Like her characters, Hilary Swank has always found a way to forge forward through life’s various obstacles, and her style has consistently reflected that fact. As her film career appeared to be growing dim, the actor’s wardrobe made her shine on the red carpet, regardless. Be it the little gold Calvin Klein number she glimmered in at Elle‘s Women in Hollywood event in 2010 (pictured above), or the Grecian Donna Karen gown donned at the premiere of “Conviction,” Swank appeared glowing and defiant: A titan prophesying her own hopeful comeback.
Sadly, it was still a little while away, as critics continued to scratch their heads over Swank’s downward career trajectory. Entertainment Weekly, for instance, pointed out that the multiple award winner has “a virtual monopoly on roles that call for scrappy women who take no guff,” which made them question: “Why would she agree to play the victim in a flashy, trashy woman-in peril flick like ‘The Resident?'” In their review of the malaria “factoid” flick “Mary and Martha,” meanwhile, IndieWire accused the film of “play[ing] like a dramatized charity infomercial” and called it “another wide misstep” by the double Oscar winner.
Right when she was at her lowest career-wise, “The Office” featured a running joke in an episode, which asked whether Swank was hot or not. Understandably, the star was not amused. “It really does a disservice,” she told Time in 2010 in response. “There’s so much more to life than looking a certain way.”
