Hilary Swank has won Best Actress Academy Awards for her roles in Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby. Rajini Vaidyanathan discusses her background, influences and her work with the disadvantaged. Growing up in poverty in a trailer park success wasn’t automatic for her and she has said despite wanting to be an actor since she was 8 years old she never expected to excel in the industry. Now a red carpet regular, Hilary Swank dedicates a lot of time to animal rights, homelessness and cancer charities.