Hilary Swank wasn't allowed to play with other children because she was poor.

The Oscar-winning actress was isolated from other kids in her neighbourhood because other parents didn't like the fact she lived in a trailer park.

She said: "I had a roof over my head and my mom worked hard to make sure there was food on the table, but the parents of the neighbourhood kids wouldn't let them play with me. They would tell them, 'It's time to come in' if they were with me, or if I was at their houses, it would be, 'Hilary you need to leave.' "

Hilary - who has been in a relationship with Hollywood agent John Campisi for four years - didn't understand the prejudice some people held about her living arrangement when she was younger but insists she tries not to judge them too harshly.

She added in an interview with the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "I didn't understand because I didn't know there was this kind of stereotype about people who live in trailer parks and I look back now at those parents who were in their mid-30s - the age I am now- and I think, 'How could you do that to a child?'

"It's not something I understand but I try and have compassion for whatever their insecurities were."

The 36-year-old beauty doesn't regret her past because it means she doesn't rely on material possessions.

She said: "I do Drive A nice car, but that doesn't make me who I am. I don't need those things to feel complete, or feel like I belong.

"People ask me if I would change my past if I could and I never would, because it made me so grateful for what I have today."