Born on July 30, 1974 in Lincoln, Nebraska, Hilary Ann Swank began her acting career in 1990 in the film Evening Shade, she then had roles in Growing Pains, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Next Karate Kid. In 1997 Swank was cast as Carly Reynolds in Beverly Hills 90210, Swank was next cast as Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry, a role for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Swank was then in The Gift, The Affair of the Necklace, Insomnia, The Core, Iron Jawed Angels and Red Dust. In 2004 Swank starred in the film Million Dollar Baby, for which she won her second Academy Award for Best Actress. Swank has since been in the films The Black Dahlia, Freedom Writers, The Reaping and P.S., I Love You and Iron Man.