Hilary Swank was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Judith Kay (Clough),a secretary, and Stephen Michael Swank, a National Guard veteran and traveling salesman. Her maternal grandmother, Frances Martha Dominguez, was of Mexican descent, and her other roots include German, English, and Scottish.
During her early childhood, Hilary's family moved to Spokane, Washington, and later to Bellingham, Washington, where she was discovered by producer Suzy Sachs, who coached her in acting. At the age of nine, Hilary starred in her first play as "Mowgli" in "The Jungle Book". She continued to appear regularly in local theater and school plays, competing in the Junior Olympics and Washington State championships in swimming, and ranking 5th in the state in all-around gymnastics.
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" but "The Next Karate Kid", where she got the part competing against hundreds of other actresses, was her breakout role.
Hilary won the Best Actress Oscar for playing "Brandon Teena" in "Boys Don't Cry" and also won the Golden Globe Award for "Best Actress in a Drama" and "Best Actress" prizes from various critics associations. She also won the "Breakthrough Performance" prize from The National Board of Review.
Hilary then appeared in supporting roles opposite Cate Blanchett and Keanu Reeves in "The Gift" and opposite Al Pacino and Robin Williams in "Insomnia". She starred as "Alice Paul" in HBO's "Iron Jawed Angels", which told the story of the women's suffragist movement and was honored with both SAG and Golden Globe nominations for her performance.
In 2004, Hilary starred opposite Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman as the title character in Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby", which tells the story of a young woman's quest to realize her dream of becoming a professional boxer. For this performance, she was honored with her second Academy Award for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role" and has garnered "Best Actress" prizes from various critics associations.
Hilary Swank is the third youngest woman in history to win two Academy Awards for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role".
