Gillian Anderson has revealed she couldn’t believe it when she was voted the ‘Sexiest Woman in the World’ in 1996 – because it was the period she felt at her least sexy.
The actress was then one of the UK’s biggest stars through her work on The X Files, but was suffering with crippling self-doubt as she struggled with raising her then two-year-old daughter as a single mother after splitting from husband Clyde Klotz.
Gillian reflected on the title in an essay about the secret to sex appeal, saying that she went through phases when she would wear deliberately provocative clothing.
Yet at the moment she was deemed to be at her peak ‘sexy’, she wasn’t confident or comfortable in her body.
Gillian mused: ‘In 1996 I was voted “Sexiest Woman in the World” by FHM readers – a title that arrived with all the certainty of a cultural verdict.
‘How “sexy” I felt inside – or indeed looked – when the accolade was announced is another story… The ludicrous irony, of course, is that when the “world” declared me its sexiest woman, I felt anything but.’
Gillian Anderson has revealed she couldn’t believe it when she was voted the ‘Sexiest Woman in the World’ in 1996 – because it was the period she felt at her least sexy
She mused: ‘How “sexy” I felt inside – or indeed looked – when the accolade was announced is another story… The ludicrous irony, of course, is that when the “world” declared me its sexiest woman, I felt anything but’
Gillian continued to British Vogue: ‘I was raising a toddler while working impossibly long days and at the time of the phone interview that accompanied the FHM article, I was in well-worn oversized flannel pyjamas while my daughter darted in and out of the room.
‘I had been single for a while, having split from her father, and I wasn’t dating. I was shut down, self-protective and detached from my body, a state that was mirrored in my everyday attire.
‘The fantasy projected onto me bore no resemblance to my reality, despite the latex bodysuit and exposed midriff in the accompanying photoshoot. My life revolved around call sheets, line memorisation and motherhood.’
Gillian went on to note that three decades on she’s feeling sexier than ever, noting: ‘The most seductive thing any of us can wear is the quiet conviction that we belong exactly where we are.’
The Sex Education star is currently on the promo tour for her new film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, a critically acclaimed, queer slasher movie from director Jane Schoenbrun.
Released in the US, it follows an indie director (Hannah Einbinder) attempting to reboot a slasher franchise, drawing her to a former star (Gillian).
In the process she becomes obsessed with the idea of casting the original picture’s ‘final girl’, played by Gillian, sparking a frenzy of psychosexual mania.
It earned a rousing reception at the Cannes Film Festival, as the film received a six-minute standing ovation.
Gillian was suffering with crippling self-doubt as she struggled with raising her then two-year-old daughter as a single mother after splitting from husband Clyde Klotz (pictured in 1995)
Gillian is currently on the promo tour for her new film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is a critically acclaimed, queer slasher movie co-starring Hannah Einbinder
Gillian plays a reclusive actress in the film, and her performance had been lauded as ‘grotesque’ by director Jane Schoenbrun.
Jane came out as transgender in 2020 and identifies as transfeminine and non-binary, and uses they/them pronouns.
They said: ‘It almost feels like she’s like Jim Carrey in certain moments. It’s so funny and strange and a little bit grotesque and a little bit sad – so far from our traditional notions of high-fem sexuality, while also still being incredibly sexy and weird.’
Jane had previously spoken about the challenges they’ve faced getting the film made, with indies Plan B and Mubi eventually offering financial backing.
They told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘When I look around in our ‘post-woke, post-Biden’ era, I don’t see any other trans artists getting budgets, and that’s a f*****g shame.
‘I shouldn’t be the only one who’s making movies at this level of budget.’ They fully expect to prove those finance doubters wrong: ‘I think this movie will be a hit.’
The film is set to be released in cinemas on August 21.
