Gillian Anderson has spent decades playing women who refuse to fit neatly into other people\u2019s expectations. Now, at 58, the X-Files<\/em> and Sex Education<\/em> star has given a clearer name to something she has discussed publicly for years: she identifies as pansexual.<\/p>\n In a new interview with The Australian<\/em>, Anderson was described as saying she is \u201cpan,\u201d meaning pansexual and attracted to people across genders. The comments mark the clearest public use of that label by the actress so far. But describing the moment as a completely unexpected revelation would leave out an important part of the story: Anderson has spoken openly about relationships with women for well over a decade. (Out Magazine<\/a>)<\/p>\n Gillian Anderson at the Cannes Film Festival in 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Source: Purepeople<\/a><\/p>\n Anderson first made headlines about her sexuality in 2012 when she discussed having had romantic relationships with women, including a long relationship with a girl while she was in high school. She also said at the time that most of her relationships had been with men. Her comments challenged the assumption that a person\u2019s history must fit exclusively into either a heterosexual or homosexual category. (CBS News<\/a>)<\/p>\n Years later, Anderson continued talking about sexuality as something more fluid.<\/p>\n In a 2024 profile in The New Yorker<\/em>, she openly wondered whether \u201cpansexual\u201d or \u201cbisexual\u201d might describe her. Importantly, she was hesitant to claim a label simply because it was available. She expressed concern about presenting herself as belonging to an identity without feeling certain that the term accurately reflected her experience. (The New Yorker<\/a>)<\/p>\n That context makes her latest comments more significant. They appear less like a sudden change and more like the conclusion of a long period of reflection.<\/p>\n The Human Rights Campaign defines pansexuality as the potential for emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to people of any gender. That does not<\/strong> mean a pansexual person is attracted to everyone, nor does it mean gender can never matter in an individual relationship. Attraction can differ from person to person and does not have to occur equally or simultaneously across genders. (HRC<\/a>)<\/p>\n Pansexuality can overlap with bisexuality. Bisexual generally refers to attraction to more than one gender, while pansexual is often used by people who feel their potential attraction is not restricted by gender. Different people may choose different labels for very similar experiences, and neither term automatically tells outsiders what a person\u2019s dating history looks like. (HRC Reports<\/a>)<\/p>\n For Anderson, that distinction appears especially relevant because she has repeatedly emphasized the person rather than the gender of a potential partner.<\/p>\n Gillian Anderson during a recent public appearance<\/strong><\/p>\n Source: Vogue Italia<\/a><\/p>\n The timing of the conversation also connects closely with Anderson\u2019s recent work.<\/p>\n Her 2024 book Want<\/em> collected anonymous sexual fantasies submitted by women around the world. Its follow-up, More<\/em>, expands the project with submissions from women in more than 50 countries, examining desire, intimacy, shame and fantasy without forcing those experiences into conventional categories. Publisher Bloomsbury describes the collection as a continuation of Anderson\u2019s effort to create a space where women can discuss desire openly. (Bloomsbury<\/a>)<\/p>\n Gillian Anderson holding her book Want<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Source: Glamour South Africa<\/a><\/p>\n Anderson has also credited playing sex therapist Jean Milburn in Netflix\u2019s Sex Education<\/em> with making her more comfortable discussing sexuality publicly. The character became famous for talking about subjects that other people found embarrassing, and Anderson has said the role influenced the way she approached conversations about sex and desire in her own work. (The Australian<\/a>)<\/p>\n Her current film career has continued exploring similar territory. Anderson stars alongside Hannah Einbinder in Jane Schoenbrun\u2019s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma<\/em>, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. The surreal horror story centers on a director who becomes obsessed with the mysterious actress from an older slasher movie, blending horror with queer desire and complicated emotional relationships. (Festival de Cannes<\/a>)<\/p>\n At the same time, Anderson has suggested that this intensely sex-focused period of her professional life may be approaching its conclusion. She has talked about wanting to move toward other material after the book and film, making the conversation surrounding her sexuality feel less like a publicity reinvention and more like one chapter in a much longer personal evolution. (LGBTQ Nation<\/a>)<\/p>\n Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully in The X-Files<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.petistolove.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot-2026-09-14-085700.jpg\")
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