Minnie Driver

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 was born in London on 31 January 1970, and was raised in Barbados until she was six. The nickname Minnie was given to her by her elder sister, Kate, in childhood because Kate could not pronounce "Amelia".

Her mother, Gaynor Churchward , was a fabric designer and former couture model. Her father, Charles Ronald Driver, was born in Swansea, Wales, and was of English and Scottish descent. He earned the Distinguished Flying Medal and was a director of London United Investments.

Her parents never married. and Collingham College in Kensington, Central London.

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. 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.

In 1998, Driver starred in Sandra Goldbacher's film The Governess. 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 2000, she starred in "Return to Me". 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 and a Golden Globe Award as Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2007 and 2008, respectively. 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". 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.

In October 2013, Driver started filming for The Crash which was released on 13 January 2017.

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.

In 2026, Driver appeared in the 6-part Canadian drama series The Murder Line, as May Ferguson.

Music

Driver began making music at boarding school. 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. The title song of Everything I've Got in My Pocket, her first album, reached No. 34 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.

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. Driver released a third album in October 2014 called Ask Me to Dance that includes songs by Elliott Smith, Neil Young and The Killers.

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.

Personal life In 1997, Driver began dating Matt Damon while filming Good Will Hunting. The two split in early 1998. She was briefly engaged to Josh Brolin in 2001. She has a son born in 2008 from a brief relationship with television writer and producer Timothy J. Lea. Driver confirmed that she was in a relationship with Addison O'Dea in 2019.

In 2016, Driver revealed that she was sexually assaulted at age 17 while on holiday in Greece.

On 21 December 2017, Driver became a citizen of the United States. After living in California for 27 years, Driver moved back to London in 2024.

Activism Driver was a long-time ambassador for and supporter of Oxfam until withdrawing her support in 2018 over a sexual abuse scandal in the organisation.

Filmography Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref. 1992 The Zebra Man Emily Ashdown Short 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 Also executive producer 1999 An Ideal Husband Miss Mabel Chiltern Princess Mononoke Lady Eboshi Voice, English dub Tarzan Jane Porter Voice 2007–2008 The Riches Dahlia Malloy Lead role; 20 episodes (seasons 1 & 2) 2010 Modern Family Valerie Episode: "Moon Landing" The Deep Frances Kelly Lead role; miniseries; 5 episodes 2011 Hail Mary Mary Beth Baker Television film 2012 Web Therapy Allegra Favreau 5 episodes QuickBites Ellen Episode: "Food for Thought" Lady Friends Jennifer Rensen Television film 2013 Hollywood Game Night Herself Episode: "The Office Party" 2014 Peter Pan Live! Adult Wendy Darling / Narrator Television film The Red Tent Leah Lead role; miniseries; 2 episodes Hell's Kitchen Herself Episode: "7 Chefs Again" 2014–2015 About a Boy Fiona Bowa Lead role; 33 episodes (seasons 1 & 2) 2015 Undateable Minnie, Ally's Friend Episode: "A Live Show Walks into a Bar: Part 1" 2016–2019 Speechless Maya DiMeo Lead role; 63 episodes (seasons 1–3) 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; miniseries; 4 episodes 2023 Our Flag Means Death Anne Bonny Episode: "Fun and Games" 2024 Batman: Caped Crusader Oswalda Cobblepot / The Penguin Voice; episode: "In Treacherous Waters" The Serpent Queen Queen Elizabeth I 5 episodes (season 2) Krapopolis Shlub's Mother Voice; episode: "National Lampoon's The Odyssey!" Arcane Illusionary Sorceress Voice; 3 episodes (season 2) 2025 Emily in Paris Princess Jane Recurring role; 5 episodes (season 5) 2026 The Borderline May Ferguson Lead role; miniseries; 6 episodes Run Away Ingrid Greene Lead role; miniseries; 8 episodes The Faithful: Women of the Bible Sarai / Sarah Lead role; miniseries; 2 episodes

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1995 Chicago Film Critics Association Award Most Promising Actress 1996 London Film Critics' Circle Award British Supporting Actress of the Year 1997 Academy Award Best Supporting ActressGood Will Hunting London Film Critics' Circle Award British Supporting Actress of the Year Satellite Award Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 1998 MTV Movie Award Best Kiss (shared with Matt Damon) 1999 Annie Award Voice Acting in a Feature Production 2004 Satellite Award Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture London Film Critics' Circle Award British Supporting Actress of the Year 2007 Golden Globe Award Best Actress – Television Series DramaThe Riches Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actress – Drama Series Satellite Award Best Actress – Television Series Drama California Independent Film Festival Award Best Actress Phoenix Film Festival Best Acting Ensemble Tiburon International Film Festival Award Best Actress 2010 Genie Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role London Film Critics' Circle Award British Supporting Actress of the Year Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film 2015 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie 2017 People's Choice Awards Favorite Actress in a New TV Series 2018FilmQuest Best Supporting ActressLaboratory Conditions Best Supporting Actress – Short

Other media Video games Year Title Voice role