Guide Note

Hilary Swank is an Academy Award, Oscar, and Golden Globe award winning film actress. She started her career in the early 1990s having appearances in several different television shows. In 1994, Swank starred in the film The Next Karate Kid as Julie Pierce. She had the role of Carly Reynolds in Beverly Hills, 90210, but her character was written out of the scrip after only 16 episodes. Swank was devastated by this. Things turned around for Swank in 1999 after she landed the role of Brandon Teena, a transgender man, in the film Boys Don't Cry. Her outstanding performance won her a Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Actress. She also won a Best Actress Oscar and Golden Globe for her role as a boxer in the 2004 movie Million Dollar Baby.

Fast Facts

1. Birthplace: Lincoln, Nebraska
2. Born: July 30, 1974
3. Height: 5'6"
4. Oscars: 2 (Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby)
5. 1997-2006: Married to Chad Lowe
6. "Brandon Teena" in Boys Don't Cry
7. "Maggie Fitzgerald" in Million Dollar Baby
8. First woman to win an Oscar in a role as a boxer
9. Named one of "People" magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 2000, 2004 and 2005
10. "Julie Pierce" in The Next Karate Kid
11. Is a vegetarian
12. Film Debut: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

1. "My most annoying question is 'Hilary, are you ever going to play a pretty girl?"
2. "I cut coupons, love specials and believe in buying toilet paper and toothpaste in bulk. It's just who I am."