Hilary Swank Embraces Her Strength & Feminity on 'Manhattan' November 2014 Cover

Hilary Swank is stunning in white on the cover of Manhattan magazine’s November 2014 issue, out on newsstands now!

Here’s what the 40-year-old actress had to share with the mag:

On her charity the Hilaroo Foundation, which rescues abandoned animals and rehabilitates them: “So I thought, how can I bring these two things together�”kids who feel like outsiders and animals who have been abandoned�”to help heal each other through rescue, rehabilitation and responsibility training? When an animal and a human come together, it’s very healing, especially for a child who has been given up on and who doesn’t trust people anymore.”

On what drives and inspires her as a woman: “The need to embrace our strength. To embrace my strength. To not shy away from what I believe in because of what anyone might think. On the flip side, I also embrace my femininity. I just turned 40, and as you grow and have hindsight, you feel less alone. When you’re in your 20s and 30s, you feel like, Am I the only one feeling this? And in your late 30s to 40s you start feeling that we’re all going through something, and the more we share our experiences, the less alone we are.”

On the advice she would give her younger self:”I was scared to trust my instincts, and less strong because of it. We can be paralyzed by fear, and I’d like to think of myself as someone who steps into fear and into the sharp corners. And yet, we all have our weaknesses, and there are areas where I was afraid to trust my instincts, and I don’t want to do that anymore.”

For more on Hilary, visit Modernluxury.com/manhattan!