Hilary was discovered as a child by producer Suzy Sachs, who coached her in acting. When she was nine years old, she starred in her first play as "Mowgli" in "The Jungle Book". She began to appear regularly in local theater and school plays. She went to school in Bellingham, where she lived with her family, until she was 16. She competed in the Junior Olympics and Washington State championships in swimming; she ranked 5th in the state in all-around gymnastics (which would come in handy for starring in The N - www.imdb.com

Actress. Born on July 30, 1974, in Lincoln, Nebraska (some sources say Bellingham, Washington). Swank had a difficult childhood. Her parents had a strained relationship, and her father left the family when she was 6 years old. As a young girl, Swank spent her formative years living in a trailer park in Bellingham, Washington. She would often spend time at nearby Lake Samish. Athletic, Swank swam competitively and did gymnastics, but she discovered early on that she wanted to become an actress. "I have dream - www.biography.com

Hilary Swank has twice won the Academy Award as best actress: for playing a boxer in Clint Eastwood's 2004 drama Million Dollar Baby, and for her gender-bending turn in Boys Don't Cry (1999, with Chloë Sevigny). Swank got her start in the early 1990s with small roles in movies and TV shows. Her first big break came with the movie The Next Karate Kid (1994), in a leading role that made good use of her background in swimming and gymnastics. In Boys Don't Cry she gave a stunning performance as a young wom - www.answers.com