Minnie Driver attends the Vanity Fair Oscar Party after the 1998 ceremony.Photo:John Chapple/Hulton Archive/Getty

West Hollywood, California. Minnie Driver arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Mortons on March 23, 1998

John Chapple/Hulton Archive/Getty

Minnie Driver’s mom, Gaynor Churchward, had some words of advice for her daughter at her firstOscarsin 1998.

While discussing the ceremony, the actress then spotted her late mom, who died in March 2021, in the background of the photo.

“Oh my gosh, that’s my mom in the background. You know what’s crazy? It’s the anniversary of her passing, and I’m so happy to see that she’s here on the show with me,” she said while getting teary-eyed.

She continued to tell Hudson of posing on the red carpet, “That moment, honestly I was heartbroken and I was scared. I’d lost too much weight before I went to the Oscars. The dress fell off, and in that moment I had this wrap, and I just pulled the wrap around me and kind of carried on smiling.”

Minnie Driver poses at the 1998 Oscars with her late mom Gaynor Churchward in the background.KMazur/WireImage

Minnie Driver and her mother (right) at the 1998 Academy Awards

KMazur/WireImage

“My mom knew what would happen, and she was smiling too, but she was literally going ‘Don’t drop your shawl, don’t drop it!'” Driver added while revealing her mom’s advice.

Driver described to Hudson what anemotional time for herit had been when sheattended the 1998 Oscars, as she had recently split from ex-boyfriendMatt Damon, 53. Damon was also her costar inGood Will Hunting, the movie she was nominated for.

Minnie Driver attends the 1998 Vanity Fair Oscar party.John Chapple/Hulton Archive/Getty

West Hollywood, California. Minnie Driver arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Mortons on March 23, 1998

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

That year, theSpeechlessstar had been nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role as Skylar inGood Will Hunting.

She recalled of attending the star-studded ceremony for the first time, “Crikey, I was so terrified. It reminds me of the movieGladiatorwhen he walks into the Colosseum… the noise, the sound, the light, the everything. The most exciting, most amazing moment, but super super overwhelming.”

source: people.com