Claim: Hilary Swank played the role of single mother Carly Reynolds during the eighth season of the television drama Beverly Hills 90210.

Hilary Swank -LRB- born July 30 , 1974 -RRB- is an American actress and producer . She has won two Academy Awards for Best Actress and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007 .   Swank made her film debut in a minor role for Buffy the Vampire Slayer , before she made her breakout lead role in the fourth installment of the The Karate Kid franchise , The Next Karate Kid in 1994 . On television , she was cast as part of the main cast in the eighth season of the drama series Beverly Hills 90210 as single mother Carly Reynolds from 1997 to 1998 . Swank garnered critical acclaim for her portrayal of Brandon Teena in the 1999 biographical independent film Boys Do n't Cry , which earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture -- Drama . She starred in Clint Eastwood 's 2004 sports drama film Million Dollar Baby as struggling-waitress-turned-boxer Maggie Fitzgerald , which won her a second Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Actress .   She starred in other films , such as The Gift -LRB- 2000 -RRB- , Insomnia -LRB- 2002 -RRB- , Iron Jawed Angels -LRB- 2004 -RRB- , Red Dust -LRB- 2004 -RRB- The Reaping -LRB- 2007 -RRB- , P.S. I Love You -LRB- 2007 -RRB- , Freedom Writers -LRB- 2007 -RRB- and The Homesman -LRB- 2014 -RRB- .