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Hilary Swank

Acting

Born July 30, 1974 · Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

Also known as Hilary Ann Swank

Biography

Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series Camp Wilder and made her film debut with a minor role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). She then had her breakthrough for starring as Julie Pierce in The Next Karate Kid (1994), the fourth installment of The Karate Kid franchise, and as Carly Reynolds on the eighth season of Beverly Hills, 90210 (1997–1998). Swank came to international recognition for her performances as Brandon Teena, a transgender man, in Kimberly Peirce's Boys Don't Cry (1999), and as Maggie Fitzgerald, an aspiring boxer, in Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby (2004). Both of her performances earned her critical acclaim, and she earned numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Movie Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005. Swank later ventured into producing with the films Amelia (2009), Conviction (2010), You're Not You (2014), and What They Had (2018), all of which she also starred in. Her other notable films include the television film Iron Jawed Angels (2004), and the feature films Freedom Writers (2007), Logan Lucky (2017), The Hunt (2020), and Fatale (2020).

Awards & recognition

  • BBC 100 Women · 2015
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 2005
  • Golden Globe AwardBest Actress – Motion Picture Drama · 2004
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 2000
  • Golden Globe AwardBest Actress – Motion Picture Drama · 1999
Show all 9 awards →
  • star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • Golden Globe AwardBest Actress – Television Series Drama · 2023 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 2005 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 2000 · nominated

Filmography50+ titles

BoJack Horseman

2014as Joey Pogo (voice)

Million Dollar Baby

2004as Maggie Fitzgerald

Freedom Writers

2007as Erin Gruwell

Disclosure

2020as Brandon Teena / Self (archive footage)

Ordinary Angels

2024as Sharon Stevens

Yellowjackets

2021as Adult Melissa

The Masked Singer

2019as Special Message (via video)

Explained

2018as Narrator (voice)

You're Not You

2014as Kate

Boys Don't Cry

1999as Brandon Teena

Beverly Hills, 90210

1990as Carly Reynolds

Alaska Daily

2022as Eileen Fitzgerald

P.S. I Love You

2007as Holly

Conviction

2010as Betty Anne Waters

Trust

2018as Gail Getty

Insomnia

2002as Ellie Burr

Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy

as Self

Saturday Night Live

1975as Self - Host

Iron Jawed Angels

2004as Alice Paul

11:14

2003as Buzzy

I Am Mother

2019as Woman

Logan Lucky

2017as Special Agent Sarah Grayson

55 Steps

2017as Colette Hughes

Cries Unheard: The Donna Yaklich Story

1994as Patty Yaklich

The Hunt

2020as Athena

Away

2020as Emma Green

What They Had

2018as Bridget

The Homesman

2014as Mary Bee Cuddy

The Gift

2000as Valerie Barksdale

Growing Pains

1985as Sasha Serotsky

The Kelly Clarkson Show

2019as Self

The Daily Show

1996as Self

Mary and Martha

2013as Mary

Something Borrowed

2011Producer

Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story

2013as Self

Fatale

2020as Det. Valerie Quinlan

Terror in the Family

1996as Deena Marten

New Year's Eve

2011as Claire Morgan

Red Dust

2004as Sarah Barcant

The Sleepwalker Killing

1997as Lauren Schall

Harry and the Hendersons

as Chelsea

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

2014as Self

The Resident

2011as Juliet Devereau

The Reaping

2007as Katherine

The Core

2003as Maj. Rebecca Childs

Amelia

2009as Amelia Earhart

The Black Dahlia

2006as Madeleine Linscott

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

2003as Self

The Affair of the Necklace

2001as Jeanne St. Remy de Valois

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

1992as Kimberly Hannah