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.