| Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress. She is best known for her two Oscar-winning performances: a troubled transman, Brandon Teena, in the movie Boys Don't Cry, and a struggling waitress-turned-boxer, Maggie Fitzgerald, in Million Dollar Baby. Her film career in Hollywood began with a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid (1994), where she played Julie Pierce, the first female protégé of the (by then) legendary sensei Mr. Miyagi, played by Pat Morita. In 1998, 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. Swank later said 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." As it turned out, the firing was the best thing to happen to Swank, as it freed her to audition for the role of Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry. The role made her a star, with almost every critic hailing hers as the best female performance of 1999. The performance ultimately won her the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Actress. Swank's Oscar success means that she has joined the ranks of Vivien Leigh, Helen Hayes, Sally Field, and Luise Rainer as the only actresses to have been nominated twice and win both times. She is also the third youngest double Best Actress Oscar winner.
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