In 1999, everything changed for Swank when she landed the role of Brandon Teena in Boys Don’t Cry. The film, based on the true story of a transgender man who was tragically murdered, required Swank to deliver an emotionally raw, transformative performance.
Despite earning just $3,000 for the role, Swank won the Academy Award for Best Actress, proving that a breakout performance doesn’t depend on a big paycheck.
“So, I had an Academy Award, and I didn’t have health insurance,” Swank quipped. “The life of an actor.”
She followed up her award-winning performance with roles in critically acclaimed films like Million Dollar Baby (2004), which earned her a second Oscar: “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,” she said in her acceptance speech.
But what set Swank apart wasn’t just her talent – it was her willingness to take risks, embrace challenging roles, and push her boundaries.
Speaking with CBS about Swank convincingly playing a professional boxer, Clint Eastwood, who starred and directed Million Dollar Baby, told CBS: “I just thought, ‘Yeah, this gal would be great. If we can get her trained up. If we can get a little bit more bulk on her, to make her look like a fighter,” he said. “She was like a feather. But what happened is, she had this great work ethic.”
What fills her heart
In 2014, she took a break from her hugely successful career to be a caregiver for her father, Stephen Michael Swank, an Air Force and Air National Guard veteran, who needed a risky lung transplant.
The one-year sabbatical turned into three as her father’s recovery from the invasive surgery was slow.
Still also caring for her dad, who lived with her until he died in 2021, the Alaska Daily star returned to filming.
All throughout, Swank – the founder of Hilaroo Foundation – generously shares her time and celebrity in bringing awareness to various causes, like advocating for cancer research, and for the wellbeing of animals.
In an interview with Health, she said, “One of the things that filled my heart was animals because none of them looked at me for anything other than for who I am. It quickly became apparent that they were going to be by my side and a part of my journey forever. They touch my heart in a way that a lot of humans can’t.”
New family
Finding love with a human was a challenge for the Freedom Writers actor, who’s instinct is to care for others before herself – a trait she inherited from her mom.
