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    Hilary Swank grew up in a trailer park and lived in a car with her mother as a teenager.

    Before she became an Oscar winner, Swank was a high school dropout and struggling actress.

    When she was 15 years old, Swank and her mother left their home in Bellingham, Wash., and headed to California with "$75 and a Mobil card," reported Rebecca Leung at CBSNews.com.

    After their arrival, the pair lived in a car for a couple of weeks.

    Fortunately, Swank landed a role in her early twenties as Tina Brandon in the film "Boys Don't Cry" — a role for which she was paid $3,000 in total — which would eventually earn her an Academy Award for Best Actress.