Early life

Swank was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. Her mother, Judy Kay (née Clough), was a secretary and dancer, and her father, Stephen Michael Swank, was a Chief Master Sergeant in the Oregon Air National Guard and later a traveling salesman. She has a brother Daniel, who is eight years her senior. Many of Swank's family members are from Ringgold County, Iowa. Her maternal grandmother, Francisca Marta Dominguez, was born in Spain, while Hilary's paternal grandmother was born in England; Hilary's roots also include German, other English, Swiss-German, Scottish, Scots-Irish, Welsh, and Dutch ancestry. The surname "Swank", originally "Schwenk", is of German origin.

After living in Spokane, Washington, Swank's family moved to a trailer park near Lake Samish in Bellingham, Washington, when Swank was six.

She attended Happy Valley Elementary, Fairhaven Middle, then Sehome High School in Bellingham until she was 16. She also competed in the Junior Olympics and the Washington state championships in swimming, and she ranked fifth in the state in all-around gymnastics. Swank made her first appearance on stage when she was nine years old, starring in The Jungle Book. When she was 15, her parents separated, and her mother, supportive of her daughter's desire to act, moved with her to Los Angeles, where they lived out of their car until Swank's mother saved enough money to rent an apartment. Swank has called her mother the inspiration for her acting career and her life. In California, Swank enrolled in South Pasadena High School, dropping out later because of her ADHD and lack of interest. She described her time at South Pasadena High School: “I felt like such an outsider. I didn't feel like I fit in. I didn't belong in any way. I didn't even feel like the teachers wanted me there. I just felt like I wasn't seen or understood.” She explained her becoming an actor out of feeling as an outsider: “As a kid I felt that I belonged only when I read a book or saw a movie, and could get involved with a character. It was natural that I became an actor because I longed so much to be those other people, or at least to play them”.

Career

1991-1998

Swank made her film debut, Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a small role, after which she acted in the direct-to-video drama Quiet Days in Hollywood, where she co-starred with Chad Lowe, who would become her husband for a time. Her first leading film role was in the fourth installment of the Karate Kid series, The Next Karate Kid (1994), which utilized her gymnastics background and paired her with Pat Morita. In 1995, she appeared with British actor Bruce Payne in Kounterfeit. In 1994, she also starred in the drama Cries Unheard: The Donna Yaklich Story as the abused step-daughter who was protected by Donna (Jaclyn Smith). In September 1997, Swank played single mother Carly Reynolds in Beverly Hills, 90210 and was initially promised it would be a two-year role, but saw her character written out after 16 episodes in January 1998. Swank later stated 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."

1999-2006

The firing freed her to audition for the role of Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry. To prepare for the role, Swank lived as a man for a month and reduced her body fat to seven percent. Many critics hailed her as the best female performance of 1999 and her work ultimately won her the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Actress. Swank had earned only $75 per day for her work on the film, culminating in a total of $3,000. Her earnings were so low that she had not even earned enough to qualify for health insurance.

Swank again won the Best Actress Oscar and another Golden Globe, for playing a female boxer in Clint Eastwood's 2004 film Million Dollar Baby, a role for which she underwent extensive training in the ring and weight room gaining 19 pounds of muscle, aided by professional trainer Grant L Roberts. With her second Oscar, she had joined the ranks of Vivien Leigh and Luise Rainer as the only actresses to have been nominated for Academy Awards twice and won both times. After winning her second 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."

In 2006, Swank signed a three-year contract with Guerlain for the women's fragrance Insolence. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 8, 2007 and was the 2,325th star presented.

2007-present

In 2007, Swank starred in Freedom Writers, about how a real-life teacher, Erin Gruwell, inspired a California high school class. Many reviews of her 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". Swank next starred in the horror film The Reaping, as a debunker of religious phenomena. It was released on April 5, 2007. Swank convinced the producers to move the film's setting from New England to the Deep South, and the film was being filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina struck. The same year, she also appeared in the romantic drama P.S. I Love You with Gerard Butler. Swank portrayed the pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart in the 2009 biopic Amelia that she also co-executive produced.

In 2012, Swank's audiobook recording of Caroline Knapp's Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs was released at Audible.com. In 2013, she has starred in the television film Mary and Martha along with Brenda Blethyn. In 2014 Swank played the lead role in You're Not You, where she starred as Kate, a woman whose life is shattered when she develops the degenerative disease ALS. She starred alongside Emmy Rossum and Josh Duhamel.

Swank is attached to star in the Hollywood remake of Intimate Strangers. It was incorrectly reported that she would play a lead role in, and produce a film adaptation of the John Marks novel Fangland.

Personal life

While filming Quiet Days in Hollywood, Swank met and married Chad Lowe on September 28, 1997. They divorced on November 1, 2007. In 2006, Swank began dating her agent, John Campisi. They ended their relationship in the summer of 2012.

On March 22, 2016, Swank announced her engagement to her boyfriend Ruben Torres, a financial advisor with UBS and former professional tennis player. The two have been dating since 2015.

Human rights controversy

In October 2011, Swank attracted controversy for attending an event in Chechnya's capital Grozny on the 35th birthday of Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov on October 5. After wishing him "Happy birthday, Mr. President", she reportedly claimed knowledge about Kadyrov saying: "I read. I do my research". Following criticism from human rights groups, who report having informed her about the human rights abuses in Chechnya prior to the event, asking her to reconsider her participation, Swank said she was unaware that Kadyrov had been accused of human rights violations and that she "deeply regrets" taking part in the lavish concert, and will donate her personal appearance fees "to various charitable organizations."

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Kimberly Hannah
1994	The Next Karate Kid	Julie Pierce
1996	Sometimes They Come Back... Again	Michelle Porter
	Kounterfeit	Coleen
1997	Quiet Days in Hollywood	Lolita
1998	Heartwood	Sylvia Orsini
1999	Boys Don't Cry	Brandon Teena
2000	The Gift	Valerie Barksdale
	The Audition	N/A	Short
2001	The Affair of the Necklace	Jeanne St. Rémy de Valois
2002	Insomnia	Detective Ellie Burr
	The Space Between	N/A	Short
2003	11:14	Buzzy
	The Core	Major Rebecca Childs
2004	Red Dust	Sarah Barcant
	Million Dollar Baby	Maggie Fitzgerald
	Iron Jawed Angels	Alice Paul
2006	Black Dahlia	Madeleine Linscott
2007	The Reaping	Katherine Winter
	Freedom Writers	Erin Gruwell
	P. S. I Love You	Holly Kennedy
2008	Birds of America	Laura
2009	Amelia	Amelia Earhart
2010	Conviction	Betty Anne Waters
2011	The Resident	Dr. Juliet Devereau
	New Year's Eve	Claire Morgan	Segment: Times Square
2014	The Homesman	Mary Bee Cuddy
	You're Not You	Kate	Also producer
2016	Spark	The Queen (voice)	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Evening Shade	Aimee Thompson	2 episodes
1991-92	Growing Pains	Sasha Serotsky	2 episodes
1992-93	Camp Wilder	Danielle	Main role (19 episodes)
1994	Cries Unheard: The Donna Yaklich Story	Patty Yaklich	Television film
1996	Terror in the Family	Deena Martin	Television film
1997	Dying to Belong	Lisa Connors	Television film
	The Sleepwalker Killing	Lauren Schall	Television film
	Leaving L.A.	Tiffany Roebuck	Main role, 6 episodes
1997-98	Beverly Hills, 90210	Carly Reynolds	Main role (season 8), 16 episodes
2004	Iron Jawed Angels	Alice Paul	Television film
2013	Mary and Martha	Mary	Television film
2016	The One Percent	Laura Murphy	Filming

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated Work	Award	Result
1993	Camp Wilder	Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a New Television Series	Nominated
1999	Boys Don't Cry	Academy Award for Best Actress	Won
		Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress	Won
		Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress	Won
		Chicago International Film Festival - Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress	Won
		Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress	Won
		Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress	Won
		Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress	Won
		Gijón International Film Festival Award for Best Actress	Won
		Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama	Won
		Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead	Won
		Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress	Won
		National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance	Won
		New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress	Won
		Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture	Won
		Stockholm Film Festival Award for Best Actress	Won
		ShoWest Female Star of Tomorrow	Won
		Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress	Won
		Village Voice Film Poll - Best Lead Performance	Won
		National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress	2nd Place
		BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role	Nominated
		Empire Award for Best Actress	Nominated
		London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actress of the Year	Nominated
		MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance	Nominated
		MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss	Nominated
		Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress	Nominated
		Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role	Nominated
		Teen Choice Award for Breakthrough Performance	Nominated
2000	The Gift	Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress	Nominated
2002	Insomnia	Empire Award for Best Actress	Nominated
2004	Iron Jawed Angels	TV Land Award for Little Screen/Big Star	Won
		Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film	Nominated
		Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie	Nominated
	Million Dollar Baby	Academy Award for Best Actress	Won
		Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress	Won
		Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress	Won
		Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress	Won
		Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress	Won
		Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama	Won
		National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress	Won
		Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama	Won
		Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role	Won
		St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress	Won
		Empire Award for Best Actress	Nominated
		MTV Movie Award for Best Performance	Nominated
		Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress	Nominated
		Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nominated
		Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress	Nominated
		Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress	Nominated
2007	Freedom Writers	Goldene Kamera Award for Best International Actress]]	Won
	P.S. I Love You	Goldene Kamera Camera Award for Best International Actress	Won
		Irish Film & Television Award for Best International Actress	Won
2009	Amelia	Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Actress	Won
		Women's Image Network Award for Outstanding Actress- Feature Film	Nominated
2010	Conviction	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role	Nominated
	N/A	Gotham Award- Tribute Award	Won
2011	N/A	Giffoni Film Festival-François Truffaut Award	Won
2014	The Homesman	Women Film Critics Circle Award for Best Ensemble	Won
		Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress	2nd Place
		San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress	Nominated
		Women Film Critics Circle Award for Courage In Acting	Nominated
		Women Film Critics Circle Award for Invisible Woman Award	Nominated

Charities

Hilary Swank supports the following charitable causes: Women's Issues, Cancer, ALS (amyrotrophic lateral sclerosis).

[ Source: Wikipedia ]