Biography - Hilary Swank

Talented Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank is one of the few performers in Hollywood history to find universal critical acclaim without ever achieving significant box office success. But when you’re one of the most respected actresses on the planet, starring in blockbusters is the last thing on your mind, and thankfully for audiences Swank is famous for tackling challenging, offbeat roles.

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska on July 30, 1974, Swank was raised in Bellingham, Washington where she excelled as a gymnast, swimmer, and actress in school and community theatrical productions. Swank’s parents divorced when she was 15, and her mother moved them to L.A. where Swank attended South Pasadena High School. For a brief period the two were so poor that they lived out of a car, and eventually Swank helped pay rent with TV guest appearances on “Harry and the Hendersons” and “Growing Pains” before completing high school. After a small role in the 1992 teen comedy “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, Swank nabbed the lead role in 1994’s “The Next Karate Kid”, beating out thousands of young actresses. Swank then spent a few years performing in unsuccessful films like the B-horror sequel “Sometimes they Come Back…Again” and the TV movie “The Sleepwalker Killing”. She hoped that a two-year stint on “Beverly Hills 90210” would boost her career, but her character was quickly written out. However, this allowed her to audition for “Boys Don’t Cry” as the transgendered Teena Brandon.

The gut-wrenching and emotional film, which co-starred Chloe Sevigny and Peter Sarsgaard, earned Swank unanimous praise from critics upon its release in 1999. Swank succeeded in finding the troubled character’s mix of charisma and dejection without giving an overly mannered performance, leading her to an unsurprising Best Actress Academy Award. After being suddenly thrust onto the A-list, Swank experimented in a variety of genres, taking supporting roles in the Cate Blanchett vehicle “The Gift” and Christopher Nolan’s “Insomnia” alongside Robin Williams and Al Pacino. The unpredictable actress then took leading roles in the costume drama “The Affair of the Necklace” and the disaster film “The Core”. None of these films were particularly successful, but Swank’s low-key public persona and her reliably solid acting made it difficult to call the period a post-Oscar drought. She was soon back on top, however, with her rich performance in Clint Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby”, which won her a second Best Actress Oscar in addition to the film’s wins for Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actor for Morgan Freeman. This second win put her in the company of Sally Field, Vivien Leigh, Luise Rainer, and Helen Hayes as one of the only actresses in history with a perfect track record at the Oscars.

Swank’s appearances are consistently a delight to experience, and 2006 will see her in two vastly different roles, as a former Christian missionary in “The Reaping” and a 1940s femme fatale in Brian De Palma’s long-awaited film version of the James Ellroy novel “The Black Dahlia”.