LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Hilary Swank: Los Angeles
built 657 days ago
In the wake of a devastating tragedy that killed every member of her family, Christian missionary Katherine Morrissey (Hilary Swank) loses her faith in God, devoting the rest of her life to debunking religious phenomena with the principles of science. Read More
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In 1989, when she was 15, Swank and her mom packed up their Oldsmobile Delta 88 and, with just $75, headed to Los Angeles. They lived in the car until a friend gave them a place to stay. Swank's mom used a pay phone to book her daughter for auditions. Three years later, Swank landed her first movie role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
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The teenage Hilary settled into a new life, attending South Pasadena High School while auditioning for films, commercials and television pilots. Within her first year in Los Angeles, she made an appearance on the television series Harry and the Hendersons and soon won recurring roles on the popular situation comedies Evening Shade and Growing Pains. Television proved to be a solid training ground for the actress, and in 1992, Hilary landed a supporting role in the feature film Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
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Her lack of name recognition aided Swank in landing the career transforming role of Teena Brandon, a Nebraska woman who opts to live as a man, in "Boys Don't Cry" (1999). Based on a true story and beautifully realized by director Kimberly Peirce, the film presented numerous challenges for Swank. Having successfully passed the audition, she cut off her long hair and worked with a trainer to build the requisite muscle. As part of her extensive preparation, she created a male alter ego and spent close to a month living in that persona in Los Angeles, a move that provided the actress with plenty of first-hand research. The onscreen results were astonishing—she conveyed the swagger and fragility of the character, with many praising her performance as one of the year's best. Swank earned many accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Actress.
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