Minnie Driver is in a moment of full-flight momentum, entering a vivid, self-assured era both on screen and in her own life. With an unforgettable appearance in Season 5 of Emily in Paris (out now) and a suspenseful new British Netflix series, The Run Away, premiering January 1, the beloved actress is stepping into two wildly different worlds just weeks apart. The timing feels serendipitous: She looks better than ever, and it’s clear from chatting with her that her confidence is at a much-deserved high.
Talking about filming Emily in Paris, she lights up at the memory of first arriving on set. “I remember when I got off the plane in Rome, and it was already quite late when I got to the hotel. When I walked in, they said, ‘We’ve got the fitting set up in one of the conference rooms.’ I went to this room, and it was like you were on the Orient Express. There were all of these clothes, and all of these bags, and all this jewelry and all of these shoes. I took one look and thought, ‘I know I had that dream when I was a little girl.’”
The costume fittings themselves became a defining part of her process. “It was the culmination of this dream and also the kindest, most beautiful, generous costume designer—not a scary, terrifying French person. The minute we started trying clothes on, which all came from the Fendi archive, Giambattista Valli, Dolce& Gabbana, it was just epic and beautiful. I saw the character emerge. Sometimes, actors do it from the inside-out, and I do it that way sometimes. Princess Jane was definitely from the outside-in.”
But the character’s beauty goes far beyond couture. “She’s this woman…she’s my age, she is beautiful in a way that is not just because of the clothes, but the way in which she feels about herself,” she says. “As women, we’re not expected to be silent anymore. There’s an ebullience and a confidence. It’s not that you’re trying to maintain or even get sexual attention. It’s about this power of being in yourself, and she’s very in her body, which I loved. I found that very beautiful.”
Driver admits she feels that same sense of groundedness herself, though it took time. “I’m so over being asked about aging as a 55-year-old actor,” she says, pivoting with the candor she’s become known for. “I snapped the other day when this male journalist asked: ‘What do you think about aging?’ I was like, ‘Well, what’s the alternative?’ All of this beats the alternative! There are good days and bad days, obviously.”
That hard-earned acceptance has shifted how she sees everything. “You don’t know how good you’ve got it when you’re younger,” she continues. “Back then, I was traveling and working all the time, and not really living outside of my job and feeding anything besides my career. Now, my life is so lovely with my partner and my son. I feel really confident. I feel confident to talk about anything and anybody because there’s nothing off-limits. I feel I can be a lot more considerate now, or less knee-jerk in my responses to things. I think that’s what confidence is.”
Driver’s confidence carries over into how she approaches beauty: openly, playfully and without reverence. Her humor about the beauty world is part of her charm, and many fans noticed her now-viral Instagram moment last year when she asked: “Guys, are we all getting new faces for Christmas? ‘Cause where are you getting them from? Do you think they’re going to run out? And does anyone got a discount code?”
She’s quick to clarify it wasn’t asked with judgment. “Honestly, I’m so into it,” she laughs when talking about her aesthetic-surgery inquiry. “Maybe it’s the Aquarius in me that just wants everybody to do whatever it is that makes them happy. You want to get a new face, be 70 and look like you’re 35? Cool. Do it! If that makes you feel good, do it. I want women to feel good. It’s the whole ‘shame factor’ around any of it that I think is so toxic. That’s what I want to eliminate. You do you. Let’s just let women be! I will always support that. If you don’t want to wear makeup like Pamela Anderson, or if you’re Kris Jenner and you want a new face, just do what you like and do whatever you want to do. I just want women not to be judged by each other, or by men. I think a lot would be solved by just letting women be.”
When asked whether she thinks the pressure has gotten better or worse regarding beauty standards, she’s thoughtful in her response. “It depends. Usually, I resist the pressure of others. The times that I feel like someone’s putting pressure on me, I want to push back really hard because women have been under enough pressure—with literal oppression—for thousands of years. We only have our father’s name, and then we take our husband’s name. This notion of who we are as women…I think we have to set the terms of engagement. It’s tricky because sometimes women can be much harsher pushers than men.”
She credits her partner with a piece of advice that stuck: “My boyfriend likes to say: ‘To yourself first.’ It’s like putting on your oxygen mask first—then you can actually be of service to other people.” Though she admits it’s not always easy. “I don’t always manage to do that. I do feel pressure, and then I get annoyed with feeling the pressure. But I do really try to resist it and speak about that.”
The rise of social media has made this kind of self-honesty more essential than ever, she says. “Social media is introducing us all to so much ‘stuff’ in our everyday lives. We have these minutiae of life, and then we have this intrusion of social media, where everything looks perfect for everybody else. What that creates inside of you can be super toxic. I can do much more sitting here talking with you, or talking with my friends in person, than I can scrolling through my phone.”
As far as the almighty formula that “makes her feel her best,” Driver’s answer is both practical and joyful. “For me, personally, there is dopamine release when you move your body around. Whatever that looks like for you. I surf, I dance, I run, I’ll go to the gym. I’ll do a weird class with a friend. I’ll do anything, but I’ve got to move every day to feel good. I also feel like when I’m healthy and my body is strong, that’s when I feel I can be my best for everybody else.”
But the heart of her life right now is her son, whom she visibly brightens when talking about. “Being with my son is my favorite thing to do. I have never had anything but a smile on my face when I’ve been with that boy. He’s the funniest, loveliest person, and he has never given me a moment’s trouble.” She laughs when asked if he’s a teenager yet. “Oh, yes. He is 17!” And then, follows with a deep warmth: “Maybe it’s just because it was him and me for such a long time. Even from when he was a tiny baby, I always felt like we just had enormous respect for each other. We both knew that we were each other’s person and that we had to be kind and respectful.”
The year ahead holds very different types of work for Driver, and she’s relishing the variety. She’s especially excited for fans to see The Run Away. “It’s so different,” she says. “I’ve never done anything like this. This super suspenseful thriller is one of those shows you just want to binge-watch. It comes out on New Year’s Day, when everyone’s super hungover, so you can just sit there. It’s got all these twists, and a sensational one at the end. Harlan Coben does it brilliantly. I love that the two jobs I did this year for Netflix were so different. I can exist on that network in such different roles, which is really cool.”
Call it confidence, clarity or simply a woman who’s done being told how to show up in the world—Driver is charting her own path, redefining what 55 looks like in real time—and quietly raising the bar for the rest of us.
