Hilary Ann Swank was born on July 30, 1974, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Her mother, Judy Kay (née Clough), was a secretary and dancer, and her father, Stephen Michael Swank, was a Chief Master Sergeant in the Oregon Air National Guard and later a traveling salesman. She has a brother, Daniel, who is eight years her senior. Many of Swank’s family members are from Ringgold County, Iowa. Her maternal grandmother, Frances Martha Clough (née Dominguez), was born in El Centro, California, and was of Spanish and Native American descent. Swank’s paternal grandmother was born in England; her other ancestry includes Dutch, German, Scots-Irish, Scottish, Swiss-German, and Welsh. The surname “Swank,” originally “Schwenk,” is of German origin.

Swank made her film debut in the 1992 comedy horror film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, playing a small role, after which she acted in the direct-to-video drama Quiet Days in Hollywood, where she co-starred with Chad Lowe, who would become her husband for a time. Her first leading film role was in the fourth installment of the Karate Kid series, The Next Karate Kid (1994), which utilized her gymnastics background and paired her with Pat Morita. In 1994, she also starred in the drama Cries Unheard: The Donna Yaklich Story, as the abused step-daughter who was protected by Donna (Jaclyn Smith). In 1995, she appeared with British actor Bruce Payne in Kounterfeit. In 1996, she starred in a TV movie, family drama Terror in the Family, as a troubled teenager. In September 1997, Swank played single mother Carly Reynolds in Beverly Hills, 90210 and was initially promised it would be a two-year role, but saw her character written out after 16 episodes in January 1998. Swank later stated that she was devastated at being cut from the show, thinking, “If I’m not good enough for 90210, I’m not good enough for anything.”

While filming Quiet Days in Hollywood, Swank met actor Chad Lowe. They married on September 28, 1997. They announced their intention to divorce on January 9, 2006, which was finalized on November 1, 2007. In 2007, Swank began dating her agent, John Campisi, but they ended their relationship in May 2012.

In 2006, Swank signed a three-year contract with Guerlain to be the face of the women’s fragrance Insolence. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the motion picture category on January 8, 2007; it was the 2,325th star presented.

In 2007, Swank starred in Freedom Writers, about a real-life teacher, Erin Gruwell. Many reviews of her performance were positive, with one critic noting that she “brings credibility” to the role, and another stating that her performance reaches a “singular lack of artifice, stripping herself back to the bare essentials”. Swank next starred in the horror film The Reaping (2007), as a debunker of religious phenomena. Swank convinced the producers to move the film’s setting from New England to the Deep South, and the film was filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina struck. The same year, she also appeared in the romantic drama P.S. I Love You with Gerard Butler. Swank portrayed the pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart in the 2009 biopic Amelia, which she also co-executive produced through 2S Films, a production company she established with producer Molly Smith.

In October 2011, Swank attracted controversy for attending an event in Chechnya’s capital Grozny on the 35th birthday of Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov on October 5. After wishing him “Happy birthday, Mr. President”, she reportedly claimed knowledge about Kadyrov saying, “I read. I do my research.” Following criticism from human rights groups, that reported having informed her about the human rights abuses in Chechnya prior to the event and asked her to reconsider her participation, Swank said she was unaware that Kadyrov had been accused of human rights violations and that she “deeply regrets” taking part in the lavish concert. She donated her personal appearance fees “to various charitable organizations”.

In 2012, Swank’s audiobook recording of Caroline Knapp’s Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs was released at Audible.com. In 2013, she starred in the television film Mary and Martha alongside Brenda Blethyn. In 2014, Swank played the lead role of Kate Parker, a woman whose life is shattered when she develops the degenerative disease ALS, in You’re Not You. The film co-starred Emmy Rossum and Josh Duhamel. In 2015, she was listed as one of BBC’s 100 Women.

On March 22, 2016, Swank announced her engagement to Ruben Torres, a financial advisor with UBS and former professional tennis player. The two had been dating since May 2015. In June 2016, Swank’s representative confirmed that she and Torres had ended their engagement.

In 2017, she appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s heist comedy Logan Lucky, as Special Agent Sarah Grayson, alongside Channing Tatum and Daniel Craig, and portrayed lawyer Colette Hughes in Bille August’s drama film 55 Steps. In 2018, Swank starred in and executive produced the Alzheimer’s disease drama film What They Had, directed by Elizabeth Chomko. Also in 2018, she portrayed Gail Getty in the first season of FX’s anthology series Trust. It was reported that Swank would star as Laura Murphy in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s drama series The One Percent.

On August 18, 2018, she married entrepreneur Philip Schneider after two years of dating.

In 2020, Swank starred in the thriller film The Hunt, opposite Betty Gilpin. In August 2019, the film’s plot, about deadly violence between political liberals and conservatives, caused controversy, after which its release was delayed by Universal from the original date of September 2019. Variety reported that Swank had said, “No one’s seen the film. You can’t really have a conversation about it without understanding what it’s about.”