Dawn Q. Hillard is the daughter of Quinn Tenorio and Daniel Hillard, a resident of Prophecy Creek, Pennsylvania, and a student at Prophecy Creek High School.
In November of 1997, she began dating Roy McCleary. In February of 1998, she became the first teenager to win the Rittenhouse Prize for Digital Photography. In March of 1998, she recieved a love poem from the anonymous writer calling himself the "Jack of Hearts." In April of 1998, she played the character of Sandy Dumbrowski in the PCHS performance of Grease.