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| birthdate =

| location =Lincoln, Nebraska

| height =

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| birthname = Hilary Ann Swank

| othername =

| homepage =

| notable role = Brandon Teena, in Boys Don't CryMaggie Fitzgerald, in Million Dollar Baby

| academyawards = Academy Award for Best Actress (1999) for Boys Don't CryAcademy Award for Best Actress (2004) for Million Dollar Baby

| spouse = Chad Lowe (1997-2006)

}}

Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress. Her Hollywood film career began with a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid (1994), where she played Julie Pierce, the first female prot? of the sensei Mr. Miyagi. She has become known for her two Oscar-winning performances: a troubled transsexual man, Brandon Teena, in the movie Boys Don't Cry, and a struggling waitress-turned-boxer, Maggie Fitzgerald, in Million Dollar Baby.

Biography

Early life

Swank was born in Bellingham, Washingtion to Stephen Swank, an officer in the Air National Guard and later a traveling salesman, and Judy Clough. She has a brother, Dan, who owns a marketing company in Edmonds, Washington. Swank makes no secret of her humble beginnings, particularly as a child growing up near Lake Samish in Bellingham, Washington. After winning her second Best Actress Oscar, she said:

"I don't know what I did in this life to deserve this. I'm just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream".

When she was nine years old, Swank made her first appearance on stage starring as Mowgli in The Jungle Book, and thereafter became heavily involved in her school and community theater programs. She went to Sehome High School Biography spreads across 9 web pages. High School information is on page 2. in Bellingham, where she lived with her family, until she was 16. She competed in the Junior Olympics and the Washington State championships in swimming; she ranked 5th in the state in all-around gymnastics (which would come in handy when starring in The Next Karate Kid (1994) years later). Swank's parents separated when she was 15, and her mother, supportive of her daughter's desire to act, moved the two of them to Los Angeles, California, where they lived out of their car until Swank's mother saved enough money to rent an apartment. She enrolled in South Pasadena High School, and started acting professionally. Swank also helped pay the rent with the money she earned appearing in television programs such as Evening Shade and Growing Pains.

Career

In September 1997, Swank was cast as single mother Carly Reynolds on Beverly Hills, 90210. She was initially promised it would be a two-year role, but saw her character written out after 16 episodes in January 1998. Swank later said that she was devastated at being cut from the show, thinking, "If I'm not good enough for 90210, I'm not good enough for anything." As it turned out, the firing was the best thing to happen to Swank, as it freed her to audition for the role of Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry. Swank dropped her body fat down to seven percent in preparation for the role. Many critics hailed hers as the best female performance of 1999. The performance ultimately won her the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Actress. She subsequently won the Best Actress Oscar again for playing a boxer in 2004's Million Dollar Baby, a role for which she underwent training and gained 19 pounds of muscle. Swank's Oscar success means that she has joined the ranks of Vivien Leigh, Helen Hayes, Sally Field, and Luise Rainer as the only actresses to have been nominated twice and win both times. She is also the third youngest double Best Actress Oscar winner. Even after winning her first Oscar, she was reminded of her humble roots. She had earned only $75/day for her work on Boys Don't Cry, a total of $3000.http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Exclusive/0,4029,523215,00.htmlhttp://www.sundaytribune.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=260&fArticleId=2433709 Her earnings were so low, that (according to an anecdote on 60 Minutes) she had not even earned enough to qualify for health insurance.

On February 28, 2006, it was announced Swank had signed a three-year contract "to be both the muse and the spokesperson for a new women's fragrance by Guerlain to be launched later this year".http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=entertainment&id=3947341 Swank's next film will be Freedom Writers, a drama scheduled for a January 5, 2007 release date. In October 2006, she started filming PS, I Love You in Ireland.

Personal life

Swank married actor Chad Lowe on September 28, 1997. They met at a 1992 Hollywood Athletic Club party and are both members at the AGAPE Spiritual Center in Culver City, California, along with fellow stars Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan. Swank infamously forgot to thank Lowe during her acceptance speech after winning her first Oscar in 2000, and she spent nearly every public appearance afterward making up for it. Upon winning her second Oscar in 2005, Lowe was the first person she thanked. However, in January 2006, the couple separated. In subsequent interviews, Swank expressed hope that they could reconcile, but they announced in May 2006 that they were divorcing.http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10895932/http://people.aol.com/people/articles/0,19736,1196966,00.html In December 2006, Swank confirmed that she is dating John Campisi, her agent.

On January 15, 2005, after arriving at a New Zealand airport she was fined NZ$230 by the Manukau District Court for not declaring an apple and orange she had in her purse when she landed. Swank appealed the fine, but it was upheld on March 30, 2005.

Swank developed potential health problems, including elevated mercury levels in her body, because of certain preparations for her roles, including weight gain and loss for Boys Don't Cry and The Black Dahlia. She has stated that she would "do what [she] need[s] to make [the role] believable and to make it work" and that her "battle scars are a reminder that you're alive and human and that you bleed".

Filmography

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |

| 2008 | P. S., I Love You | Holly | Filming |

| rowspan="2"| 2007 | Freedom Writers | Erin Gruwell |

| The Reaping | Katherine Winters | Post-production |

| 2006 | The Black Dahlia | Madeline Linscott |

| rowspan="3"| 2004 | Million Dollar Baby | Maggie Fitzgerald | Won Academy Award for Best Actress |

| Red Dust | Sarah Barcant |

| Iron Jawed Angels | Alice Paul | TV |

| rowspan="2"| 2003 | 11:14 | Buzzy | Also executive producer |

| The Core | Major Rebecca Childs |

| rowspan="2"| 2002 | The Space Between | Short subject |

| Insomnia | Detective Ellie Burr |

| 2001 | The Gift | Verlerie Barksdale |

| rowspan="2"| 2000 | The Affair of the Necklace | Jeanne St. Remy de Velois |

| The Audition | Short subject |

| 1999 | Boys Don't Cry | Brandon Teena | Won Academy Award for Best Actress |

| 1998 | Heartwood | Sylvia Orsini |

| 1997-98 | Beverly Hills 90210 | Carly Reynolds | TV series |

| rowspan="4"| 1997 | Quiet Days in Hollywood | Lolita |

| The Sleepwalker Killing | Lauren Schall | TV |

| Leaving L.A. | Tiffany Roebuck | TV series |

| Dying to Belong | Lisa Conners | TV |

| rowspan="3"| 1996 | Sometimes They Come Back... Again | Michelle Porter |

| Terror in the Family | Deena Martin | TV |

| Kounterfeit | Colleen |

| rowspan="2"| 1994 | The Next Karate Kid | Julie Pierce |

| Cries Unheard: The Donna Yaklich Story | Patty | TV |

| rowspan="2"| 1992 | Camp Wilder | Danielle | TV series |

| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Kimberly Hannah |

| rowspan="2"| 1990 | Evening Shade | Aimee #1 | TV series (1991-1992) |

| ABC TGIF | Danielle | TV series |

|

Awards

*Academy Awards

:* Winner: 2005 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Million Dollar Baby

:* Winner: 1999 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Boys Don't Cry

*Screen Actors Guild Awards

:* Winner: 2005 - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Million Dollar Baby

:* Nominee: 2005 - Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - Million Dollar Baby

:* Nominee: 2005 - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries - Iron Jawed Angels

:* Nominee: 2000 - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Boys Don't Cry

*Golden Globe Awards

:* Winner: 2005 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture: Drama - Million Dollar Baby

:* Nominee: 2005 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Made for TV Movie - Iron Jawed Angels

:* Winner: 2005 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture: Drama - Boys Don't Cry

*Independent Spirit Awards

:* Winner: 2000 - Best Female Lead - Boys Don't Cry

*MTV Movie Awards

:* 2005: Nominee: MTV Movie Award - Best Female Performance - Million Dollar Baby

:* 2000: Nominee: MTV Movie Award - Best Kiss - Boys Don't Cry

:* 2000: Nominee: MTV Movie Award - Best Female Performance - Boys Don't Cry

*BAFTA Awards

:* Nominee: 2001 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Boys Don't Cry

Footnotes

*

*Hilary Swank: Oscar Gold, a March 2005 article accompanying a 60 Minutes story

*AHA! Moment: Hilary Swank, a September 2001 story in O, The Oprah Magazine about her dreams

*Hilary Swank Interview

Swank, Hilary

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