Minnie Driver reveals her son Henry 'begged' her to relocate from LA back to London after she stopped making movies to give him a 'normal life'

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Minnie Driver has revealed her 16-year-old son Henry 'begged her' to relocate to the UK for a 'normal life' after growing up in Los Angeles.

The actress, 55, who granted her child's wish and moved back to the UK, has told how she found it 'difficult' to return after more than two decades in California.

Due to moving around a lot throughout her life, Minnie revealed she thought she was used to 'upping sticks' but found the first two years a challenge following the move. 

Minnie was born in London but spent a lot of her childhood living in Barbados, before moving to LA to pursue acting and officially becoming a U.S. citizen in 2017.

The Run Away star stepped away from making movies after her son Henry was born in 2008 so he could 'play football and have people over for tea'.

However,  she ended up moving back to London after the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 'changed everything' and made school difficult for her son. 

Minnie Driver has revealed her 16-year-old son Henry 'begged her' to relocate to the UK for a 'normal life' after growing up in Los Angeles

The Run Away star stepped away from making movies after her son Henry was born in 2008 so he could 'play football and have people over for tea'

She explained The Sunday Times: '[Henry] couldn't do Zoom school. His school stayed closed for 18 months, and when it did reopen you only had to go in once or twice a week. He begged me to let him go to school with his cousins in London, so we moved back.'

The pair moved to the UK five years ago and Henry now attends the same boarding school which his mother attended as a child.

She added: 'But I think my childhood made me uniquely able to cope with going: 'Right, so we're upping sticks and going to do this new thing.' It was really difficult for a couple of years after moving back but now I love it.'

Minnie is now returning to the small screen with a role in the new series of Emily In Paris, alongside the likes of lead actress Lily Collins.

Elsewhere she spoke about the rise of Ozempic in Hollywood and stars having work done to achieve a youthful look.

When asked about her own choices, she said: 'Would I have tweakments? Is that even a word? Look, do I get regular facials, do I get them with [the London facialist] Keren Bartov, do I get machines doing lasers on my face? 

'You bet I do. I do as much as I can afford. I'm not sure I could do elective surgery. However, I reserve the right to change my mind.'

Last week, Minnie looked ageless as she attended the 35th Annual Gotham Film Awards in New York City on Monday evening.

Last week, Minnie looked ageless as she attended the 35th Annual Gotham Film Awards in New York City on Monday evening 

Fans were shocked by how young she appeared 

Fans were shocked by how young she appeared as they took to X to say, 'She looks the same age as when she romanced Matt Damon,' while another added, 'I need the number to her facialist.'

She co-starred with Damon in Good Will Hunting 28 years ago. 

Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr Kahn told Daily Mail what he believes she has done to her face.

'She really does look great for a woman in her fifties, and I really chalk it up to healthy living and good nutrition and sleep,' Dr Kahn told Daily Mail.

'But because she has no wrinkled on her forehead I would guess she has had Botox in that area, but it's hard to tell as she is not moving her face much in these photos,' he added.

'Another thing that is very popular in Hollywood right now is using peptides, which Driver may be doing. 

'Peptides are a skincare ingredient that can boost collagen and elastin production to help smooth fine lines and increase firmness.'

Peptides are short chains of amino acids that act as signalling molecules to tell the skin to produce more proteins essential for its structure and strength.

This comes after she shared the dating advice she'd give her younger self.

She still looks the same now, left, as she did in 1998, right

'Don't date actors, but I had the best time doing it.' Minnie said bluntly. 'I wish she knew all the stuff I know now.

'I would tell her, "Honey find a nice plumber, find an electrician, find someone who jut wants to stay home and support you,"' she said.

Minnie went on to explain that while looking back she is grateful for the experiences with the men she has worked with on set as an actress.

'I have only love, like it was the most extraordinary moment in my life,' she said to the outlet, 'nothing but love for all those men.'

Back in March, the movie star shared similar advice she would have given herself about her 1998 split from Matt Damon while on The Jennifer Hudson Show.

She said: 'I wish I could have told her, "Honey it’s cool, you can celebrate and life’s gonna be great and beautiful and hard and amazing, you’re going to love again, it’ll be fine.'

They started a relationship after starring as love interests in Good Will Hunting, but went their separate ways following their year-long whirlwind romance in 1998.

The pair risked an awards season run-in in 2024 as they both attended the Vanity Fair Oscar party in LA.

They started a relationship after starring as love interests in the film Good Will Hunting, but went their separate ways following their year-long romance in 1998 

Here Driver and Damon are seen as lovebirds in Good Will Hunting which came out in 1997 

The mom-of-one has been dating Addison O'Dea since 2019; seen in 2024

By the time the Oscars rolled around, Matt had already moved on with a new girlfriend who attended the ceremony with him.

'Matt had ended our relationship a few weeks before this, and was at the Oscars with his new girlfriend... I was devastated. Wish I could have celebrated more as it was an amazing moment for all of us, and for this wonderful film!' Driver commented.

The mum-of-one has been dating Addison O'Dea since 2019. She shares son Henry with television writer and producer ex Timothy J. Lea, 64.

As for Matt, 54, he has been married to Luciana Bozán since 2005 and the pair share three daughters.

The world learned Minnie and Matt had called it quits after the actor revealed their split on The Oprah Winfrey Show, saying: 'Well, I’m single. 

'I was with Minnie for a while, but we’re not really romantically involved anymore, we’re just really good friends. I love her dearly.'

'I care about her a lot. We care about each other a lot. It wasn’t meant to be and if it wasn’t meant to be then it’s not meant to be.'