Minnie Driver

Nominee Independent Adult Contemporary Artist of the Year at the 14th annual LA Music Awards

Minnie Driver
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Minnie Driver
Minnie Driver, January 2011
Driver at the premiere of Barney’s Version in January 2011
Born Amelia Fiona J. Driver
31 January 1970 (age 45)
Finsbury Park, London, England, United Kingdom
Residence Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality British
Education Bedales
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation Actress
Singer-songwriter
Years active 1990–present
Known for Good Will Hunting
Children 1
Website www.minniedriver.com
Amelia Fiona “Minnie” J. Driver (born 31 January 1970) is an English actress and singer-songwriter. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film Good Will Hunting, and an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her work in the television series The Riches.
Driver was born in London. Her mother, Gaynor Churchward (née Millington), is a fabric designer and former couture model. Her father, Charles Ronald Driver (1921-2009), was born in Swansea, Wales, to English and Scottish parents; he received the Distinguished Flying Medal for his role in the Battle of Heligoland Bight and was a director of London United Investments.

Her parents never married, as her father was married to someone else throughout the relationship with her mother. They separated when Minnie was six years old and sent her to a boarding school in Hampshire called Bedales. Ronnie Driver moved to Barbados, where Minnie Driver spent her school holidays. She later attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Minnie has an older sister Kate, film producer and manager and 2 younger half brothers – Charlie Driver from her father’s subsequent marriage, and Ed Churchward from her mother’s subsequent marriage to polo playing vet Patrick Churchward. .

Career
Acting
Driver’s television debut was in a 1991 TV advertisement for Right Guard deodorant. Driver also made her stage debut in 1991, supplementing her income by performing as a jazz vocalist and guitarist. She appeared on British television with comedians Steve Coogan and 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. She followed this with supporting roles in GoldenEye (1995), Sleepers (1996) and Grosse Pointe Blank (1997). She 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.

In 1998, Driver starred in Sandra Goldbacher’s film The Governess. 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). 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.
Driver at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival
In March 2007, Driver made her return to television in the FX Network show The Riches. She was nominated for an Emmy Award[ and a Golden Globe Award as Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Driver appeared in the January 2010 episode of Modern Family entitled “Moon Landing”. She also starred in the television series The Deep and appeared in Conviction, in the comedy-drama Barney’s Version, winning a Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress.[citation needed] In October 2013, Driver started filming scenes for A Conspiracy on Jekyll Island alongside Frank Grillo, AnnaSophia Robb, Dianna Agron, John Leguizamo, Ed Westwick and Maggie Q.

Music
Driver began making music during boarding school. She was part of the Milo Roth Band, which got a recording contract when she was 19. In 2001 she signed with EMI and Rounder Records and performed at the SXSW music festival. Her first album included the song, Everything I’ve Got in My Pocket, which reached No. 34 in the UK, and the song, “Invisible Girl” which 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 UK portion of their world tour.

In 2004, Driver played Carlotta Giudicelli in Joel Schumacher’s film The Phantom of the Opera based on the hit musical of the same name by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Driver sang an original song “Learn to be Lonely,” written for the film by Lloyd Webber. However, due to her lack of experience in opera, all her songs as Carlotta were dubbed by opera singer Magaret Preece. Driver released her second album, Seastories, in July 2007, featuring guest appearances by Ryan Adams, the Cardinals and Liz Phair. Driver released a third album in October 2014 called, Ask Me To Dance that includes songs by Elliott Smith, Neil Young and the The Killers.

Personal life
Driver dated Matt Damon in 1998 and was engaged to Josh Brolin in 2001. In September 2008, Driver gave birth to a son, whom she named Henry. In 2013, Driver appeared on an episode of the reality show Who Do You Think You Are?, in which she searched for information about her deceased father.