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Gillian Anderson admits she went to gay bars as young as 12 with fake ID

In a new interview, Gillian Anderson opens up about her childhood and being 'strong willed' while reflecting on her early relationships and how they shaped her

[Gillian Anderson admits to sneaking into gay bars at age 12]

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Gillian Anderson admits to sneaking into gay bars at age 12(Image: Getty Images for G Spot/MUBI/Picturehouse)

By her own admission, Hollywood actor Gillian Anderson had experienced a childhood that some films are made of. And now, in a new interview the 58 year old X -Files star has admitted to sneaking into gay bars at just 12 years old, using fake ID.

She describes her parents as "young hippies" and herself as a "strong willed child" who couldn't be confined to the rules that most children her age adhered to while growing up.

She candidly told The Sunday Times Style magazine: "I was getting into gay bars and dancing at 12 with a fake ID. I had the conversation with my mum about the things that were allowed. I was such a strong-willed child she would say there was no telling me, and shes right. But next was a boyfriend who was so much older I was 15 and he was 24. We were together for three years."

[Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson star in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma]

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Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson star in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma(Image: Mubi/Plan B Entertainment)

Gillian is now starring in a film Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma and wishes her latest project was around when she was growing up as she felt like a "lonely teenager."

Gillian relocated from London to Michigan at the age of 11 and stood out due to her punk rock appearance, which included piercings.

When asked about her experiences growing up in the conservative town of Grand Rapids, she responded saying: "Not only did I not fit in, I didnt want to fit in.

I was a punk in a conservative town. There wasnt a single other person who had a nose ring and a mohawk. I was very self-conscious, with low self-esteem."

[Gillian Anderson in The X-Files: I Want to Believe back in 2008]

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Gillian Anderson in The X-Files: I Want to Believe back in 2008(Image: 20th Century Studios)

And it was during this time she started to explore her sexuality. She added: "One of my first relationships was with an older girl in high school."

Gillian shared how she also had a boyfriend at the time so the romance felt "secretive and illicit and wrong" and they had to hide. Her boyfriend found out and broke up with her.

She continued to share that she didn't think she was gay. She said: "Id had a couple of boyfriends. But I definitely felt I didnt have the language for it.

"Even later on, when I had other relationships [with women], Im not sure I ever thought of them as being potentially for ever."

Gillian has been married twice, both times to men. And since 2016, even though she remains tight-lipped over her speculated romance with The Crown creator Peter Morgan, she is only prepared to admit that her life partner is a male.

She confirmed: "The person I consider my life partner happens to be male but I think I would feel the same way if it were a woman. Id feel, This is my life partner.

"When I was younger, there were parts of my brain that thought [women] were temporary."

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