Minnie Driver

Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is a British and American actress and singer. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in the 1995 film Circle of Friends. She went on to star in a wide range of films, including the cult classic Grosse Pointe Blank; Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting (for which she was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Screen Actors Guild Award); the musical The Phantom of the Opera; and Owning Mahowny. She also provided the voice of Lady Eboshi in Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke.

In television, Driver starred with Eddie Izzard in The Riches, for which she was nominated for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe. She starred in the ABC sitcom Speechless, the NBC sitcom About a Boy, and had a recurring role in the NBC series Will & Grace. She has also starred in several British dramas, including The Deep for BBC One.

Before she began working as an actress, Driver was a singer; she has released three full solo albums in the course of her career. She has also lent her voice to a variety of animated series and films, including SuperMansion and Tarzan, as well as video games, including Jurassic Park: Trespasser.

Early life and education

Amelia Fiona Jessica Driver<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was born in London on January 31, 1970, and she was raised in Barbados until she was six.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The nickname Minnie was given to her by her older sister Kate in childhood.<ref name=Guardian-FamilyValues-2010>Template:Cite news</ref>

Her mother, Gaynor Churchward (née Millington), was a fabric designer and former couture model. Her father, Charles Ronald Driver,<ref name=CRDriver>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was born in Swansea, Wales, and was of English and Scottish descent.<ref name=BBC-WDYTYA-2013>Template:Cite episode</ref> He earned the Distinguished Flying Medal<ref name=CRDriver/> for his role in the Battle of Heligoland Bight<ref name="WDYTYAM">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was a director of London United Investments.<ref name="BBC-WDYTYA-2013"/><ref name=WalesOnline-Lido-2010>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=NYTimes-Governess-1998>Template:Cite news</ref>

Her parents never married.<ref name="WDYTYAM" /> Her father was married to another woman throughout his relationship with her mother. Her parents broke off their relationship when she was six years old.<ref name=Guardian-FamilyValues-2010 /> She was sent to Bedales School in Hampshire as a boarder soon after.<ref name=Guardian-FamilyValues-2010 /> She later attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art,<ref name=Guardian-Minx-1997>Template:Cite news</ref> and Collingham College in Kensington, Central London.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Guardian-FamilyValues-2010/><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Career

Acting

Driver's television debut was in a 1991 TV advertisement for Right Guard deodorant.<ref name=UKTVAd-1991>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Driver also made her stage debut in 1991, supplementing her income by performing as a jazz vocalist and guitarist.<ref name=Biography->{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1993 she featured in an episode of Maigret, alongside Michael Gambon and Michael Sheen. Also in 1993, she played alongside Jonathan Pryce in the mini-series Mr Wroe's Virgins. She appeared in The Day Today, on British television, with comedian Steve Coogan and for satirist Armando Iannucci, and had small parts in Casualty, The House of Eliott, Lovejoy and Peak Practice.

Driver gained broader public attention when she played the lead role in Circle of Friends in 1995, opposite Chris O'Donnell. She followed this with a minor role in GoldenEye (1995), a supporting role in Sleepers (1996), a leading role in Big Night (1996), and as a co-star in Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), opposite John Cusack.

Driver played opposite Matt Damon as Skylar in the drama Good Will Hunting (1997), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Screen Actors Guild Award.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1998, Driver starred in Sandra Goldbacher's film The Governess.<ref name=Guardian-GoingNative-1997>Template:Cite news</ref> That year, she co-starred opposite Christian Slater and Morgan Freeman in the action thriller Hard Rain. Driver has also worked on several animated features, voicing Jane in Disney's 1999 version of Tarzan and Lady Eboshi in the 1999 English-dubbed release of the Japanese film Princess Mononoke. In 2003 and 2004, she had a recurring role on Will & Grace as Lorraine Finster, the nemesis of Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) and daughter of Karen's lover, Lyle Finster (John Cleese).

In March 2007, Driver made her return to television in the FX Network show The Riches. She was nominated for an Emmy Award<ref name=Emmys-Bio>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a Golden Globe Award as Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2007 and 2008, respectively.<ref name=IMDb-Awards>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She was scheduled to appear in The Simpsons Movie, although her appearance was cut from the final version. Driver appeared in the January 2010 episode of Modern Family entitled "Moon Landing".<ref name=TVGuide-ModernFamily-2009>Template:Cite news</ref> She also starred in the television series The Deep<ref name=BBC-TheDeep-2009>Template:Cite news</ref> and appeared in Conviction, in the comedy drama Barney's Version, winning a Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In October 2013, Driver started filming for The Crash which was released on 13 January 2017.<ref name="ACOJI">Template:Cite news</ref>

Driver landed the lead role in the ABC sitcom Speechless, playing the mother of three children, one of whom has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. The series debuted in the 2016–17 TV season. It was cancelled in May 2019 after three seasons.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Music

File:Minnie Driver crop.jpg

Driver performing in 2004

Driver began making music at boarding school.<ref name=Guardian-Portrait-2008>Template:Cite news</ref> She collaborated on Bomb the Bass's album Clear, in 1994, as part of the outfit River. She was part of the Milo Roth Band, which received a recording contract when she was 19.<ref name=Guardian-Portrait-2008/> In 2001 she signed with EMI and Rounder Records and performed at the SXSW music festival.<ref name=Guardian-Pounding-2004>Template:Cite news</ref> The title song of Everything I've Got in My Pocket, her first album, reached No. 34<ref name=AllMusic-EIGIMP-2010>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in the U.K., and the song "Invisible Girl" peaked at No. 68. Driver wrote 10 of the 11 songs on the album. In 2004, Driver was the supporting act for the Finn Brothers on the U.K. portion of their world tour.<ref name=ContactMusic-Finn-2004>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2004, Driver played Carlotta Giudicelli in Joel Schumacher's film The Phantom of the Opera, based on the musical of the same name by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Driver sang "Learn to be Lonely", an original song written for the film by Lloyd Webber. However, because of her lack of opera experience, all her songs as Carlotta were dubbed by opera singer Margaret Preece. Driver released her second album, Seastories, in July 2007, featuring guest appearances by Ryan Adams, the Cardinals and Liz Phair.<ref name=Billboard-Sophomore-2010>Template:Cite news</ref> Driver released a third album in October 2014 called Ask Me to Dance that includes songs by Elliott Smith, Neil Young and The Killers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Podcast

In 2021, Driver started a podcast, Minnie Questions with Minnie Driver, in which she asks guests a series of seven questions, inspired by the Proust Questionnaire. Guests have included Chelsea Clinton, Nick Jonas and Cindy Crawford.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

In 1997, Driver began dating Matt Damon while filming Good Will Hunting. The two split in early 1998.<ref name=USA-Today-Damon>Template:Cite news</ref> She was briefly engaged to Josh Brolin in 2001.<ref name=ABCNews-Brolin-2001>Template:Cite news</ref> She has a son born in 2008<ref name=People-Henry-2008>Template:Cite news</ref> from a brief relationship with television writer and producer Timothy J. Lea.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Driver confirmed that she was in a relationship with Addison O'Dea in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2016, Driver revealed that she was sexually assaulted at age 17 while on holiday in Greece.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 21 December 2017, Driver became a United States citizen.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref><ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref><ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After living in California for a number of years, Driver moved back to London.Template:When<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Activism

Driver was a long-time ambassador for and supporter of Oxfam<ref name="oxfamamerica-minnie-driver">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> until withdrawing her support in 2018 over a sexual abuse scandal in the organisation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Filmography

Film

File:MinnieDriverJan2011.jpg

Driver at the red carpet New York premiere of Barney's Version in January 2011

File:Minnie Driver on the Red Carpet for the 2022 TIFF Premiere of Chevalier (52358886196).jpg

Driver at the premiere of Chevalier in September 2022

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	The Zebra Man	Emily Ashdown	Short
1994	That Sunday	Rachel
1995	Circle of Friends	Bernadette 'Benny' Hogan
	GoldenEye	Irina
1996	Big Night	Phyllis
	Sleepers	Carol Martinez
1997	Grosse Pointe Blank	Debi Newberry
	Good Will Hunting	Skylar Satenstein
1998	Hard Rain	Karen
	The Governess	Rosina Da Silva
	At Sachem Farm	Kendal
1999	An Ideal Husband	Miss Mabel Chiltern
	Princess Mononoke	Lady Eboshi	citation	CitationClass=web }} A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.</ref>
	Tarzan	Jane Porter	Voice<ref name="btva" />
	South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut	Brooke Shields
2000	Return to Me	Grace Briggs
	Beautiful	Mona Hibbard
	Slow Burn	Trina McTeague
	The Upgrade	Constance Levine	Short
2001	High Heels and Low Lifes	Shannon
	D.C. Smalls	Waitress	Short
2003	Owning Mahowny	Belinda
	Hope Springs	Vera Edwards
2004	Ella Enchanted	Mandy
	Portrait	Donna	Short
	The Phantom of the Opera	Carlotta
2006	The Virgin of Juarez	Karina Danes
2007	Take	Ana Nichols
	Ripple Effect	Kitty
	The Simpsons Movie	Grievance Counselor	Deleted scene
2009	Motherhood	Sheila
2010	Conviction	Abra Rice
	Barney's Version	Mrs. P.
2011	Hunky Dory	Vivienne Mae
2012	Goats	Shaman	Uncredited
2013	I Give It a Year	Naomi
2014	Return to Zero	Maggie Royal
	Stage Fright	Kylie Swanson
	Beyond the Lights	Macy Jean
2015	Unity	Narrator (voice)	Documentary
2017	The Crash	Shannon Clifton
	The Wilde Wedding	Priscilla Jones
	Laboratory Conditions	Marjorie Cane	Short
2018	Spinning Man	Ellen Birch
2021	Cinderella	Queen Beatrice
2022	Rosaline	The Nurse
	Chevalier	Marie-Madeleine Guimard
2023	Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose	Anne
	Uproar	Shirley Waaka
2024	The Beekeeper	Director Janet Harward
	The Assessment	Evie
	Millers in Marriage	Renee
TBA	Template:Pending film		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	God on the Rocks	Lydia	Television film
1991	The House of Eliott	Mary	Episode #1.4
	Casualty	Zena Mitchell	Episode: "The Last Word"
1992	Lovejoy	Sarah	Episode: "Kids"
	Kinsey	Louise Kinsey	3 episodes
1993	Maigret	Arlette	Episode: "Maigret and the Night Club Dancer"
	Mr Wroe's Virgins	Leah	4 episodes
	Screen One	Sally	Episode: "Royal Celebration"
1994	The Day Today	Mila Milandrovicz, Lally Sampson	2 episodes
	Peak Practice	Sue Keel	Episode: "Enemy Within"
	Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge	Daniella Forrest	Episode #1.2
1995	My Good Friend	Ellie	7 episodes
	The Politician's Wife	Jennifer Caird	3 episodes
	Roseanne	Eva	Episode: "Bed and Bored"
1996	Cruel Train	Flora Mussell	Television film
	Murder Most Horrid	Sergeant Cole	Episode: "Confess"
2000	The X-Files	Cinema Audience	Uncredited; episode: "Hollywood A.D."
2003	Absolutely Fabulous	Herself	Episode: "Panickin'"
2003–2020	Will & Grace	Lorraine Finster	Recurring role; 9 episodes
2007–2008	The Riches	Dahlia Malloy	Lead role
2007	Revisioned: Tomb Raider	Lara Croft	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2010	Modern Family	Valerie	Episode: "Moon Landing"
	The Deep	Frances Kelly	Lead role, miniseries
2011	Hail Mary	Mary Beth Baker	Television film
2012	Lady Friends	Jennifer Rensen
	QuickBites	Ellen	Episode: "Food for Thought"
	Web Therapy	Allegra Favreau	5 episodes
2013	Hollywood Game Night	Herself	Episode: "The Office Party"
2014	Hell's Kitchen		Episode: "7 Chefs Again"
	The Red Tent	Leah	Lead role, miniseries
	Peter Pan Live!	Narrator/Adult Wendy Darling	TV special
2014–2015	About a Boy	Fiona Bowa	Lead role
2015	Undateable	Ally's Friend	Episode: "A Live Show Walks Into a Bar: Part 1"
2016–2019	Speechless	Maya DiMeo	Lead role
2018–2019	SuperMansion	Debby Devizo	Voice, 5 episodes
2021	Modern Love	Stephanie Curran	Episode: "On a Serpentine Road, With the Top Down"
2021–2023	Starstruck	Cath	Recurring role, 4 episodes
2022	The Witcher: Blood Origin	Seanchai	Lead role
2023	Our Flag Means Death	Anne Bonny	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2024	The Serpent Queen	Queen Elizabeth I	Lead Role, Season 2
	Batman: Caped Crusader	The Penguin / Oswalda Cobblepot	Voice, Season 1, episode: "In Treacherous Waters"
	Arcane	Illusionary Sorceress	Voice, Season 2, episode: "Blisters and Bedrock"
	Krapopolis	Shlub's Mother	Voice, episode: "National Lampoon's The Odyssey!"

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Trespasser	Anne	Voice<ref name="btva"/>

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1995	Chicago Film Critics Association Award	Most Promising Actress	Circle of Friends {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Won
1996	London Film Critics' Circle Award	British Supporting Actress of the Year	Big Night {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Nom
			Sleepers {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Nom
1997	Academy Award	Best Supporting Actress	Good Will Hunting	Template:Nom
	London Film Critics' Circle Award	British Supporting Actress of the Year		Template:Won
	Satellite Award	Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture		Template:Nom
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role		Template:Nom
		Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture		Template:Nom
1998	MTV Movie Award	Best Kiss (shared with Matt Damon)		Template:Nom
1999	Annie Award	Voice Acting in a Feature Production	Tarzan {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Nom
2004	Satellite Award	Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture	The Phantom of the Opera {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Nom
	London Film Critics' Circle Award	British Supporting Actress of the Year		Template:Nom
2007	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress – Television Series Drama	The Riches	Template:Nom
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress – Drama Series		Template:Nom
	Satellite Award	Best Actress – Television Series Drama		Template:Nom
	California Independent Film Festival Award	Best Actress	Take {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Won
	Phoenix Film Festival	Best Acting Ensemble		Template:Won
	Tiburon International Film Festival Award	Best Actress		Template:Won
2010	Genie Award	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role	Barney's Version {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Won
	London Film Critics' Circle Award	British Supporting Actress of the Year		Template:Nom
	Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film		Template:Nom
2015	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries	Return to Zero {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Nom
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie		Template:Nom
2017	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Actress in a New TV Series	Speechless {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Nom
2018	FilmQuest	Best Supporting Actress	Laboratory Conditions	Template:Won
		Best Supporting Actress - Short		Template:Won

Other media

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Revisioned: Tomb Raider	Lara Croft	Voice, 10 episodes<ref name="btva" />

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role	Notes
1998	Trespasser	Anne	<ref name="btva" />
2002	Quest for the Code	Smokita

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	US Heat	Label
2004	Everything I've Got in My Pocket	43	Zoë
2007	Seastories	25
2014	Ask Me to Dance	11	Rounder

Singles

Year	Single	Album
2004	"Invisible Girl"	Everything I've Got in My Pocket
2005	"Everything I've Got in My Pocket"

Works

• Template:Cite book<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website
• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 378

 | name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1=378|2=^nm}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | nm0000378/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
   | name/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+%0A++++++%7C+%7B%7B%7Bname%7D%7D%7D%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
   }}
 }}{{#if: 378  {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch: 
 | award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
 }}}} {{#if: 
 | {{{name}}}
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at IMDb{{#if: 378{{#property:P345}}
 | Template:EditAtWikidata
 | Template:Main other

}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source=378|plain=false}}

 | 1 | 3 =  Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
 | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning

}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}