Hilary Horse Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American film actress. She has won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for playing Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry (1998) and a struggling waitress-turned-boxer Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby (2004).  Swank made her film acting debut in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a small role, after which she acted in the direct-to-video drama Quiet Days in Hollywood, where she co-starred with her future husband Chad Lowe.  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.  Leaving Beverly Hills 90210 freed her to audition for the role of Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry.  In 2004, she had a very impressive role in Million Dollar Baby.  These were just a few of her many roles.