TRANSFORMING INTO MARGARET THATCHER: Some viewers may wonder how American actress Gillian Anderson turned into former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in the latest season of television series The Crown (2016 to present).

Anderson, 52, shared a series of photos on Instagram last Friday, which gave a glimpse of her transformation into the late leader, who was well known for her bouffant hairdo.

Mrs Thatcher was Britain's first female prime minister and was in office from 1979 to 1990. She died aged 87 in 2013.

Anderson was seen in the photos donning one of the wigs with her own blonde hair sticking out, as a hairstylist positioned the hairpiece on her head.

The actress, who is best known for her role as special agent Dana Scully in the science fiction-supernatural television series The X-Files (1993 to 2018), also shared photos of the different wigs used in The Crown, as she wrote: "An ode to my wig(s)."

Anderson revealed in media interviews that she did not use prosthetics or teeth to play Mrs Thatcher, but she did wear a body suit to make her look a bit wider.

She said she relied on body language and had two vocal coaches to help her capture Mrs Thatcher's appearance for her role in the Netflix series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.