"We got a lot of letters all the time, and I was told quite frequently by girls who were going into the medical world or the science world or the FBI world or other worlds that I reigned, that they were pursuing those pursuits because of the character of Scully. And I said, 'Yay!'"

"I had started to become interested in the punk scene and started to dress differently than a lot of the kids in Grand Rapids, Michigan were dressing. And I got my nose pierced and I started to shave my head and dye my hair and wear a lot of black. And so I looked like somebody that might be arrested... I was a bit of a class clown, usually the one that people would get to do the things that they were afraid to get in trouble for... On graduation night, I was arrested... I had a boyfriend at the time who was a couple centuries older than I was and I'd convinced him that we should go and glue the locks of the school so that people couldn't get in the morning. And lo and behold, they had a security guard because it was graduation night and they were concerned that idiots like me might try and do something like that."

"Get out of the house. Find other human beings to communicate with. Read a book. Do yoga. Meditate. Be of service. That is one of the biggest single most things to get one out of oneself, is being of service to people who are less fortunate than ourselves."

"I have feminist bones and when I hear things or see people react to women in certain ways I have very little tolerance."

"Above anything else, stay true to yourself. Whether that means for you that you like to have blue hair, or you don't like to drink, or you are attracted to the same sex, or you want to remove yourself from Facebook, or you've got 3 different kids from 3 different dads but you know you're a really good mom, or you cry for a week because your turtle died. Whatever your truth is, stay true to yourself. But be a good person while you're at it."

"We shot the first five seasons up in Vancouver, so we were protected from the public mania, and the industry mania, for the most part. I was first exposed to it when I became pregnant in the first season, and I quickly learned the power of the machine; then again when I was trying to negotiate my salary to be closer to equal to what David [Duchovny] was making, rather than a quarter. Yes, it's been an ongoing education, but it continues to astound me."

"At the beginning [of The X-Files] the pay disparity was massive. But that happens all the time in Hollywood. It's, 'Do this for me, I'll get you a job.' All the stuff in the papers today about people in entertainment who have abused their position... it's built into our society. It's easy to miss and it's easy to get used to it. There are things that are intolerable in today's world, in terms of the perception of women. Whether they're vamps or vixens, the expectation that, if a woman is wearing a short skirt, she's 'asking for it.'"

"I am an actively heterosexual woman who celebrates however people want to express their sexuality."

"I don't think I'd be very good at what you'd call an ordinary job. I think I might be an artist, mixed media. And that is still something I'm interested in pursuing at some point, but I have this fear of taking my eye off the ball, and get distracted from that acting thing."

"We were in a small Republican town. There were only six punks there. We were weird. It's not like London."

"I was a confident fuck-up. I did drugs, and I went to concerts, and I snuck out of the house and I did all that stuff that rebellious teenagers do."

"To me a relationship is about loving another human being; their gender is irrelevant."

"Peace of mind, right mind, right action."

"I don't necessarily consider myself to be an icon, but I do consider myself to be a feminist."

"I've always been a believer. I've been a believer in many different realms of alternate reality, the human capacity to move out of different planes of reality. It's something that has been with me since I was a child."

"I like women a lot and I champion them. I tell people when they are beautiful, I tell other actresses when I think their work is amazing... So I think women feel relatively comfortable in my presence. Also, because I'm not perfect, you know? I've got flabby thighs, I'm aging and I'm 5ft 3in. I talk about my failing in contemporary society in terms of gyms or food or whatever. I think there's a polite appreciation that I'm honest."

"I sometimes don't enjoy it at all, and sometimes it feels like... breath."

"Young women have more choices to make today about what to be. One of those choices is activist."

"I'm damaged in many ways. And yet a lot of what my fight is about is pushing through that to live a meaningful, sane existence and make a difference and play to my strengths."

"I cannot abide red tape. It never strangles bad ideas, only good ones."

"“How do you have a child without being terrified all the time?” “Well, that’s the big secret to parenting, Ben,” Caitlin whispered. “You are terrified all the time. You get used to it. It becomes part of the background. Except for the times when it stabs you through the heart.” He gazed at her a moment, then looked down at his menu. “That was probably the worst sales pitch ever for having kids,” he said."

"The United States ambassador’s proposal for a demilitarized zone between the nations had been met with derision in India, whose pundits pointed out that Pakistan could not even establish a de-terrorized zone within it own borders."

"If irony were clean water, this would be a paradise."

"“Do you think I am ill? Mentally?” “Not at all. I believe you had a reaction to something—” “Like an allergy? Peanuts? We don’t have food allergies in Haiti,” she said with disgust. “We cannot afford to.”"

"Is that the ultimate paradox of life, she wondered, that the universe should become less clear with age?"

"Every fictional character is based on someone. My English teacher told us that."

"But “everyone knew” were words of death in scientific research."

"Predawn has always been undervalued as a witching hour, she thought. Midnight, in prose and poem, had gotten all the glory. At this hour, though, people had to gather their lonely, enervated willpower and make the first choices of the day. For that you needed raw courage."

"The universe doesn’t editorialize."

"Familiarity helped to construct subterfuge."

"“So,” Adrienne said. “You’re one of those.” “One of what?” Flora said, not turning her head. “One of those people who has a single success and takes that as a mandate to do anything you want.”"

"“I thought we had the conversation about my being uninterested in your opinions,” Flora said."

"Flora chose that moment to selectively not hear."

"“Dr. Davies, why are you obsessed with these?” “A scholar’s interest in the inexplicable.” “No,” Adrienne said. “A scholar would be publishing articles about these in journals, and asking every scientist and researcher she could contact for help with studying them.” Flora ignored her. “You’re keeping secrets,” Adrienne said. Again, she made no reply."

"An archaeology group that hadn’t publicized one of the greatest finds in the history of the field was probably not to be trusted."

"It’s a fair bargain. Some trust, some distrust, in the end win win."

"Mikel knew better than to question her. Not because she was always right, but because there was no changing her mind once it was set."

"Hot water is good for bathing, bad for fish."

"“The intrigue is not even what makes this work intriguing,” he quipped."

"“That is irreligious.” “As your comment is ill-informed,” Caitlin replied."

"The geology, the cosmos, they waken something. Even in scientists."

"“Divination has always embraced strange, ultimately disproved customs,” she said."

"He had looked at Qala then and said, “And I hope we never find out. That would make someone right and someone wrong.” “Isn’t knowledge worth that?” Qala had asked. “Questions are always more valuable than answers,” Nimma had replied. “I suppose if answers encourage new questions, they are valid. But this one? I do not think any of the major participants would receive the truth kindly, or willingly.”"

"Either everything matters or nothing does."

"She's a beautiful actress and a beautiful person. We bonded in the abandoned mental institution we were filming in together."

"I ADORE Gillian. She's smart and strong and fascinating. What a talent."

"Gillian Anderson is greatest actress of her generation."

"Every time Gillian Anderson appears on the television, my wife looks at me like I'm mentally cheating on her."

"She arrived as a surprise guest, and was charming and funny and utterly wonderful. On seeing her, I was as cool as you might expect, if by being cool means standing at the sides of the stage, unable to move my limbs in her direction. The many nights I'd spent with Agent Scully in my 20s, imaging our imaginary life together, left me flushed and embarrassment."