Happy birthday, Michigander! Today's celebrant: Gillian Anderson

I'll admit it: I've seen only a few episodes of "The X-Files" (I was more into the "real-life" paranormal stuff I saw on "Unsolved Mysteries"), but I'm still happy to celebrate the birthday of its co-star, Gillian Anderson, who played Agent Dana Scully, and who was born on August 9, 1968. Here are some facts about the 45-year-old actress:

Gillian Anderson, shown here looking bemused by something off to her right.

1. Anderson was born in Chicago, and lived in the United Kingdom for a while before her family moved to Grand Rapids when she was 11 years old.

2. She attended City High School, where she played "Officer Brophy" in two performances of "Arsenic and Old Lace" in 1983. She graduated from City High in 1986.

3. Anderson is bidialectal, meaning that, because she grew up in areas with vastly different ways of speaking, she shifts accents depending on the person to whom she is talking (i.e., she speaks with a British accent in the U.K., and with a Midwestern accent in the U.S.).

4. She almost didn't get the role of Dana Scully because the network wanted to cast someone with more experience and sex appeal. The series' creator stood up for her, and she eventually got the part.

5. She spoofed her role as Dana Scully in an episode of "The Simpsons" that everyone has probably already seen, but I've included a clip from that show, regardless.

Happy birthday, Gillian!!!!