"I'd prefer not to be the pretty thing in a film. It's such a bloody responsibility to look cute, because people know when you don't and they're like, They're trying to pass her off as the cute girl and she's looking like a bedraggled sack of potatoes."
Career Highlights: Princess Mononoke, Good Will Hunting, Circle of Friends
First Major Screen Credit: Circle of Friends (1995)
Biography
Displaying talent both for acting and for appearing at awards ceremonies wearing dresses that attract more attention than the awards themselves, Minnie Driver rose from almost complete obscurity to her position as one of the most visible British actresses of the 1990s over the course of just a few years. Born Amelia Driver in London on January 31, 1971, she was christened "Minnie" by her sister, who was too young to pronounce her little sister's name correctly. Raised in Barbados and schooled in locales as diverse as Paris, Grenoble, and Hampshire, Driver attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where she studied drama.
Driver got her start on the stage and on television and made her big-screen debut in Circle of Friends in 1995. Playing the film's protagonist -- a "big, soft girl," as one of the film's characters calls her -- she was required to gain over 20 pounds for the role. She won critical acclaim for her performance, but had trouble finding more work until she lost the weight. Once she was revealed to be a statuesque beauty in the James Bond film GoldenEye (1995), she soon was being written up in a number of magazine articles that hailed her as one to watch. Critical appreciation for her work in Sleepers and Stanley Tucci's Big Night followed in 1996, and the next year, Driver proved herself capable of handling both comedy and a convincing Midwestern accent in Grosse Pointe Blank. That same year, she had what was possibly her most high-profile role to date in Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting. Starring as Matt Damon's brilliant girlfriend (a role she reportedly played offscreen as well), she earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance.
In 1998, Driver could be seen in The Governess and At Satchem Farm, a romantic comedy she executive produced with her sister, Kate, and actor Nigel Hawthorne. She also ventured into the action realm with Hard Rain. Driver then put her voice to lucrative use, voicing characters in both Disney's Tarzan and South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut in 1999. That same year, she took a swing at Oscar Wilde, starring in Oliver Parker's adaptation of Wilde's An Ideal Husband with Rupert Everett, Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, and Jeremy Northam. Driver then shed her corset and donned an American accent for her starring role in Bonnie Hunt's Return to Me (2000), a romantic comedy that cast the actress as a woman who falls in love with a widowed architect (David Duchovny) and discovers a surprising secret about the identity of his dead wife. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Minnie Driver was born Amelia Fiona J. Driver[1] in Finsbury Park, London, the daughter of Gaynor Churchward (née Millington), a designer and former couture model, and Ronnie Driver, a businessman.[2][3] Her sister, Kate Driver, is a model and producer.[4] Driver's mother was her father's mistress, and her father's wife was not aware of his other family.[5] She was raised in Barbados, and educated at Bedales an independent school near Petersfield, Hampshire, England, and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Acting career
Before receiving worldwide recognition, she appeared on British television with renowned comedians such as Steve Coogan and Armando Iannucci and had small parts in such shows as Casualty, The House of Eliott, Lovejoy and Peak Practice, among others. Driver first came to broad public attention when she played the lead role in Circle of Friends in 1995 and then with her Academy Award nominated performance in Good Will Hunting in 1997. In 2003 and 2004, she had a noted 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, including Disney's 1999 version of Tarzan and the 1999 dubbed-English version of the Japanese film Princess Mononoke in which she voices the fictional character Lady Eboshi.
On 12 March 2007, Driver made her return to television starring alongside Eddie Izzard on the FX Network show The Riches, a series about a family of Travellers living in an upscale gated community in the suburbs. She was nominated for the 2007 Emmy Award as Best Actress in a Dramatic Series.
Music career
Early in her career Driver was a member of a band called "Puff, Rocks and Brown"; the band was signed to a development deal with Island Records, which ended without a release.
She began a low-profile return to music in 2000; the following year, she signed with EMI and Rounder Records and performed at SXSW. Canadian music producer Colin Craig assisted in the eventual release of Everything I've Got in My Pocket, which reached No. 34[6] in the UK, and a second single, "Invisible Girl" peaking at No. 68. The album was backed by a group including members of the Wallflowers and Pete Yorn's band. Driver wrote 10 of the 11 songs on the album and also covered "Hungry Heart" from Bruce Springsteen's The River. In 2004, Driver was the support act for the Finn Brothers on the UK portion of their world tour.
In 2004, Driver played Carlotta Giudicelli in Joel Schumacher's film of The Phantom of the Opera. Because of the vocal requirements of the role, Driver was the sole cast member to have her voice dubbed. However, she did lend her own voice to Learn to be Lonely, a song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber specifically for the film version of his musical (it plays over the closing credits of the movie). Driver released her second album entitled Seastories on 17 July 2007. The 12-track set is produced by Marc "Doc" Dauer, who also produced Everything I've Got in My Pocket. Ryan Adams and Liz Phair are among the list of collaborators for the album.[7]
Personal life
On 13 March 2008, during an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, she announced that she was expecting her first child in August. On 5 September 2008, she gave birth to a boy named Henry Story Driver.[8] The father's identity remains private.