Hilary Swank's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) VH1 Divas Hilary Swank Camp Wilder Danielle Leaving L.A. Tiffany Roe…

Main Movie Roles 2009 - Amelia 2008 - Birds of America 2007 - The Reaping 2007 - P.S. I Love You 2007 - Freedom Writers 2006 - The Black Dahlia 2004 - Million Dollar Baby 2004 - Red Dust 2003 - 11:14 2003 - The Core 2002 - Insomnia 2001 - The Affair of the Necklace 2000 - The Gift 1999 - Boys Don't Cry 1994 - The Next Karate Kid 1992 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

BIOGRAPHY:

Hilary was discovered as a child by producer Suzy Sachs, who coached her in acting. When she was nine years old, she starred in her first play as "Mowgli" in "The Jungle Book". She began to appear regularly in local theater and school plays. She went to school in Bellingham, where she lived with her family, until she was 16. She competed in the Junior Olympics and Washington State championships in swimming; she ranked 5th in the state in all-around gymnastics (which would come in handy for starring in The Next Karate Kid (1994) years later). In 1990, Hilary and her mother moved to Los Angeles, where she enrolled in South Pasadena High School, and started acting professionally. She appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) but The Next Karate Kid (1994), where she got the part competing against hundreds of other actresses, was her breakout role. Ever since then, she has been much in demand and has worked non-stop in movies. She won the Best Actress Oscar for Boys Don't Cry (1999). She starred in a few minor films before starring in Clint Eastwood's boxing drama Million Dollar Baby (2004) that won her a Golden Globe and a SAG Award, as well as her second Academy Award. She is two for two at the Oscars, a feat she shares only with a few other women. Off-screen, she married Chad Lowe (I) on September 28, 1997. An aficionado for anything that involves the outdoors, she enjoys: sky diving, river rafting and skiing.


TRIVIA:

• Both of her Oscar-winning roles required huge physical changes.
• Has 2 dogs: Karoo, a Corgi/Jack Russell mix, and Lucky, a German Shepherd/Labarador Retriever mix.
• She won the lead role of Brandon/Teena in _Boys Don't Cry (1999)_ (qv) after hundreds of other actresses had been considered and rejected over the course of three years. Told director 'Kimberly Peirce' (qv) that, like her character, she was also 21 and hailed from Lincoln, Nebraska. But she was fibbing, and when Peirce later confronted her with the lies, she winningly responded: "But that's what Brandon would do."
• Was in consideration for the part of Satine in _Moulin Rouge! (2001)_ (qv) but 'Nicole Kidman' (qv), who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.
• Discovered as a young child actor by producer 'Suzy Sachs' (qv).
• Has been acting professionally since she was 16.
• Received a cut on the forehead during filming a scene of her movie _P.S. I Love You (2007)_ (qv). She had to be brought to a hospital and received several stitches (November 2006).
• Awarded an Emery Award for her role in _Boys Don't Cry (1999)_ (qv) (November 2006).