Minnie Driver (born Amelia Driver on January 31, 1970) is an English actress and singer-songwriter, born in London. She first came to broad public attention when she played the lead role in Circle of Friends. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting.
In 2003 and 2004, she had a noted comic recurring role on Will & Grace as Lorraine Finster, Karen's (Megan Mullally) nemesis and daughter of Karen's lover, played by veteran British comic and Monty Python alumnus John Cleese.
Driver has also worked on several animated features, including Disney's 1999 version of Tarzan and the dubbed English version of the 1999 Japanese megahit Princess Mononoke.
Driver was born to parents of English, Irish, Scottish, Italian and French descent. Prior to her success as an actress, 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; in 2004 she signed recording contracts with EMI and Rounder Records and performed at SXSW. The contract led to the release of "Everything I've Got in My Pocket", which reached No. 34 in the UK, and a second single, "Invisible Girl" peaking at No.68. An album, Everything I've Got in My Pocket, also reached No. 44 in the UK album chart, backed by a group that includes members of the Wallflowers and Pete Yorn's band. Driver wrote ten of the eleven songs on the album and also covered "Hungry Heart" from Bruce Springsteen's The River. In 2004 Minnie 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. Due to 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).
She has been linked romantically with several of her film costars, including John Cusack, Josh Brolin, and Matt Damon. Damon was widely reported to have announced their breakup 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 step-mother, Barbra Streisand was difficult. She was also linked to tennis player Robby Ginepri.
Driver is a fan of Chelsea FC.
