Actress Swank splits from husband

Swank was 18 when the couple first met at a party in 1992

Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank and her actor husband Chad Lowe have separated, her publicist has said.

"Hilary and Chad ... are hopeful they'll be able to get through this tough time," he added.

No reason was given for the split, but it has been reported the couple began a trial separation "a while ago".

Swank, 31, who won the Academy Award for best actress last year for Million Dollar Baby, married Lowe - brother of actor Rob - in 1997.

They met at a Los Angeles party five years earlier.

Swank played a woman boxer to win her second Oscar

Lowe, 37, has had roles in more than 30 television films and several motion pictures since making his big-screen debut in 1984 with a small role in his brother's film Oxford Blues.

He won an Emmy in 1993 for his portrayal of an Aids sufferer in a TV series, Life Goes On.

Last year's Oscar was the second for Swank, who as a relative unknown won the same award in 2000 for playing a transgender teenager in the independent film Boys Don't Cry.

She has just finished two movies due for release this year - a horror film, The Reaping, and murder mystery The Black Dahlia.