Profile Text
Swank in 2011, DFree / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Hilary Ann Swank
Place of Birth: Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Date of Birth: July 30, 1974
Ethnicity: one quarter Mexican [Spanish and Indigenous], as well as English and German, and smaller amounts of Swiss-German, Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Welsh, and Dutch
Hilary Swank is an American actress and producer. She has twice won the Academy Award for Best Actress , for Boys Don’t Cry (1999) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). Her roles also include the films Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), The Next Karate Kid , Sometimes They Come Back… Again , Kounterfeit , Quiet Days in Hollywood , Heartwood , The Gift (2000), The Affair of the Necklace , Insomnia (2002), 11:14 , The Core , Red Dust (2004), The Black Dahlia , Freedom Writers , The Reaping , P. S. I Love You , Birds of America , Amelia (2009), Conviction (2010), The Resident , New Year’s Eve (2011), The Homesman , You’re Not You , Spark (2016), Logan Lucky , 55 Steps , What They Had , I Am Mother , The Hunt , Fatale (2020), The Good Mother (2023), and Ordinary Angels ; the shows Evening Shade , Growing Pains , Camp Wilder , Leaving L.A. , Beverly Hills, 90210 ; Trust , BoJack Horseman , Away , Alaska Daily , and Yellowjackets ; and the made-for-tv movies Cries Unheard: The Donna Yaklich Story , Terror in the Family , Dying to Belong , The Sleepwalker Killing , Iron Jawed Angels , and Mary and Martha .
Hilary was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and was raised in Spokane, then Bellingham, in Washington. She is the daughter of Judy and Stephen Swank. Hilary is married to entrepreneur Philip Schneider, with whom she has two children.
Hilary is the only actress of Latin American descent to have won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Hilary’s maternal grandmother, Frances Martha Dominguez, was born in El Centro, California, to a family of Mexican origin; some of her ancestors had lived in California for several generations, while others had moved from Mexico more recently. On Inside the Actors Studio , 2009, Hilary stated that her maternal grandmother was of “80% Spanish and 20% Shoshone Native American descent.” In the sense of many Mexicans being of mixed Spanish and Native American (Indigenous Mexican) ancestry, Hilary’s statement is correct, though it is not clear if she has verified/documented Shoshone ancestry, specifically.
Hilary’s other ancestry is English, German, and smaller amounts of Swiss-German, Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Welsh, and Dutch. Hilary’s paternal grandmother was an English war bride.
Hilary’s patrilineal line can be traced to her great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Balthasar Schwenck/Swank, who was born, c. 1716, in Württemberg, Germany.
Hilary’s paternal grandfather was Glen Ellsworth Swank (the son of Lewis Ellsworth/Elsworth Swank and Lottie Tedrow). Glen was born in Kellerton, Ringgold, Iowa. Lewis was born in Shannon City, Iowa, the son of William Henry Harrison Swank and Amanda Josephine Phillips. Hilary’s great-grandmother Lottie was born in Athens Township, Ringgold, the daughter of Grant Tedrow and Alice L. Gilmore, whose own paternal grandparents were from Wiltshire, England.
Hilary’s paternal grandmother was Marion Elaine Allenspach (the daughter of Walter Charles Allenspach and Lucy Creek). Marion was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England. Walter’s father, Isaac Allenspach, was Swiss, of Swiss-German descent. Walter’s mother, Annie Sarah Noyes, was English.
Hilary’s maternal grandfather was James Kenneth “Kenny” Clough (the son of Harold Frederick/Frederic Clough and Dora Annabelle McMillin/McMillan). James was born in Ellston, Ringgold, Iowa. Harold was born in Afton, Union, Iowa, the son of John Clough, whose father was from Alna, Lincoln, Maine, and of Carrie Dell/Della Martin. Dora was the daughter of William P. McMillin and Sarah A.
Hilary’s maternal grandmother was Frances Martha Dominguez (the daughter of Frank Raymond/Roman Dominguez and Martha B. Rodriguez). Frances was born in El Centro, Imperial, California. Frank was born in Ventura County, California, the son of Juan Pedro Dominguez and Maria Andrea Grajeda. Hilary’s great-grandmother Martha was born in California, the daughter of Romana Coronada.
Sources: Genealogies of Hilary Swank – http://famouskin.com http://gw.geneanet.org https://www.geni.com
Interview with Hilary Swank on Inside the Actors Studio , 2009 – http://www.youtube.com
Swank in 2008, photo credit: Pulicciano