HILARY SWANK
Name: Hilary Ann Swank
Born: 30 July 1974 Lincoln, Nebraska
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 protégé of the sensei Mr. Miyagi. She
has become known for her two Academy Award-winning performances: first as
Brandon Teena, a transgender man in the movie Boys Don't Cry, and a struggling
waitress-turned-boxer, Maggie Fitzgerald, in Million Dollar Baby.
Swank was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the daughter of Judy (née Clough), a
secretary and dancer, and Stephen Swank, who was an officer in the Air National
Guard and later a traveling salesman. She has a brother, Dan. Many of her
family members hail from Ringgold County, Iowa. Swank came from humble
beginnings, particularly as a child growing up in a trailer park near Lake
Samish in Bellingham, Washington, where she moved to when she was six.
Swank has also described her younger self as an "outsider" who felt that she
belonged "only when [reading] a book or [seeing] a movie, and could get involved
with a character", and was thus inspired to become an actress.
When Swank was nine years old, she made her first appearance on stage starring
in The Jungle Book. She then became heavily involved in her school and community
theater programs, including those of the Bellingham Theatre Guild. She went to
Sehome High School in Bellingham until she was sixteen. Swank also 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 thirteen, 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. Swank has described her mother as the inspiration for her acting
career and her life during this time period and subsequently. In California,
Swank enrolled in South Pasadena High School (although she later dropped out of
high school[8]) and started acting professionally. She also helped pay the rent
with the money she earned appearing in television programs such as Evening Shade
and Growing Pains.
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; her co-star of the film, Chloë Sevigny, had her
performance singled out for praise also, Swank and Sevigny were often ranked as
the best two leads of 1999 in film. The performance ultimately won her the
Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Actress. She subsequently won the Best Actress
Oscar and Golden Globe 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 meant that she had 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 (both times she won over fellow actress and
nominee Annette Bening). She is also the third-youngest double Best Actress
Oscar winner (after Luise Rainer and Jodie Foster.) 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." Swank had earned
only $75/day for her work on Boys Don't Cry, culminating in a total of $3,000.
Her earnings were so low, that (according to an anecdote on 60 Minutes)
she had not even earned enough to qualify for health insurance but she has
managed to draw attention of fight-movie goers and boxing fans with her award
winning role Million-Dollar Baby.
In early 2006, Swank signed a three-year contract as spokesperson for Guerlain (a
women's fragrance). In 2007, Swank starred in and executive produced
Freedom Writers, a drama about a real-life teacher who inspired a California
high school class. Many reviews of Swank's performance were positive, with one
critic noting that she "brings credibility" to the role and another stating
that her performance reaches a "singular lack of artifice, stripping herself
back to the bare essentials". Later the same year, Swank starred The Reaping,
a horror film released on April 5, 2007, in which she plays a debunker of
religious phenomena. Swank convinced the producers to move the film's setting
from New England to the Deep South, and the movie was being filmed in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, when Hurricane Katrina struck. Swank also appeared in the
romantic comedy PS, I Love You alongside Gerard Butler, an actor she has much
praise for. It was released at the end of 2007. She will have a cameo in
Iron Man, an upcoming film based on fictional Marvel Comics character due for
release in May 2008.
Swank received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, January 8, 2007.
Her's was the 2,325th star given.
Name: Hilary Ann Swank
Born: 30 July 1974 Lincoln, Nebraska
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 protégé of the sensei Mr. Miyagi. She
has become known for her two Academy Award-winning performances: first as
Brandon Teena, a transgender man in the movie Boys Don't Cry, and a struggling
waitress-turned-boxer, Maggie Fitzgerald, in Million Dollar Baby.
Swank was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the daughter of Judy (née Clough), a
secretary and dancer, and Stephen Swank, who was an officer in the Air National
Guard and later a traveling salesman. She has a brother, Dan. Many of her
family members hail from Ringgold County, Iowa. Swank came from humble
beginnings, particularly as a child growing up in a trailer park near Lake
Samish in Bellingham, Washington, where she moved to when she was six.
Swank has also described her younger self as an "outsider" who felt that she
belonged "only when [reading] a book or [seeing] a movie, and could get involved
with a character", and was thus inspired to become an actress.
When Swank was nine years old, she made her first appearance on stage starring
in The Jungle Book. She then became heavily involved in her school and community
theater programs, including those of the Bellingham Theatre Guild. She went to
Sehome High School in Bellingham until she was sixteen. Swank also 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 thirteen, 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. Swank has described her mother as the inspiration for her acting
career and her life during this time period and subsequently. In California,
Swank enrolled in South Pasadena High School (although she later dropped out of
high school[8]) and started acting professionally. She also helped pay the rent
with the money she earned appearing in television programs such as Evening Shade
and Growing Pains.
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; her co-star of the film, Chloë Sevigny, had her
performance singled out for praise also, Swank and Sevigny were often ranked as
the best two leads of 1999 in film. The performance ultimately won her the
Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Actress. She subsequently won the Best Actress
Oscar and Golden Globe 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 meant that she had 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 (both times she won over fellow actress and
nominee Annette Bening). She is also the third-youngest double Best Actress
Oscar winner (after Luise Rainer and Jodie Foster.) 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." Swank had earned
only $75/day for her work on Boys Don't Cry, culminating in a total of $3,000.
Her earnings were so low, that (according to an anecdote on 60 Minutes)
she had not even earned enough to qualify for health insurance but she has
managed to draw attention of fight-movie goers and boxing fans with her award
winning role Million-Dollar Baby.
In early 2006, Swank signed a three-year contract as spokesperson for Guerlain (a
women's fragrance). In 2007, Swank starred in and executive produced
Freedom Writers, a drama about a real-life teacher who inspired a California
high school class. Many reviews of Swank's performance were positive, with one
critic noting that she "brings credibility" to the role and another stating
that her performance reaches a "singular lack of artifice, stripping herself
back to the bare essentials". Later the same year, Swank starred The Reaping,
a horror film released on April 5, 2007, in which she plays a debunker of
religious phenomena. Swank convinced the producers to move the film's setting
from New England to the Deep South, and the movie was being filmed in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, when Hurricane Katrina struck. Swank also appeared in the
romantic comedy PS, I Love You alongside Gerard Butler, an actor she has much
praise for. It was released at the end of 2007. She will have a cameo in
Iron Man, an upcoming film based on fictional Marvel Comics character due for
release in May 2008.
Swank received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, January 8, 2007.
Her's was the 2,325th star given.