Minnie Driver Biography
Summary
"Minnie Driver" (born "Amelia Fiona J. Driver" on January 31 1970) is an Emmy and Academy Award-nominated English actress, and singer-songwriter. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1997 film "Good Will Hunting".
Biography
Early life
Driver was born in London and is of British (English & Scottish), Irish, Italian and French descent. Her parents are Ronnie Driver, a financier, and his first wife, Gaynor (née Millington, now Churchward), a former fashion model. She was raised in Barbados, and educated at Bedales school near Petersfield, Hampshire, England, and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Acting career
Driver first came to broad public attention when she played the lead role in "Circle of Friends". In 2003 and 2004, she had a noted recurring role on "Will & Grace" as Lorraine Finster, Karen Walker's (Megan Mullally) nemesis, and daughter of Karen's lover, (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".
On March 12, 2007, Driver made her return to television starring alongside Eddie Izzard on the FX Network show "The Riches", a show 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. 43 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 July 17, 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.
Minnie is also cousin to American singer/songwriter/actor Josh Driver.
Personal life
She has been linked romantically with several of her costars, including John Cusack, Josh Brolin, and Matt Damon. A false rumor circulated that Driver found out that Damon had broken up with her when he announced it on the Oprah Winfrey show-a version of events that both Damon and Driver have repeatedly denied. Driver was engaged to marry Brolin before a sudden breakup in 2001. Driver has said her relationship with Brolin's stepmother, Barbra Streisand, was difficult. She was also linked to tennis player Robby Ginepri and illusionist Criss Angel. Currently she is dating Walton DesPlas, a nurse.
Driver is a fan of Chelsea FC.
Filmography
Features:
"Circle of Friends" (1995)
"GoldenEye" (1995)
"Big Night" (1996)
"Sleepers" (1996)
"Grosse Pointe Blank" (1997)
"Good Will Hunting" (1997)
"Hard Rain" (1998)
"The Governess" (1998)
"At Sachem Farm" (1998)
"An Ideal Husband" (1999)
"Princess Mononoke" (1999 English version) (voice)
"Tarzan" (1999) (voice)
"South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" (1999) (voice)
"Return to Me" (2000)
"Beautiful" (2000)
"Slow Burn" (2000)
"High Heels and Low Lifes" (2001)
"Owning Mahowny" (2003)
"Hope Springs" (2003)
"Freedom2speak v2.0" (2004) (documentary)
"Ella Enchanted" (2004)
"The Phantom of the Opera" (2004)
"The Virgin of Juarez" (2006)
"Delirious" (2006)
"Ripple Effect" (2007)
"Take" (2007)
"The Simpsons Movie" (2007) (scenes deleted) (voice)
Short Subjects:
"The Zebra Man" (1992)
"Baggage" (1997)
"The Upgrade" (2000)
"D.C. Smalls" (2001)
"Film Trix 2004" (2004)
"Portrait" (2004)
Discography
"Everything I've Got in My Pocket" (2004)
"Seastories" (2007)
Minnie also played herself in an episode of Absolutely Fabulous, a British sitcom.
External links
(Video Interview) on the W*USA-TV 9, Washington, DC website
(SXSW'04 Performance review) from the "Austin Chronicle"
(Publicity) and (Album) pages from Rounder Records
(September 2004 interview) from "The Guardian"
(Minnie Driver) at Tv.com
(September 2007 - Questionaire -") Magazine"]
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Minnie Driver.
