Hilary Swank
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| Hilary Swank | |
| Birth name | Hilary Ann Swank |
| Born | July 30, 1974 (age 32) Lincoln, Nebraska,  United States |
| Spouse(s) | Chad Lowe (1997-2006) |
| Notable roles | Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry Ellie Burr in Insomnia Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby |
| Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
| Best Actress 1999 Boys Don't Cry 2004 Million Dollar Baby |
|
| Golden Globe Awards | |
| Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama 2000 Boys Don't Cry 2005 Million Dollar Baby |
|
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 Oscar-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.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Swank was born in Lincoln, Nebraska[1] to Stephen Swank, an officer in the Air National Guard and later a traveling salesman, and Judy Clough. She has a brother, Dan. Many of her family members hail from Ringgold County, Iowa.[2] Swank came from humble beginnings, particularly as a child growing up in a trailer park near Lake Samish in Bellingham, Washington,[3] where she moved when she was six.[1] 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.[4]
When she was nine years old, Swank made her first appearance on stage starring in The Jungle Book, and thereafter became heavily involved in her school and community theater programs, including those of the Bellingham Theatre Guild. She went to Sehome High School[5] 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[1] (which would come in handy when starring in The Next Karate Kid (1994) years later). Swank's parents separated when she was thirteen,[1] 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.[3] Swank has described her mother as the inspiration for her acting career and her life during this time period and subsequently.[6] In California, Swank enrolled in South Pasadena High School (although she later dropped out of high school[7]) 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.
[edit] 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.[8] Many critics hailed hers as the best female performance of 1999; her co-star of the film, Chloe Sevigny, had her performance singled out for praise also, Swank and Sevigny where 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 again for playing a boxer in 2004's Million Dollar Baby, a role for which she underwent training and gained 19 pounds of muscle.[8] 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 (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.[9][10][1] 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 that 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".[11] Swank's most recent film was Freedom Writers, a drama released on January 5, 2007; in the film, Swank, who also executive produced,[12] played Erin Gruwell, 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[13] and another stating that her performance reaches a "singular lack of artifice, stripping herself back to the bare essentials".[14] Swank's upcoming roles include The Reaping, a horror film scheduled for an April 5, 2007 release, and PS, I Love You .
Swank received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, January 8, 2007. Hers was the 2,325th star given.[15][16]
[edit] Personal life
Swank married actor Chad Lowe on September 28, 1997. The two met in 1992, on the set of Quiet Days in Hollywood, a direct-to-video film.[1] 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.[17][18] In December 2006, Swank confirmed that she is dating John Campisi, her agent.[19]
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 considers herself a spiritual person, though not a member of an organized religion.[1] She has said that she is "athletically inclined" and that she "love[s] sports".[12] 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".[8] In 2007, Swank noted that she "feel[s] like in the last couple of years I’ve really come into my own and a lot of that has come from figuring out who I really am and what I want in life".[3]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Evening Shade | Aimee #1 | TV series (1991-1992) |
| ABC TGIF | Danielle | TV series | |
| 1992 | Camp Wilder | Danielle | TV series |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Kimberly Hannah | ||
| 1994 | The Next Karate Kid | Julie Pierce | |
| Cries Unheard: The Donna Yaklich Story | Patty | TV | |
| 1996 | Sometimes They Come Back... Again | Michelle Porter | |
| Terror in the Family | Deena Martin | TV | |
| Kounterfeit | Colleen | ||
| 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 | |
| 1997-98 | Beverly Hills 90210 | Carly Reynolds | TV series |
| 1998 | Heartwood | Sylvia Orsini | |
| 1999 | Boys Don't Cry | Brandon Teena | Won Academy Award for Best Actress |
| 2000 | The Gift | Verlerie Barksdale | |
| 2000 | The Affair of the Necklace | Jeanne St. Remy de Velois | |
| The Audition | Short subject | ||
| 2002 | The Space Between | Short subject | |
| Insomnia | Detective Ellie Burr | ||
| 2003 | 11:14 | Buzzy | Also executive producer |
| The Core | Major Rebecca Childs | ||
| 2004 | Million Dollar Baby | Maggie Fitzgerald | Won Academy Award for Best Actress |
| Red Dust | Sarah Barcant | ||
| Iron Jawed Angels | Alice Paul | TV | |
| 2006 | The Black Dahlia | Madeline Linscott | |
| 2007 | The Reaping | Katherine Winters | Post-production |
| Freedom Writers | Erin Gruwell | ||
| 2008 | P. S., I Love You | Holly | Filming |
[edit] 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
-
- 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
-
- 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: 2000 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture: Drama - Boys Don't Cry
-
- Winner: 2000 - Best Female Lead - Boys Don't Cry
-
- 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
-
- Nominee: 2001 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Boys Don't Cry
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love |
Academy Award for Best Actress 1999 for Boys Don't Cry |
Succeeded by Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich |
| Preceded by Charlize Theron for Monster |
Academy Award for Best Actress 2004 for Million Dollar Baby |
Succeeded by Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line |
| Preceded by Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth |
Golden Globe - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama for Boys Don't Cry 2000 |
Succeeded by Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich |
| Preceded by Charlize Theron for Monster |
Golden Globe - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama for Million Dollar Baby 2005 |
Succeeded by Felicity Huffman for Transamerica |
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g Dawson, Angela. "The write stuff", The Detroit News Online, 2007-01-02. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
- ^ http://coolice.legis.state.ia.us/Cool-ICE/default.asp?Category=BillInfo&Service=Billbook&ga=81&hbill=SR16
- ^ a b c Longsdorf, Amy. "Swank: Acting gave me sense of focus", TimesLeader, 2007-01-03. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
- ^ "HILARY AND HUNKY PATRICK PICTURE PERFECT AT PREMIERE", Hello! Magazine, 2007-01-05. Retrieved on 2007-01-07.
- ^ Tiscali UK (2006). Hilary Swank Biography. tiscali.film & tv web site. Retrieved on 2006-11-24. Biography spreads across 9 web pages. High School information is on page 2.
- ^ "Hilary Swank tells all to Extra", United Press International, 2007-01-03. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ Slotek, Jim. "Swank’s life lessons", Calgary Sun, 2007-01-04. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
- ^ a b c "SWANK RISKS HEALTH FOR ROLES", PR Inside, 2006-12-20. Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
- ^ http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Exclusive/0,4029,523215,00.html
- ^ http://www.sundaytribune.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=260&fArticleId=2433709
- ^ http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=entertainment&id=3947341
- ^ a b Westbrook, Bruce. "Like her Freedom heroine, Hilary Swank loves her job", Houston Chronicle, 2007-01-05. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
- ^ Sanford, James. "Swank brings credibility to `Freedom Writers'", Kalamazoo Gazzette, 2007-01-05. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
- ^ Roach, Vicky. "Hilary's all class", The Sunday Telegraph, 2007-03-22. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ "Hilary Swank to get star on Hollywood Walk of Fame", English.eastday.com, 2007-01-08. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
- ^ Associated Press. "Hilary Swank gets star on Hollywood Walk of Fame", The Mercury News, 2007-01-08. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
- ^ http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10895932/
- ^ http://people.aol.com/people/articles/0,19736,1196966,00.html
- ^ "SWANK IS DATING HER AGENT", Contact Music, 2006-12-20. Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
[edit] External links
- Hilary Swank at the Internet Movie Database
- 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
