Trivia

Earned $75 a day for the drama movie Boys Don't Cry (1999).

Mother Judy Swank moved with her to Los Angeles at age 16, where, impoverished for a while, they lived out of their car.

Although she was naturally athletic from high school, she totally changed physically to play Maggie in Million Dollar Baby (2004). She gained nearly 20 pounds, becoming so buff that her former clothes are still too small for her.

Competed in the Junior Olympics and Washington state championships in swimming; ranked fifth in the state in all-around gymnastics.

Replaced Sandra Bullock as Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby (2004) after Bullock dropped out due to other commitments.

Best friends with actress Mariska Hargitay.

Is the third youngest actress to receive two Best Actress Academy Awards. Luise Rainer and Jodie Foster were the first and second, respectively.

Swank won the lead role of Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry (1999) after hundreds of other actresses had been considered and rejected over the course of three years. She told director Kimberly Peirce that, like her character, she was also 21 and hailed from Lincoln, Nebraska. But she was fibbing (except about being from Lincoln, Nebraska, where she was, in fact, born); when Peirce later confronted her with the lies, Swank winningly responded: "But that's what Brandon would do." Later, she cut off all of her hair and lived as a boy for a month to prepare herself for the role.

For a few weeks before Boys Don't Cry (1999) began filming, she went out in public dressed as a boy. Many were fooled by the disguise.

She was signed on for two years but was fired from Beverly Hills (1990) after only doing 16 episodes in 1998. She was later thankful because she was able to go for her role in Boys Don't Cry (1999); winning her first Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role just two years later.

On August 18, 2018, Swank wed her boyfriend of two years, Philip Schneider, at the Santa Lucia Preserve (in Carmel, California). They met on a blind date set up by actor Misha Collins's wife, Victoria Vantoch. Swank and Schneider were engaged a year and a half later.

Made her film debut in Buffy, tueuse de vampires (1992).

Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on January 8, 2007.

Both of her Oscar-winning roles required huge physical changes.

Took boxing lessons at Gleason's Gym in New York City, in anticipation of her lead role as the female boxer in Clint Eastwood's film Million Dollar Baby (2004) (original title "Rope Burns"), which was scheduled to begin filming in Los Angeles, California in June 2004. (April 2004)

Acting professionally since she was age 16, Swank was discovered as a child actor by producer Suzy Sachs.

Her performance as Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry (1999) is ranked #83 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

Is the first woman to receive an Academy Award in a role as a boxer.

Swank filed a lawsuit against the trustees of the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan, asking a federal judge to order the trustees to resume coverage of her treatment for recurrent malignant ovarian cysts.

She became a mother for the first time in April 2023, at the age of 48. She welcomed twins, a daughter and a son.

Is only one of eight actors who have a 2-0 win-loss record when nominated for an acting Oscar, her two wins for Boys Don't Cry (1999) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). The others are Luise Rainer for Le grand Ziegfeld (1936) and La terre chinoise (1937); Vivien Leigh for Autant en emporte le vent (1939) and Un tramway nommé désir (1951); Helen Hayes for La faute de Madeleine Claudet (1931) and Airport (1970); Kevin Spacey for Usual Suspects (1995) and American Beauty (1999); Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Django Unchained (2012); Mahershala Ali for Moonlight (2016) and Green Book : Sur les routes du sud (2018); and Adrien Brody for Le Pianiste (2002) and The Brutalist (2024).

On both occasions when Swank won the Academy Award, Annette Bening was nominated in the same category.

Ex-sister-in-law of Rob Lowe and makeup artist Sheryl Berkoff, Swank met Chad Lowe in 1997 on the set of Hollywood People (1997), and the two wed five months later. In June 2002, they moved into a 4-story brownstone home in Greenwich Village (New York City) purchased for $4 million. In January 2006, it was announced that Swank and Chad Lowe were separating after eight years of marriage.

Considers herself a spiritual person, although she isn't member of an organized religion.

Was declared #6 on the show "Hollywood's Ten Best Beauty to Beast" transformations for the way she looked in Boys Don't Cry (1999). Three other actresses on the list were nominated for Oscars for their movies and two won: Charlize Theron (Monster (2003)), Halle Berry (À l'ombre de la haine (2001)) and Salma Hayek (Frida (2002)).

She has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Boys Don't Cry (1999).

Was considered for the role of Satine in Moulin Rouge (2001), but Nicole Kidman, who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.

Has two dogs: Karoo, a Corgi/Jack Russell mix, and Lucky, a German Shepherd/Labarador Retriever mix.

Has a parrot and a cat named Tallinn.

Co-starred with Aaron Eckhart twice: Fusion (2003) and Le dahlia noir (2006).

Campaigned for the role of Christine Collins in L'échange (2008), but lost the role to Angelina Jolie.

(January 15, 2005) Fined NZ$200 (AUD$190) for bringing undeclared fruit into New Zealand. She was found with an apple and orange at New Zealand's Auckland International Airport. She has since contested the fine.

Born to Stephen Swank, a Air National Guard officer, and his then wife Judy Swank (née Clough), a secretary and dancer, she has a brother, Dan. She grew up in Bellingham, Washington, where she went to Sehome High School.

Cast as Madeline Linscott in Le dahlia noir (2006) after Eva Green turned down the role.

Her maternal grandmother, Frances Martha Dominguez, was born in California, to a family of Mexican ancestry (with Spanish and Native American roots). Her other ancestry is English and German, with smaller amounts of Northern Irish (Scots-Irish), Swiss-German, Dutch, Scottish and Welsh. Her patrilineal line traces back to Balthasar Swank, who was born in Wuerttemberg, Germany, c. 1716. Her paternal grandmother was born in England.

Received a cut on the forehead during filming a scene of her movie P.S. I Love You (2007). She had to be brought to a hospital and received several stitches. (November 2006)

Was originally cast as Rachel in Duo à trois (2011), but after dropping out of the project, Ginnifer Goodwin was cast instead.

Attended Santa Monica College.

Is one of 12 actresses who won the Best Actress Oscar for a movie that also won the Best Picture Oscar (she won for Million Dollar Baby (2004)). The others are Claudette Colbert for New York - Miami (1934), Luise Rainer for Le grand Ziegfeld (1936), Vivien Leigh for Autant en emporte le vent (1939), Greer Garson for Madame Miniver (1942), Louise Fletcher for Vol au-dessus d'un nid de coucou (1975), Diane Keaton for Annie Hall (1977), Shirley MacLaine for Tendres passions (1983), Jessica Tandy for Miss Daisy et son chauffeur (1989), Jodie Foster for Le silence des agneaux (1991), Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Frances McDormand for Nomadland (2020).

Announced that she and her husband Chad Lowe are separating after 8 years of marriage. (January 2006)

Awarded an Emery Award from the Hetrick-Martin Institute for her role as Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry (1999), for which Swank won the first of her two Academy Awards (Oscars) for Best Actress. (November 2006)

Studied acting with Larry Moss.

Auditioned for the role of Lucy Hatcher on the television series The practice: Bobby Donnell & associés (1997), which went to Marla Sokoloff.

Named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 2000, 2004 and 2005.

Announced her engagement to her boyfriend of eight (8) months, Rubén Torres, on March 21, 2016. However, the engagement was broken off three months later, in June 2016.

Hilary's 20th birthday party was a 1974 themed party and was held in Hollywood at The Crush Bar.

Swank was listed as a potential nominee on the 2008 Razzie Award nominating ballot in the Worst Actress category for her performances in P.S. I Love You (2007) and Les Châtiments (2007). Fortunately for her, she was not nominated.

Was the 117th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Actress Oscar for Boys Don't Cry (1999) at The 72nd Annual Academy Awards (2000) on March 26, 2000.