Hilary Swank
Encyclopedia
Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress. Swank's film career began with a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(1992) and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid
(1994), as Julie Pierce, the first female protégé of sensei
Mr. Miyagi. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress
twice, as transman Brandon Teena
in Boys Don't Cry
(1999) and as struggling waitress-turned-boxer
Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby
(2004). Since 2003, Swank has also worked as an executive producer
.
. Her mother, Judy Kay (née
Clough), was a secretary and dancer, and her father, Stephen Michael Swank, was an officer in the Air National Guard
and later a traveling salesman. She has a brother, Daniel, who is eight years her senior. Her maternal grandmother was of Spanish and Shoshone
(Native American
) ancestry, and many of Swank's family members hail from Ringgold County, Iowa
. Her surname, originally Schwenk, is of German origin. After having lived in Spokane, Washington
, the family moved to a trailer park
near Lake Samish
in Bellingham, Washington
when Swank was six.
She attended Happy Valley Elementary, Fairhaven Middle, then Sehome High School
in Bellingham until she was sixteen. She also competed in the Junior Olympics and the Washington state championships in swimming; she ranked fifth in the state in all-around gymnastics.
Swank made her first appearance on stage when she was nine years old, starring in The Jungle Book. She became involved in school and community theater programs, including those of the Bellingham Theatre Guild
and The Seattle Children's Theater.
When she was fifteen, her parents separated, and she and her mother, supportive of her daughter's desire to act, moved to Los Angeles, where they lived out of their car until Swank's mother saved enough money to rent an apartment. Swank has called her mother the inspiration for her acting career and her life. In California, Swank enrolled in South Pasadena High School
, dropping out later. She described her time at South Pasadena High School: “I felt like such an outsider. I didn’t feel like I fit in. I didn’t belong in any way. I didn’t even feel like the teachers wanted me there. I just felt like I wasn’t seen or understood.” She explained her becoming an actress out of feeling as an outsider: “As a kid I felt that I belonged only when I read a book or saw a movie, and could get involved with a character. It was natural that I became an actress because I longed so much to be those other people, or at least to play them”.
. Her first leading film role was in The Next Karate Kid
(1994), which utilized her gymnastics background and paired her with Pat Morita
. It was the fourth movie in the Karate Kid series. In 1995 she appeared with British actor Bruce Payne
in Kounterfeit
. In September 1997 Swank was cast as single mother Carly Reynolds on Beverly Hills, 90210
. She was initially promised it would be a two-year role, but saw her character written out after 16 episodes in January 1998. Swank later stated that she was devastated at being cut from the show, thinking, "If I'm not good enough for 90210, I'm not good enough for anything."
The firing freed her to audition for the role of Brandon Teena
in Boys Don't Cry
. Swank reduced her body fat
to seven percent in preparation for the role. Many critics hailed hers as the best female performance of 1999, and Swank's work ultimately won her the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Actress. Swank had earned only $75 per day for her work on Boys Don't Cry, culminating in a total of $3,000. Her earnings were so low that she had not even earned enough to qualify for health insurance
.
's 2004 film Million Dollar Baby
, a role for which she underwent training in the ring and gained 19 pounds of muscle. With her second Oscar, she had joined the ranks of Vivien Leigh
, Helen Hayes
, Sally Field
, and Luise Rainer
as the only actresses to have been nominated for Academy Awards twice and win both times. After winning her second Oscar, she said, "I don't know what I did in this life to deserve this. I'm just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream."
In 2006 Swank signed a three-year contract with Guerlain
for the women's fragrance Insolence. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
on January 8, 2007. Hers was the 2,325th star presented.
In 2007 Swank starred in Freedom Writers
, a drama about a real-life teacher, Erin Gruwell
, who inspired a California
high school
class. Many reviews of Swank's performance were positive, with one critic noting that she "brings credibility" to the role, and another stating that her performance reaches a "singular lack of artifice, stripping herself back to the bare essentials". Swank next starred in The Reaping
, a horror film
released on April 5, 2007, in which she played a debunker of religious phenomena. Swank convinced the producers to move the film's setting from New England
to the Deep South
, and the movie was being filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
when Hurricane Katrina
struck. The same year, she also appeared in the romantic comedy P.S. I Love You
alongside Gerard Butler
.
Swank portrayed Amelia Earhart
in the biopic Amelia
, a film she also co-executive produced. Filming occurred in the summer of 2008 in a number of international locations. Swank is also attached to star in the Hollywood remake of Intimate Strangers
. In addition, it was incorrectly reported that Swank would play a lead role in, and produce, a film adaptation of the John Marks novel Fangland
.
Swank developed potential health problems through certain preparations for her roles, including weight gain and loss for Boys Don't Cry. She has stated that she would "do what [she] need[s] to make [the role] believable and to make it work" and that her "battle scars are a reminder that you're alive and human and that you bleed."
on September 28, 1997. The two met in 1992 on the set of Quiet Days in Hollywood. They separated in January 2006, and in May 2006, they announced that they were divorcing. In December 2006 Swank confirmed that she was dating her agent, John Campisi. She met Robert Bresnik, a well-known artist in San Diego, at Legoland in 2008. Although the relationship never developed, Bresnik supported her role as Ameelia Earhart by producing several reproductions of Earhart. Bresnik is the Grandson of Albert Bresnik, Amelia's official photograher. He currently owns the original negatives of the shoots.
In October 2011 Swank attracted controversy for attending an event in Chechnya
's capital Grozny
on the 35th birthday of Chechen
president Ramzan Kadyrov
on October 5. After wishing him "happy birthday Mr President", she reportedly claimed knowledge about Kadyrov saying: "I read. I do my research". Following criticism from human rights groups, who report having informed her about the human rights abuses in Chechnya prior to the event, asking her to reconsider her participation, Swank said she was unaware that Kadyrov had been accused of human rights violations and that she "deeply regrets" taking part in the lavish concert, and will donate her personal appearance fees "to various charitable organizations."
She has stated that she believes in a Higher Power
, but is not a member of any organized religion
.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 1992 American action/comedy/horror film about a Valley girl cheerleader named Buffy who learns that it is her fate to hunt vampires. The original script for the film was written by Joss Whedon, who later created the darker and more acclaimed TV series of the same name...
(1992) and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid
The Next Karate Kid
The Next Karate Kid is a 1994 American martial arts drama film starring Hilary Swank and Pat Morita. It is the fourth and final film in the original The Karate Kid series. It was directed by Christopher Cain, written by Mark Lee with music by Bill Conti. This is the only film in the original...
(1994), as Julie Pierce, the first female protégé of sensei
Sensei
' is a Japanese word that basically means "person born before another." In general usage, it means "master" or "teacher," and the word is used as a title to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as lawyers, CPA and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other figures of authority...
Mr. Miyagi. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
twice, as transman Brandon Teena
Brandon Teena
Brandon Teena was an American trans man who was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska. His life and death were the subject of the Academy Award-winning 1999 film Boys Don't Cry, which was based on the documentary film The Brandon Teena Story.-Life:Teena was born Teena Renae Brandon in Lincoln,...
in Boys Don't Cry
Boys Don't Cry (film)
Boys Don't Cry is a 1999 American independent romantic drama film directed by Kimberly Peirce and co-written by Andy Bienen. The film is a dramatization of the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a transgender man played by Hilary Swank, who pursues a relationship with a young woman, played by Chloë...
(1999) and as struggling waitress-turned-boxer
Women's boxing
Women's boxing first appeared in the Olympic Games at a demonstration bout in 1902. For most of the 20th century, however, it was banned in most nations. Its revival was pioneered by the Swedish Amateur Boxing Association, which sanctioned events for women in 1988. The British Amateur Boxing...
Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby
Million Dollar Baby
Million Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman...
(2004). Since 2003, Swank has also worked as an executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
.
Early life
Swank was born in Lincoln, NebraskaLincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
. Her mother, Judy Kay (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Clough), was a secretary and dancer, and her father, Stephen Michael Swank, was an officer in the Air National Guard
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
and later a traveling salesman. She has a brother, Daniel, who is eight years her senior. Her maternal grandmother was of Spanish and Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
(Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
) ancestry, and many of Swank's family members hail from Ringgold County, Iowa
Ringgold County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 5,131 in the county, with a population density of . There were 2,613 housing units, of which 2,047 were occupied.-2000 census:...
. Her surname, originally Schwenk, is of German origin. After having lived in Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, the family moved to a trailer park
Trailer park
A trailer park is a semi-permanent or permanent area for mobile homes or travel trailers. The main reasons for living in such trailer parks are the often lower cost compared to other housing, and the ability to move to a new area more quickly and easily, for example when changing jobs to another...
near Lake Samish
Lake Samish
Lake Samish is a lake south of Bellingham, Washington.Visible to the West of Interstate 5 when travelling between Alger and Bellingham, Lake Samish is heavily used for recreation in the summer months by local residents. The lake shoreline is heavily developed and homesites cover almost the entire...
in Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
when Swank was six.
She attended Happy Valley Elementary, Fairhaven Middle, then Sehome High School
Sehome High School
Sehome High School is a public school in Bellingham, Washington, located approximately north of Seattle and south of Vancouver, B.C.. The school serves students mainly from the western and southwestern sections of the City of Bellingham and is a part of the Bellingham School...
in Bellingham until she was sixteen. She also competed in the Junior Olympics and the Washington state championships in swimming; she ranked fifth in the state in all-around gymnastics.
Swank made her first appearance on stage when she was nine years old, starring in The Jungle Book. She became involved in school and community theater programs, including those of the Bellingham Theatre Guild
Bellingham Theatre Guild
The Bellingham Theatre Guild is a community theater located in Bellingham, Washington. Founded in 1929, the guild has been housed in its current location - the old Congregational Church converted for live theater use - since 1944....
and The Seattle Children's Theater.
When she was fifteen, her parents separated, and she and her mother, supportive of her daughter's desire to act, moved to Los Angeles, where they lived out of their car until Swank's mother saved enough money to rent an apartment. Swank has called her mother the inspiration for her acting career and her life. In California, Swank enrolled in South Pasadena High School
South Pasadena High School
South Pasadena High School is a public high school serving grades 9-12 located in the city of South Pasadena, California.The school is one of five schools in the South Pasadena Unified School District....
, dropping out later. She described her time at South Pasadena High School: “I felt like such an outsider. I didn’t feel like I fit in. I didn’t belong in any way. I didn’t even feel like the teachers wanted me there. I just felt like I wasn’t seen or understood.” She explained her becoming an actress out of feeling as an outsider: “As a kid I felt that I belonged only when I read a book or saw a movie, and could get involved with a character. It was natural that I became an actress because I longed so much to be those other people, or at least to play them”.
1992–1999
Swank made her movie debut in 1992 in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, after which she played in the direct-to-video drama Quiet Days in Hollywood, where she co-starred with her future husband Chad LoweChad Lowe
Charles Conrad "Chad" Lowe is an American actor. He is the younger brother of fellow actor Rob Lowe. He won an Emmy Award for his supporting role in Life Goes On as a man suffering with HIV. He has also had recurring roles on ER, Melrose Place, and Now and Again...
. Her first leading film role was in The Next Karate Kid
The Next Karate Kid
The Next Karate Kid is a 1994 American martial arts drama film starring Hilary Swank and Pat Morita. It is the fourth and final film in the original The Karate Kid series. It was directed by Christopher Cain, written by Mark Lee with music by Bill Conti. This is the only film in the original...
(1994), which utilized her gymnastics background and paired her with Pat Morita
Pat Morita
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...
. It was the fourth movie in the Karate Kid series. In 1995 she appeared with British actor Bruce Payne
Bruce Payne
Bruce Martyn Payne is an award winning English character actor and producer and was a member of the 1980's Brit Pack. Although he is best known for his villainous roles, Bruce Payne has played characters across the spectrum...
in Kounterfeit
Kounterfeit
Kounterfeit is a 1996 American crime/thriller film starring Bruce Payne and Hilary Swank. Kounterfeit was directed by John Mallory Asher and written by David Chase, Katherine Fugate and Jay Irwin.-Plot summary:...
. In September 1997 Swank was cast as single mother Carly Reynolds on Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
. She was initially promised it would be a two-year role, but saw her character written out after 16 episodes in January 1998. Swank later stated that she was devastated at being cut from the show, thinking, "If I'm not good enough for 90210, I'm not good enough for anything."
The firing freed her to audition for the role of Brandon Teena
Brandon Teena
Brandon Teena was an American trans man who was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska. His life and death were the subject of the Academy Award-winning 1999 film Boys Don't Cry, which was based on the documentary film The Brandon Teena Story.-Life:Teena was born Teena Renae Brandon in Lincoln,...
in Boys Don't Cry
Boys Don't Cry (film)
Boys Don't Cry is a 1999 American independent romantic drama film directed by Kimberly Peirce and co-written by Andy Bienen. The film is a dramatization of the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a transgender man played by Hilary Swank, who pursues a relationship with a young woman, played by Chloë...
. Swank reduced her body fat
Adipose tissue
In histology, adipose tissue or body fat or fat depot or just fat is loose connective tissue composed of adipocytes. It is technically composed of roughly only 80% fat; fat in its solitary state exists in the liver and muscles. Adipose tissue is derived from lipoblasts...
to seven percent in preparation for the role. Many critics hailed hers as the best female performance of 1999, and Swank's work ultimately won her the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Actress. Swank had earned only $75 per day for her work on Boys Don't Cry, culminating in a total of $3,000. Her earnings were so low that she had not even earned enough to qualify for health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
.
1999–present
Swank again won the Best Actress Oscar, and another Golden Globe, for playing a boxer in Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
's 2004 film Million Dollar Baby
Million Dollar Baby
Million Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman...
, a role for which she underwent training in the ring and gained 19 pounds of muscle. With her second Oscar, she had joined the ranks of Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
, Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
, Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
, and Luise Rainer
Luise Rainer
Luise Rainer is a former German film actress. Known as The "Viennese Teardrop", she was the first woman to win two Academy Awards, and the first person to win them consecutively. She was discovered by MGM talent scouts while acting on stage in Austria and Germany and after appearing in Austrian...
as the only actresses to have been nominated for Academy Awards twice and win both times. After winning her second Oscar, she said, "I don't know what I did in this life to deserve this. I'm just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream."
In 2006 Swank signed a three-year contract with Guerlain
Guerlain
Guerlain is a French perfume house, among the oldest in the world. It has a large and loyal customer following, and is held in high esteem in the perfume industry...
for the women's fragrance Insolence. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
on January 8, 2007. Hers was the 2,325th star presented.
In 2007 Swank starred in Freedom Writers
Freedom Writers
Freedom Writers is a 2007 American drama film starring Academy Award winner Hilary Swank, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton and Patrick Dempsey. It is based on the book The Freedom Writers Diary by teacher Erin Gruwell who wrote the story based on Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach,...
, a drama about a real-life teacher, Erin Gruwell
Erin Gruwell
Erin Gruwell is an American teacher known for her unorthodox teaching method, which led to the publication of The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them...
, who inspired a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
class. Many reviews of Swank's performance were positive, with one critic noting that she "brings credibility" to the role, and another stating that her performance reaches a "singular lack of artifice, stripping herself back to the bare essentials". Swank next starred in The Reaping
The Reaping
The Reaping is an 2007 American horror film, starring Hilary Swank. The film was directed by Stephen Hopkins for Warner Bros. and Dark Castle Entertainment. The music for the film was scored by John Frizzell.-Plot:...
, a horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
released on April 5, 2007, in which she played a debunker of religious phenomena. Swank convinced the producers to move the film's setting from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
to the Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
, and the movie was being filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
when Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
struck. The same year, she also appeared in the romantic comedy P.S. I Love You
P.S. I Love You (film)
P.S. I Love You is a 2007 American drama film directed by Richard LaGravenese. The screenplay by LaGravenese and Steven Rogers is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Cecelia Ahern. The film is dedicated to the memory of producer Molly Smith's sister Windland Smith Rice.-Plot:Holly and Gerry...
alongside Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies , which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in...
.
Swank portrayed Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
in the biopic Amelia
Amelia (film)
Amelia is a 2009 English-language biographical film of the life of Amelia Earhart, starring Hilary Swank as Earhart along with a cast that includes Richard Gere, Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor. It is directed by Mira Nair based on a script initially written by Ronald Bass...
, a film she also co-executive produced. Filming occurred in the summer of 2008 in a number of international locations. Swank is also attached to star in the Hollywood remake of Intimate Strangers
Intimate Strangers
Intimate Strangers is a 2004 French film directed by Patrice Leconte. It was shown in Competition at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival.Paramount Classics acquired the United States distribution rights of this film and gave it a limited U.S...
. In addition, it was incorrectly reported that Swank would play a lead role in, and produce, a film adaptation of the John Marks novel Fangland
Fangland
Fangland is a 2007 novel written by John Marks, a former producer for 60 Minutes. It is a reimagined story for the Dracula tale by Bram Stoker, setting in a post 9/11 New York. Like its predecessor, Fangland is written in parts as a epistolary novel through e-mails, diary entries and letters...
.
Swank developed potential health problems through certain preparations for her roles, including weight gain and loss for Boys Don't Cry. She has stated that she would "do what [she] need[s] to make [the role] believable and to make it work" and that her "battle scars are a reminder that you're alive and human and that you bleed."
Personal life
Swank married actor Chad LoweChad Lowe
Charles Conrad "Chad" Lowe is an American actor. He is the younger brother of fellow actor Rob Lowe. He won an Emmy Award for his supporting role in Life Goes On as a man suffering with HIV. He has also had recurring roles on ER, Melrose Place, and Now and Again...
on September 28, 1997. The two met in 1992 on the set of Quiet Days in Hollywood. They separated in January 2006, and in May 2006, they announced that they were divorcing. In December 2006 Swank confirmed that she was dating her agent, John Campisi. She met Robert Bresnik, a well-known artist in San Diego, at Legoland in 2008. Although the relationship never developed, Bresnik supported her role as Ameelia Earhart by producing several reproductions of Earhart. Bresnik is the Grandson of Albert Bresnik, Amelia's official photograher. He currently owns the original negatives of the shoots.
In October 2011 Swank attracted controversy for attending an event in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
's capital Grozny
Grozny
Grozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
on the 35th birthday of Chechen
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
president Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is the President of Chechnya and a former Chechen rebel.Ramzan is a son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, assassinated in May 2004. In February 2007 Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as President, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post...
on October 5. After wishing him "happy birthday Mr President", she reportedly claimed knowledge about Kadyrov saying: "I read. I do my research". Following criticism from human rights groups, who report having informed her about the human rights abuses in Chechnya prior to the event, asking her to reconsider her participation, Swank said she was unaware that Kadyrov had been accused of human rights violations and that she "deeply regrets" taking part in the lavish concert, and will donate her personal appearance fees "to various charitable organizations."
She has stated that she believes in a Higher Power
Higher Power
Higher Power is a term coined in the 1930s in Alcoholics Anonymous and is used in other twelve-step programs. It is also sometimes referred to as a power greater than ourselves and is frequently abbreviated to HP.-History:...
, but is not a member of any organized religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–1992 | Evening Shade Evening Shade Evening Shade was an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from 1990 to 1994. The series starred Burt Reynolds as Wood Newton, an ex-professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who returns to rural Evening Shade, Arkansas to coach a high school football team with a long... |
Aimee #1 | TV series |
| 1991 | Harry and the Hendersons Harry and the Hendersons (TV series) Harry and the Hendersons is an American sitcom based on the film of the same name, produced by Amblin Entertainment for Universal Television. The series aired in syndication from January 13, 1991 to June 18, 1993, with 72 half-hour episodes produced... |
Guest star | TV series |
| 1991–1992 | Growing Pains Growing Pains Growing Pains is an American television sitcom about an affluent family, residing in Huntington, New York, with a working mother and a stay-at-home psychiatrist father raising three children together, which aired on ABC from September 24, 1985 to April 25, 1992.-Synopsis:The show's premise is based... |
Sasha Serotsky | TV series |
| 1992 | Camp Wilder Camp Wilder Camp Wilder is an American sitcom about a family living in suburban Los Angeles, California, airing as part of ABC's TGIF lineup for half a season .... |
Danielle | TV series |
| 1992 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film) Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 1992 American action/comedy/horror film about a Valley girl cheerleader named Buffy who learns that it is her fate to hunt vampires. The original script for the film was written by Joss Whedon, who later created the darker and more acclaimed TV series of the same name... |
Kimberly Hannah | |
| 1994 | Julie Pierce | ||
| 1994 | Cries Unheard: The Donna Yaklich Story | Patty | TV movie |
| 1996 | Sometimes They Come Back... Again Sometimes They Come Back... Again Sometimes They Come Back... Again is the 1996 sequel to the 1991 horror film Sometimes They Come Back. It was directed by Adam Grossman. It stars Michael Gross, Alexis Arquette, and Hilary Swank.- Plot :... |
Michelle Porter | |
| 1996 | Terror in the Family Terror in the Family Terror in the Family is a 1996 television film directed by Gregory Goodell and starring Joanna Kerns, Dan Lauria and Hilary Swank. The film is about a parents' struggle with the raising of their teenage daughter whose rebellious temperament erupts into violence... |
Deena Martin | TV movie |
| 1996 | Kounterfeit Kounterfeit Kounterfeit is a 1996 American crime/thriller film starring Bruce Payne and Hilary Swank. Kounterfeit was directed by John Mallory Asher and written by David Chase, Katherine Fugate and Jay Irwin.-Plot summary:... |
Coleen | |
| 1997 | Quiet Days in Hollywood Quiet Days in Hollywood Quiet Days in Hollywood is a 1997 drama film written by Robert G. Brown and Josef Rusnak, the latter also directed. The movie features Hilary Swank, Chad Lowe, and Natasha Gregson Wagner.-Plot:... |
Lolita | |
| 1997 | Lauren Schall | Lifetime TV movie | |
| 1997 | Leaving L.A. | Tiffany Roebuck | TV series |
| 1997 | Dying to Belong Dying to Belong Dying to Belong is a 1997 television film directed by William A. Graham.- Plot :Lisa Connors, an Anders University freshman, has big hopes of a job at the university newspaper. Her ambitious mother, Gwen, suggests Lisa should join a sorority, Pi Gamma Beta , as she herself had great fun... |
Lisa Connors | TV movie |
| 1997–1998 | Beverly Hills, 90210 Beverly Hills, 90210 Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise... |
Carly Reynolds | TV series |
| 1998 | Heartwood | Sylvia Orsini | |
| 1999 | Boys Don't Cry Boys Don't Cry (film) Boys Don't Cry is a 1999 American independent romantic drama film directed by Kimberly Peirce and co-written by Andy Bienen. The film is a dramatization of the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a transgender man played by Hilary Swank, who pursues a relationship with a young woman, played by Chloë... |
Brandon Teena Brandon Teena Brandon Teena was an American trans man who was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska. His life and death were the subject of the Academy Award-winning 1999 film Boys Don't Cry, which was based on the documentary film The Brandon Teena Story.-Life:Teena was born Teena Renae Brandon in Lincoln,... |
|
| 2000 | Valerie Barksdale | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress | |
| 2000 | Short subject | ||
| 2001 | Jeanne St. Rémy de Valois | ||
| 2002 | Short subject | ||
| 2002 | Insomnia Insomnia (2002 film) Insomnia is an American psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank. The film, released on 24 May 2002, is a remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name.-Plot:... |
Detective Ellie Burr | Nominated—Empire Award for Best Actress Empire Awards An Empire Award is an accolade bestowed by Empire, Britain's biggest selling film magazine, to recognize excellence of professionals in the locale and global film industry. The awards are voted for by readers of the magazine and in an annual ceremony, the Empire Awards, the winners are presented... |
| 2003 | 11:14 11:14 11:14 is a 2003 film about a series of interconnected events which lead up to the same time, 11:14 p.m.-Plot:The film involves several interconnected stories that converge at 11:14 p.m... |
Buzzy | Also Executive Producer |
| 2003 | Major Rebecca Childs | ||
| 2004 | Million Dollar Baby Million Dollar Baby Million Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman... |
Maggie Fitzgerald | |
| 2004 | Red Dust Red Dust (2004 film) Red Dust is a 2004 British drama film starring Hilary Swank and Chiwetel Ejiofor. It was directed by Tom Hooper. The story, written by Troy Kennedy-Martin, is based on the novel Red Dust by Gillian Slovo... |
Sarah Barcant | |
| 2004 | Iron Jawed Angels Iron Jawed Angels Iron Jawed Angels is a 2004 American drama film. It was directed by Katja von Garnier and starred Hilary Swank, Frances O'Connor, Julia Ormond, and Anjelica Huston. It focuses on the American women's suffrage movement during the 1910s. The film received acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival... |
Alice Paul Alice Paul Alice Stokes Paul was an American suffragist and activist. Along with Lucy Burns and others, she led a successful campaign for women's suffrage that resulted in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.-Activism: Alice Paul received her undergraduate education from... |
|
| 2006 | Madeleine Linscott | ||
| 2007 | Freedom Writers Freedom Writers Freedom Writers is a 2007 American drama film starring Academy Award winner Hilary Swank, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton and Patrick Dempsey. It is based on the book The Freedom Writers Diary by teacher Erin Gruwell who wrote the story based on Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach,... |
Erin Gruwell Erin Gruwell Erin Gruwell is an American teacher known for her unorthodox teaching method, which led to the publication of The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them... |
Also Executive Producer |
| 2007 | Professor Katherine Winter | ||
| 2007 | P. S. I Love You P.S. I Love You (film) P.S. I Love You is a 2007 American drama film directed by Richard LaGravenese. The screenplay by LaGravenese and Steven Rogers is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Cecelia Ahern. The film is dedicated to the memory of producer Molly Smith's sister Windland Smith Rice.-Plot:Holly and Gerry... |
Holly Kennedy | Irish Film & Television Audience Award for Best International Actress The 5th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards 2008 The Fifth Annual Irish Film and Television Awards took place on February 17, 2008 at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin.-Film:Film* Garage** Becoming Jane** Closing the Ring** Kings** ShroomsInternational Film... |
| 2008 | Birds of America Birds of America (film) Birds of America is an offbeat American family dramedy directed by Craig Lucas, written by Elyse Friedman, and starring Matthew Perry. It premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival... |
Laura | |
| 2009 | Amelia Amelia (film) Amelia is a 2009 English-language biographical film of the life of Amelia Earhart, starring Hilary Swank as Earhart along with a cast that includes Richard Gere, Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor. It is directed by Mira Nair based on a script initially written by Ronald Bass... |
Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean... |
|
| 2010 | Conviction | Betty Anne Waters | |
| 2011 | Dr. Juliet Devereau | Also Executive Producer | |
| 2011 | New Year's Eve New Year's Eve (film) New Year's Eve is an upcoming romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall. Like Valentine's Day, Marshall's previous film, it depicts a series of holiday vignettes of the state of several romances.-Cast:... |
Claire Morgan |