Hilary SwankHilary Swank is a two-time academy award winning actress who is both charming and athletic. A girl of humble origins, Swank began acting at an early age, but didn’t realize true stardom until a bitter-sweet turn of events resulted in her landing the award-winning role of Brandon Teena, a troubled transgender teenage, in 1999's Boys Don’t Cry. She followed this accomplishment with a second Academy Award for her star role in Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby, making Swank the third youngest female to score two best actress Oscars.
Hilary Ann Swank was born on July 30, 1974, in Lincoln, Nebraska. She possessed an innate desire to act at an early age and was discovered by Suzy Sachs, who coached her. Swank made her first stage appearance at nine years of age as Mowgli in a performance of The Jungle Book. This resulted in Swank’s active participation in school and community theater. In addition to acting, Swank was very athletic as a teenager and competed in swimming in both the Junior Olympics and the Washington State championships and was also an accomplished gymnast.
During high school, Swank’s parents separated and her mother moved Swank to Los Angeles to help support her acting goals. The two lived in their car until together they could save enough money to rent an apartment. Swank began landing small television roles in the early 1990s appearing on sitcoms such as Harry and the Hendersons and Growing Pains with Kirk Cameron.
Her first film appearance was in 1992 in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, starring Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, and Luke Perry. Not receiving any critical acclaim for the film, Swank didn’t lose hope. She reappeared on the big screen in 1994 in The Next Karate Kid, the fourth installment of the Karate Kid movies starring the legendary Pat Morita. Still not garnering much attention, Swank continued appearing in small television roles until she found constant work.
In 1997, she was cast in the teen drama series Beverly Hills 90210, where she played Carly Reynolds. Cast for what she thought was to be a two-year role, Swank’s character was written out of the show in her first season. While Swank took this turn of events hard, it turned out to be a pivotal moment in her career. Having lost her job on the 90210 set, Swank was available to audition for her Oscar-winning performance in Boy’s Don’t Cry.
The attention she received from this film catapulted Swank into stardom. Her performance was hailed as one of the best female performances in years by critics, though reportedly she personally didn’t earn more than $3000 for the performance. Regardless of her humble beginnings and earnings, Swank went on to earn a second Oscar nomination and win in 2004 with Million Dollar Baby. Swank most recently appeared in Brain De Palma’s The Black Dahlia in 2006. She is currently filming P.S. I Love You, a full-length drama which will also star Kathy Bates and is scheduled for release in theaters in 2008.
Swank married actor Chad Lowe, brother of Rob Lowe, in 1997, but they filed for divorce in 2006, even though Swank had publicly voiced interest in a reconciliation. There are currently unconfirmed rumors abounding about Swank’s current romantic involvement with John Campisi, head of Creative Artists Agency. Personally and professionally, it remains to be seen what will come of Swank next, but, if the Oscars go ahead in February 2008 we can all eagerly anticipate whether Swank can go three for three at the Oscars. Although a previous Oscar winning actress, Hilary's role as widowed, Holly Kennedy, in P.S. I Love You, with love interest Gerard Butler in 2008, is unlikely to see her accepting any little gold men in the 2009 Oscars. YUDDY |
