On December 15, 2004, “Million Dollar Baby” was released. Starring Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and directed by Eastwood, the film went on to win multiple Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress for Swank’s powerful performance as a champion female boxer. The story of determination, against the odds, appealed to audiences and critics alike. By featuring a female fighter, the film exposed more people to the sport and inspired more women to get into the boxing ring.
Frankie Dunn (Eastwood) and Eddie “Scrap” Dupris (Freeman) are retired veteran boxing coaches who run a Los Angeles boxing gym. They are taken off guard when Maggie Fitzgerald (Swank) appears at their gym, looking for a trainer. Frankie, at first, rejects Maggie’s inquiry. He does not think much of the sport of women’s boxing and believes that Maggie, at 31, is past her prime. Yet, Maggie is persistent and eventually convinces Frankie to train her into a tough fighter. Maggie works her way up the boxing ranks, eventually securing her first $1 million fight in Las Vegas. The outcome of the fight brings the film to a devastating conclusion. Despite the tragic ending, “Million Dollar Baby” touched audiences with its message about the persistence of the human spirit and athletic drive.
In order to train for her award-winning role, Swank had to learn how to box. She boxed for two and a half hours a day and lifted weights for an additional hour and a half, six days a week. Starting out at 110 pounds, by the time she started filming, the star weighed in at 129. Her strength in the film was an inspiration to all professional and aspiring athletes alike.
Swank continues to be a champion for empowering film roles for women, as well as for ending Hollywood’s gender pay gap. In 2014, speaking at Loyola Marymount University School of Film & TV, she revealed that “my male counterpart will get paid 10 times more than me — 10 times. Not double, but 10 times for the same job. We only have this much left for the female actress. I mean, there’s two genders on this Earth. Both are compelling, interesting, diverse, wonderful in all their own separate ways. And yet there’s an influx of male roles and there’s just not for women.”
Women still have a way to go. But, thanks to Swank’s outspoken voice and knockout performance, more women are entering their chosen arenas to fight for what they want.