Gillian Anderson cut a stylish figure in an all black outfit as she launched her new book Want at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London on Sunday.
The actress, 56, laughed and joked with the audience at the book event as she took to the stage to promote her latest project – a volume of anonymous female correspondence about sexual desire.
The X Files star, who admitted she struggled to write her own deepest fantasies, donned a flowing black maxi dress with puff sleeves and a pair of towering black stilettos as she pulled a series of silly faces while strutting out on to the floor.
She had her blonde hair in loose waves around her shoulders and finished off her elegant look with a pair of black glasses and a collection of bangles.
The star was visibly shocked by the positive reaction of the audience and made sure to capture the warm reception on her phone as she filmed the crowd.
Gillian Anderson cut a stylish figure in an all black outfit as she launched her new book Want at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London on Sunday
The X Files star donned a flowing black maxi dress with puff sleeves and a pair of towering black stilettos as she pulled a series of silly faces while strutting out on to the floor
The actress laughed and joked with the audience at the book event as she took to the stage to promote her latest project – a volume of anonymous letters about sexual desires
Gillian joined a collection of authors including Shahidha Bari to discuss her latest book which discuses shame around female sexuality.
Inspired by Nancy Friday’s 1973 classic My Secret Garden, the book compiles anonymous letters from women revealing their deepest fantasies.
The actress has previously delved into the shame that still surrounds women’s desires, finding it ‘shocking’ that many women, including herself, still feel inhibited about expressing them, even in private.
Despite playing a sex therapist in Netflix’s Sex Education, Gillian revealed in an interview with The Guardian last month she struggled to write down her own fantasy for the book, showing that even a Hollywood star isn’t immune to the pressures society places on women.
The star also admitted it felt surreal to be voted the world’s sexiest woman in 1996, as there was a stark contrast between her glamorous pin-up magazine covers and her daily reality – which involved juggling work with motherhood.
She said: ‘It felt so preposterous to me.
‘If you saw my life and where I am half the time, between work and set and kids and driving and drop-offs and pick-ups and all that sort of stuff – the fact that you’d end up with those pictures is just so…
‘It’s just part of the fantasy. It doesn’t feel like it represents me at all.’
Gillian joined a collection of authors including Shahidha Bari to discuss her latest book which discuses shame around female sexuality
The star was visibly shocked by the positive reaction of the audience and made sure to capture the warm reception on her phone as she filmed the crowd
The star admitted it felt surreal to be voted the world’s sexiest woman in 1996, explaining it was in stark contrast to her daily reality (pictured in 1997 at the SAG Awards)
Despite playing a sex therapist in Netflix’s Sex Education (pictured), Gillian revealed in an interview last month she struggled to write down her own fantasy for the book
Gillian dated The Crown creator Peter Morgan for four years
Gillian credited her role as the unapologetic confident DS Stella Gibson in The Fall for helping her step into her own sexual power in her 40s (pictured with Jamie Dornan)
Gillian – who dated The Crown creator Peter Morgan for four years – expressed the project aimed to unify and encourage self-acceptance among women and encourage more openness and understanding, despite the cultural taboos that still linger.
Reflecting on her career, Gillian credited her role as the unapologetic confident DS Stella Gibson in The Fall for helping her step into her own sexual power in her 40s.
She said: ‘Like only in the last three or four years have I felt comfortable enough in my own skin… to reveal more of that aspect of me.’
Now, as she approaches 60, Gillian admitted that she is embracing a new chapter in her life, both professionally and personally.
The mother-of-three revealed she is trying to set an example for women everywhere that it is never too late to start something new.
Gillian lives in London with her teenage sons, Oscar and Felix, who she had with ex-partner, Mark Griffiths.
She is also mother to her older daughter, Piper, who she had in her 20s with her first husband, Clyde Klotz, an art director she met on the set of The X-Files.