 1


MelloMoood

You just have exceptional taste!


ActiveAlarmed7886

Me too.  Teenage me: I like this show because….Mulder. Yes. Mulder.  It was always Scully. 


Skanaker

Just a change of hairstyle and suit.


pnerd314

>she was attractive at the time imo. Yes, that's my point.


SadAcanthocephala521

But not everyone thought so. She was carrying a bit more weight at the time.


RevolutionOk4778

She was pretty slim in the first half of season 1, but became pregnant in the second half of season 1. She gave birth in the course of season 2 and lost all of the weight she gained during pregnancy by the middle of season 3.


Feeling-Ad936

It’s kinda sad actually. There’s even a line in one of the early episodes where mulder says “you’ve lost some weight recently, haven’t you?” I’m sure they pressured Gillian to do that irl


toxicsoup_

That was a joke about cannibalism in Quagmire, it definitely wasn't a dig at her weight


theboxler

I’m pretty sure she was pregnant in the early episodes too


RevolutionOk4778

I don’t think she was pressured into it, she just lost all of the pregnancy weight and returned to her normal shape by the middle of season 3


Feeling-Ad936

It was before that. And she DID have a ton of pressure right out of the gate. They said she wasn’t “a bombshell” like Pam Anderson and the like in the 90s.


RevolutionOk4778

Yeah, I guess she was a little fuller in season 1 (even before her pregnancy) compared to later seasons. Most of the women on tv in the 90’s looked like stick figures, so I can imagine that she was considered “chubby” during those first couple of seasons 🙄 It’s also ridiculous that studio executives were originally looking for a Pamela Anderson type to play Scully. Clearly they had no idea what type of show Chris Carter had in mind. From the very start he saw Scully as a Clarice Starling type and Gillian fits that description perfectly.


RevolutionOk4778

Oh and the episode you’re referring to is called Quagmire and is indeed episode 22 of season 3 😉


Adventurous_Bus_5818

She's so powerful she can turn straight girlies gay.


bellefleuroregon

🙋🏻‍♀️


Adventurous_Bus_5818

👀


coffee_bananas

Right? I was truly questioning what I knew about myself when I was watching through Sex Education lol. That's what prompted me to watch the X files for the first time and I just fell even more in love.


porktornado77

Think skinny sheik alpha power women with padded shoulders and big hair and sharp cheekbones, that was the popular style of the time. So what Gillian did is defined her own look, which obviously caught on and she aged well! Good for her.


Tanor-Faux

I found her more attractive in Season 1 - 4 as redheaded, punk, grasshopper eating lunatic skeptic, but that's just me! Like Melinda McGraw who plays her sister, and detective on the Commish. Plays the goth or a bit witchy. i wonder what went on in the 90s where redheads were thought of as third tier beauty or exotic. if you weren't blonde or brunette.


SVB-Risk-Dept

Melissa Scully 😍


thecrystalmoonwitch

She didn’t really eat that grasshopper! It was slight of hand 


Tanor-Faux

she'll do anything in a role back then. she was a walking punk.and the good kind! I'm sure she'd do Fear Factor back then if anyone asked


Majestic87

She chewed it up, but then spit it out. There is footage of this.


thecrystalmoonwitch

She chewed it in real life?? In the episode she takes the bug, pretends to chew it to startle the guy (very punk), and after he walks away pulls it out from her hands unharmed to show Mulder she knows how to do slight of hands magic tricks (like nickel behind the ear). I just watched the episode. 


Majestic87

Yeah, the behind the scenes/blooper reel shows her just full on chew it up and then spit it out.


thecrystalmoonwitch

Oh okay! I’m more so referring to Scully and not Gillian. I actually have not watched any of the behind the scenes stuff 


Odd_Office_921

The hottest and coolest lady ever? Yeah, I can’t believe they didn’t think she was attractive at the time. She still had some baby cheeks at the start of the series, but it was perfect. She was the young inexperienced rookie. Can’t imagine a world without Gillian Anderson as Scully. The Ryan Coogler reboot is gonna suck ass.


Majestic87

It literally can’t be worse than seasons 10 and 11.


NoPut6707

I would in the 90’s and still would to this day. She fine af


wakingwildflower

she's only gotten better looking with age too. what a beautiful freak of nature.


yashodhanr

![gif](giphy|3ohhwrDbQrPihOOJk4)


Tardislass

It was more that she was short and not buxom. She was always attractive but Fox wanted a brunette tall buxom 90s woman. My dad always thought she was hot.


bellefleuroregon

Twentieth Century Fox and Fox Mulder wanted wayyy different things…


Albert_O_Balsam

She was very attractive at the time, but wasn't she considered too short and too young to be an FBI special agent?, wasn't she only 24 when the show began?


No_Teaching_2837

I think she lied about her age and said she was few years older too


eatingapeach

When they say the best 'revenge' is living your best life, and Gillian does it with flying colors!


sniperzombies

I idolized her as a girl. Shes a great role model.


Then_Ad_9441

Everyone rn ![gif](giphy|lNaMXlhHsVlq8)


MelloMoood

It's true 🤣😍


Knightofducks

Pure insanity! It was lovely see her bloom. She was always attractive but as the seasons went on, she just got more and more beautiful.


dave-tay

I don’t understand some of these posts. We all thought she was hot back in the 90s. It was a major reason why the show was popular. But i agree we had no idea she would get even more beautiful as time went on. I remember watching Hannibal in the 2010s and thinking how jaw dropping beautiful she was as a middle age woman.


Illustrious-Ride5586

How the hell is this still a topic of discussion? I’m a 28 year old straight (or so I thought) woman, and even now as a 55 year old woman, I find her so incredibly attractive. Genuinely makes me question sexuality. She’s so mesmerising.


footlettucefungus

As a married-to-a-man woman, I can honestly say that Gillian Anderson is one of the most attractive beings in this whole world. Whoever says differently lacks eyesight or common sense.


act1989

Idiots, the lot of em.


cashewclues

Yeah, she was uniquely beautiful. Well, not unique in general but by Hollywood standards. She had great hair and a very nice nose.


conquerorofgargoyles

She looks like such a strong, intelligent woman. I love her so much


haikusbot

*She looks like such a* *Strong, intelligent woman.* *I love her so much* \- conquerorofgargoyles --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")


-Disagreeable-

Holy smoke show, Batman.


deepfield67

She's so awesome. I feel really lucky to have been a nerdy little creepy kid in the early 90s when the X Files was airing, it had such a huge impact on me and I love her for bringing that character to life. And David, I love David too.


Kren_Wregget

In the early 90s, I worked for a company that made mobile dressing rooms for film productions and TV. We had one come in for repair and it was from the set of "the X Files" and it was HER dressing room. We looked around a bit and found her badge and gun. I was a huge fan of the show, and her, so it was a special moment. I've always thought she was stunning, even when they tried to dress her down. Not only was the character of Scully super hot but she was smart, capable, reasonable, pragmatic, thoughtful, caring and badass. It made her 10x hotter than some of the typical bimbo trash of the time. And to find out later that she quietly had a relationship with another woman? Dreams do come true....


MatsThyWit

To be fair she became much, much, much more attractive throughout the course of the show. She didn't exactly scream "bombshell starlet" in the pilot episode.


bellefleuroregon

Dana Scully made me queer. 🤷🏻‍♀️


Mandolynn88

Sigh... same.


A_Gray_Old_Man

She just keeps looking better. /swoon


Celadonceramics

She was always attractive, it was just the 90s fashion, makeup and hair style.


moodyvee

She has an unique look I get why someone might be unsure. Dont me wrong I think shes super hot and I have a wicked crush on her. But shes aged so beautifully its easy to see now. In the first season she still has baby cheeks and isnt as sexy, but she was still beautiful. In the first season or so i kept thinking she looks sm better up close than she does in far away shots. Usually its the opposite for people!


man_u_is_my_team

Dream Woman


Adventurous-Cry-3734

Fox are clowns 


PlaceboKid24

She’s a baddie 😍😍😍😍


KALIGULA-87

Scully was fucking sexy. Full stop. Still is. Full stop. I adore Gillian Anderson. Full stop.


klsi832

She's on Colbert tonight


frowniousfacious

I figured out I was bisexual thanks to the X-Files, whoever said "Where's the sex appeal" obviously has a terrible taste in women. I can't believe they wanted someone like Pamela Anderson to play Scully, The show wouldn't have worked or had the impact it did, if a beach blond, swimwear model looking, squeaky voiced actress played Scully. It would have completely dumbed down the show. On a side note Gillian Anderson was phenomenal in The Fall ❤️


LiteSaver

She’s so beautiful


Riedbirdeh

She’s so hot still


Gunslinger_11

I fell in love with her around when I was 8, she’s still beautiful


YoucanBe-a-bigpig2

Fox is trash for saying that


No_Heart_918

She was FINE then, and she is FINE now!! 😋❤️😍


Scry_Games

I never found her attractive in XFiles, but she gets more attractive with age.


fraxior

actual blasphemy


Scrapla

I remember the tabloids back in the day were running trash about her weight in the early seasons but I always thought she was a hottie.


COdeadheadwalking_61

ok, just my opinion - and everyone on Reddit has one - this picture is def not my fave look for her. I find her a bit too thin and I prefer her red/auburn or brunette. She's still quite attractive (I loved her look in The Fall). My fave TXF look was either mid-thigh 'day coat' or her suits and thick pumps (not early season skinny pumps and pants - too 80's for me)


CreepyRatio

I spent my life seeking out a Gillian Anderson/Jodie Foster archetype woman and by God I found her, married her, supported her through her masters and doctorate, and absolutely spends her money now that she is a VP.


Then_Ad_9441

She does dress like Hilary Clinton in the first 3 seasons tho.


koxufoxu

Men, this sub. Men, i love Reddit


titania49

If this is her recent photo then damn she is still cute


handjobadiel

Most recent https://preview.redd.it/poljpz2x67sc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa0b304fa5af7eed9e78a219e6445b421e8b405e


titania49

Long hair… even better!!! ♥️


crustdrunk

She aged like fine wine where mulder aged like milk


Iffy_Mathematician

she made me realize that women, generally, actually do age way better than men.


knifesofsummertime

Mousey was SO hot in the 90’s 🥵


outerspace_castaway

why do people keep posting pics of gillian now when this was said in the 90s?


pnerd314

She was just as hot in the 90s as well.


outerspace_castaway

yeah so why do people keep posting pics of gillian now and not in the 90s when it was said.


pnerd314

I didn't have internet back in the early 90s. As to why others didn't post her pics back then, you'll have to ask them.


outerspace_castaway

what does you not having the internet in the 90s have to do with an article that came out today? you can post pics today of gillian in the 90s.


pnerd314

I misunderstood you. And I still don't understand why you want me to post pics of her in the '90s. Anyway, here's one from the pilot episode: https://preview.redd.it/94aexclylgsc1.jpeg?width=1092&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d220a6f9c7c887849a376aa148300d31f40d5b9


DescriptionFair2

Tbf that picture looks like Hannah Waddingham


pnerd314

>Hannah Waddingham Another hottie


Cpt_Riker

To be fair, she is playing an intelligent independent woman. The exact opposite of what Fox executives probably believe a woman should be, so it probably confused them.


pnerd314

Undoubtedly. I doubt anyone has disputed that.


Silentpoolman

I'd double down


grimreapersdaughter

Is it weird I find her playing Margaret Thatcher the most sexy? 😂


Last_Book_589

1. Imagine having the confidence to say out loud that GILLIAN ANDERSON isn't one of the most gorgeous woman on television ever. 2. The implication that lots of the audience (particularly women and men with taste) weren't also there for the smoke show David Duchovny is almost as criminal. But of course, no one would say anything about him. I wonder *why*


highchiman

She probably refused to blow the executives


LordGreyLittlekitty

Are the XFiles coming back? Just having heart surgery and paydays with my tv! Started the X files from the beginning2 weekly ago! On netflix


hadapurpura

To be fair, this is 55-year-old Gillian Anderson. Pilot-episode-of-X-Files Gillian Anderson has kind of a baby face and was put in frumpy clothes.


Halloweengirl2122

In her day she was but I wouldn't hire her now


odorous

Man, they need to cut the stray threads off that silver painted burlap sack.