Minnie Driver Biography
Minnie Driver is a British and American actress who rose to fame with her break-out role in Circle of Friends in 1995. She then starred in Grosse Pointe Blank, Good Will Hunting, The Phantom of the Opera, and Owning Mahowny. Her performance in Good Will Hunting won her nominations for the Academy Best Supporting Actress Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She also voiced Lady Eboshi in Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke.
Minnie Driver Age
Driver was born Amelia Fiona “Minnie” Driver on January 31, 1970, in London, England. She is 54 years old as of 2024. Driver celebrates her birthday on January 31st.
Minnie Driver Height
Driver stands at an approximate height of 5 feet and 9¾ inches.
Minnie Driver Family
Driver was born to Gaynor Churchward Millington and Charles Ronald Driver in London. She grew up in Barbados until she was six. Her mother worked as a fabric designer and former couture model. On the other hand, her father received the Distinguished Flying Medal for his role in the Battle of Heligoland Bight. He also was a director of London United Investments. Born in Swansea, Wales, her father has English and Scottish roots.
Gaynor and Charles never married as Charles was married to another woman during their relationship. They broke off their relationship when Driver was 6 years old. After their split, Driver went to Bedales School in Hampshire as a boarder. Driver has two siblings Kate Driver and Edward Churchward. “Minnie” is a nickname given to her by her older sister Kate in childhood.
Minnie Driver Relationships
Driver has been in a relationship with Addison O’Dea since 2019. They were reportedly engaged in September 2019. She became a United States citizen on December 21, 2017. She moved back to London after living in California for several years.
Addison is an American filmmaker and writer who specializes in anthropology. His work has received features on National Geographic, Discovery, and Ozy. He was born on June 15, 1979, and is 45 years old as of 2024.
Driver has a son named Henry Story with Timothy J. Lea. Henry was born in 2008 and is 16 years old as of 2024. Timothy is a television writer and producer. In 2001, she was briefly engaged to Josh Brolin. She dated Matt Damon from 1997 to 1998. They began dating while filming Good Will Hunting.
Minnie Driver Net Worth
Driver has an estimated net worth of between $1 Million-$5 Million which she has earned through her successful career as an actress.
Minnie Driver Circle of Friends
Driver rose to fame with her break-out role in Circle of Friends in 1995. In the film, she starred as Bernadette ‘Benny’ Hogan. Bernadette is the child of an overprotective couple who manage Hogan’s Gentlemen’s Outfitters, a clothing business. They raise her in Knockglen alongside her close friends Eve Malone and Nan Mahon. She has insecurities about her looks, influencing her relationships and self-esteem.
Minnie Driver Good Will Hunting
Driver starred as Skylar Satenstein in Good Will Hunting opposite Matt Damon, earning her nominations for an Academy Best Supporting Actress Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She also won a London Film Critics Circle British Supporting Actress of the Year Award in 1997.
Skylar is an English woman about to graduate from Harvard College. She plans on enrolling in medical school at Stanford. She meets Will Hunting at a bar and starts a romantic relationship with him. Will is a janitor whose mathematical genius is recognized by a professor at MIT.
Minnie Driver The Serpent Queen
Driver starred as Queen Elizabeth I in The Serpent Queen. Queen Elizabeth I is the cunning and strategic monarch Queen of England. In this magnitude, she is the rival to Catherine de’ Medici, the Queen Regent of France.
Minnie Driver Matt Damon
Driver dated Matt Damon from 1997 to 1998. They began dating while filming Good Will Hunting.
Minnie Driver Sexual Abuse
In 2016, Driver shared that she was a victim of sexual abuse, having been sexually assaulted at age 17 while on holiday in Greece. A long-time ambassador for and supporter of Oxfam, Driver terminated her support due to a sexual abuse scandal in the firm.
Minnie Driver Education
Driver boarded at Bedales School in Hampshire. She then studied at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and Collingham College in Kensington, Central London.
Minnie Driver Career
Driver debuted on TV in 1991, appearing in an advertisement for Right Guard deodorant. That same year, she debuted on stage, complementing her income by performing as a jazz vocalist and guitarist. In 1993, she appeared in an episode of Maigret with Michael Gambon and Michael Sheen. That same year, she starred in Mr Wroe’s Virgins opposite Jonathan Pryce.
Driver starred in The Day Today opposite Steve Coogan and Armando Iannucci. Moreover, she has small roles in Casualty, Lovejoy, The House of Eliott, and Peak Practice. She gained broader attention from the public by starring in the lead role in Circle of Friends in 1995. Next, she had a small role in GoldenEye, a supporting role in Sleepers, a leading role in Big Night, and a co-star in Grosse Pointe Blank.
Driver starred as Skylar Satenstein in Good Will Hunting opposite Matt Damon, earning her nominations for an Academy Best Supporting Actress Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 1998, she appeared in Sandra Goldbacher’s The Governess. In that same year, she starred in Hard Rain alongside Christian Slater and Morgan Freeman.
1999 to present;
Driver has done multiple animated features including voicing Jane in Disney’s Tarzan in 1999 and Lady Eboshi in Princess Mononoke. In 2003 and 2004, she played the recurring role of Lorraine Finster in Will & Grace. In March 2007, she returned to TV with a role in FX’s The Riches. Her performance in the series won her nominations for a 2007 Emmy Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series Award and a 2008 Golden Globe Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series Award.
Despite being scheduled to star in The Simpsons Movie, Driver’s appearance was cut from the final version. She starred in the Modern Family episode, Moon Landing, in January 2010. Additionally, she appeared in The Deep, Conviction, and Barney’s Version. Her performance in Barney’s Version won her a Genie Best Supporting Actress Award.
Driver began filming The Crash in October 2013. She secured the lead role in ABC’s Speechless. Speechless debuted in the 2016–17 TV season but was cancelled in May 2019 after three seasons.
Music
Driver started making music when she was in boarding school. In 1994, she worked with Bomb the Bass on their album, Clear, as part of the outfit River. She was a member of the Milo Roth Band, which gained a recording contract when she was 19. She signed with EMI and Rounder Records in 2001.
Driver performed at the SXSW music festival. Her first album’s titular song, Everything I’ve Got in My Pocket, ranked at NO. 34 in the U.K. Further, her song Invisible Girl reached NO.68. She wrote 10 out of the 11 songs on the album.
Driver served as a supporting act for the Finn Brothers on the U.K. portion of their world tour in 2004. That same year, she starred in The Phantom of the Opera, requiring her to learn Learn to be Lonely for the film. However, her lack of experience in opera led to all her songs as Carlotta to be dubbed by Margaret Preece, an opera singer.
In July 2007, Driver released her second album, Seastories, which has guest appearances by Ryan Adams, Liz Phair, and the Cardinals. She released her third album, Ask Me to Dance, in October 2014 which featured songs by Neil Young, Elliott Smith, and The Killers.
Podcast
Driver began the Minnie Questions with Minnie Driver podcats in 2021. In the podcast, she asks her guest 7 questions. Further, she has had guests like Nick Jonas, Chelsea Clinton, and Cindy Crawford.
Minnie Driver Movies and TV Shows
Driver has starred in several movies and TV shows during her career such as
- That Sunday
- At Sachem Farm
- An Ideal Husband
- South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
- Return to Me
- Slow Burn
- High Heels and Low Lifes
- Return to Zero
- The Virgin of Juarez
- Motherhood
- About a Boy
- The Red Tent
- Hunky Dory
- Beyond the Lights
- SuperMansion
- The Wilde Wedding
- The Witcher: Blood Origin
- Spinning Man
- Starstruck
- Rosaline
- Chevalier
- Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose
- Uproar
- The Beekeeper
- The Assessment
- Millers in Marriage
Minnie Driver Social Media Platforms
She is active on her social media account and often posts on her Instagram. She has over 363oK followers on Instagram.