[Throughout her life], Swank says, her divorced mother, Judy, championed her.

"The biggest gift I've ever been given in my life was when my mom said to me, 'You can do anything you want as long as you work hard enough.'"

Although the two moms are opposites, the report's next sentence quotes Swank seeing a "parallel" between the reality and the movie:

"That's another parallel to this movie. Frankie believes in Maggie. That power of belief in another human being is one of the most powerful things in the world."

The movie has "paralleled" real life, in other words, by shoehorning the Eastwood character into the real mom's role.

Swank aims to render real life faithfully, as she tells Mike Wallace in an interview:

She's sophisticated and worldly, but she grew up in a trailer park.

Swank lives in New York City, and she's a movie star who rides the subway.

"I use the subway all the time. It's my form of transportation," says Swank. "Because it's quick. It's inexpensive."

And she says it's a great way for her to study her craft.

"My job is about playing people. And I think once you lose touch with people, what do you play," she says.

"So I'm here, and it's the best people watching in the world. You know? For instance, take their glasses on and off while they read their paper. Or how someone who's really tired, how they hold themselves when they're exhausted."

"You sound more like a reporter than an actress," says Wallace.

"Well, in the end, that's part of my job," says Swank....

Like her character, Maggie Fitzgerald, Swank grew up in a trailer park in Bellingham, Wash. Her mother was her main supporter and they remain close to this day. "My mom said to me that I could do anything I wanted in life. As long as I worked hard enough," says Swank. "And to this day, it still makes me really emotional, because I just never questioned it, you know? She just always believed in me."

[Swank: A Star Who Takes Risks, cbsnews.com, Jan. 30, 2005.]

Minor portions of above other than marked quotations copied from indicated sources.

See also: Mean Mother's Oscar Wins discussion at the Straight Dope Message Board.