Mischa Barton
Mischa Barton, 2010
Born	Mischa Anne Marsden Barton 24 January 1986 (1986-01-24) (age 24) Hammersmith, London, England
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	1995–present

Mischa Anne Marsden Barton (born 24 January 1986) is an English-American fashion model, film, television, and stage actress, best known for her role as Marissa Cooper in the American television series The O.C..

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 2 Career 3 Endorsements 4 Personal life 4.1 Relationships 4.2 Charitable affiliations 4.3 Legal troubles 5 Filmography 6 Theatre 7 Awards and nominations 8 References 9 External links

Biography

Early life

Mischa Barton was born in Hammersmith,¹ West London, England,²³ to an Irish mother,⁴ Nuala (née Quinn),⁵ a photographer, and a Mancunian¹ English father, Paul Marsden Barton,⁵ a foreign exchange broker. She has two sisters, younger Hania and elder Zoe, a barrister in London.⁶⁷ Her father's work took the family to New York City when Barton was six, and ten days after her twentieth birthday,¹ she became a naturalised citizen of the United States in 2006. Retaining her British citizenship, Barton in reference to her English roots states, "I actually feel more comfortable in England a lot of the time"⁸ yet stresses that, "I like people to discern that I'm an English-Irish girl who grew up in New York."¹

Barton graduated from the Professional Children's School in Manhattan in 2004, and took a summer short course called Acting Shakespeare at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, in June and July 2006,⁹ at Sir Richard Attenborough's urging,¹⁰¹¹ after he directed her in Closing the Ring.

Career

Barton began acting at the age of eight (as she said on The Friday Night Project), co-starring in the Off Broadway premiere of Slavs!, written by Tony Kushner. She appeared in several other Off Broadway productions, taking a lead role in James Lapine's Twelve Dreams at Lincoln Center. She made her film debut in Lawn Dogs, which won awards at film festivals around the world. Since then, she has appeared in several films, such as The Sixth Sense, Notting Hill, St Trinians, and Closing the Ring. In St Trinians, she appeared as a former head girl of that school advising current senior pupils on fashion and style.¹² Barton first appeared on television in 1996, as young Lily Montgomery in the soap opera All My Children, and in a modern re-make of Bonnie and Clyde. She guest-starred in eight episodes of the television series Once and Again as Jessie Sammler's (Evan Rachel Wood's) girlfriend, Katie Singer. Other television appearances include an episode of the Fox series Fastlane, James Blunt's music video "Goodbye My Lover",¹³ and Enrique Iglesias' music video "Addicted".¹⁴

In August 2003, Fox premiered the television series The O.C., about affluent teenagers with stormy personal lives who reside in scenic Orange County, California. The show became an overnight success due to its large fanbase,¹⁵ and resulted in Barton's fame being increased through her role as Marissa Cooper. Barton departed from the show in the third-season finale in May 2006. The O.C. dropped in ratings dramatically during its third and fourth seasons, and ended in early 2007.¹⁶

In July 2006, Barton appeared on the British comedy variety show The Friday Night Project as a guest host.¹⁷ In 2007, Barton appeared in the film The Oh in Ohio, and again in Closing the Ring. She also appeared in the R-rated comedy film Virgin Territory with Hayden Christensen. Later in 2007, Barton was cast in the international film produced by the Russian band t.A.T.u., called You and I.

In 2008, Barton appeared on the popular show Gok's Fashion Fix on Channel 4.¹⁸ In the episode, Gok goes on an exclusive shopping trip in Paris with Mischa.¹⁸ She appeared in Assassination of a High School President, co-starring Bruce Willis, when the film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The film was scheduled for a theatrical release in February 2009 but this was cancelled when the distributor, Yari filed for bankruptcy. The film received a TV premiere in Russia on 14 May 2009.¹⁹ Sony will release the title in the US on DVD on 6 October 2009.²⁰

She also starred in the horror, Walled In which was released straight-to-DVD in March 2009. Her next horror project, Homecoming received a limited release in July 2009. Barton failed to attend the premiere of the psychological thriller due to a medical issue.²¹

She also starred in Don't Fade Away, which is expected to be released in 2010. She began filming You and I, A t.A.T.u.-inspired film directed by Roland Joffé. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2008 although is expected to be released in 2010.

In a December 2007 interview, she indicated that she would return to television for the right project; "It's not that I dislike doing television at all. It would be interesting having more creative control over where the storylines go or the characters. But for the right thing, of course."¹²

In early 2009 she starred alongside Martin Sheen in Bhopal: Prayer for Rain a biopic of the Bhopal gas tragedy. The title is currently in post-production and expected to be released in 2010. Barton was recently cast in The Science of Cool.²²

She recently starred as one of the main characters on The Beautiful Life a new series on The CW.²³²⁴ The series was subsequently cancelled on 25 September 2009 after televising 2 episodes.²⁵ In December 2009 the technology company HP became the show's sponsor and began airing the show's five episodes on YouTube.²⁶²⁷

She guest starred on a Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode that aired on 3 March 2010.²⁸ She was recently cast in the lead role of the film adaptation of the novel, Engram in the UK/German production listed as a medical conspiracy action/thriller.²⁹

In July 2010 she was cast in the horror-thriller Into the Darkness, which is scheduled for a 2011 release.³⁰

Endorsements

Barton has been in many television commercials and print advertising campaigns. Barton has modeled for companies Calvin Klein, bebe stores, Aéropostale, Monsoon Accessorize, Dooney & Bourke, JC (Jeans and Clothes), European clothing line Morgan de Toi, Jaspal, and Neutrogena skincare products. She became the spokesperson for Keds Sneakers, substantially increasing their sales.³¹ In Australia, she appears in commercials for teen magazine Famous and was the guest of honour at retail giant David Jones Tahitian Summer Collection launch.³² She has also endorsed Chanel jewelry, appearing at a number of events for the brand. In a 2005 interview,³³ she stated that she liked the Chanel brand because they produced a large number of clip-on earrings suitable for women who did not have pierced ears, as she did not at the time. In 2009, having had her ears pierced especially for her role in The Beautiful Life, she modelled jewelry for the company Inspired Creations, including pierced earrings and their Waxing Poetic range of charms.³⁴

In 2007, Barton also became a spokesperson for the SAFE (Skin Awareness for Everyone) campaign.³⁵ In addition, she lent her name to the TRAID campaign (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) in association with Visa Swap.³⁶ Barton was photographed in April 2007 for the Fall 2007/2008 advertising campaign for Italian clothing brand Iceberg, modeling with Nicolas Bemberg.³⁷

In July 2008, she created a 14 piece handbag collection for online retailer, ASOS.com.³⁸ Barton was reportedly very involved in the line which retails from £20 to £145. She told ASOS magazine that she first discovered the website through her sister.³⁹

In December 2008, Barton premiered her line of headbands released on the Stacy Lapidus line. The headbands cost from $90 to $200. She also has a handbag line for London-based Ri2k, which is sold in the United Kingdom and Australia only.⁴⁰ In early 2009, she became the "new face" of Herbal Essences.⁴¹

In June 2010 she was announced as the face of Philipp Plein couture. Plein revealed, “Being in the limelight for a young and beautiful girl, the looks of course always get a lot of attention, Mischa Barton got a lot and learned to live with her fame. For me it was the big challenge to again show her as a Diva, a Rock ´n` Roll Goddessâ€�. The campaign will be circulated in international editions of leading fashion magazines.⁴²⁴³

Personal life

Relationships

Barton's previous boyfriends have included Cisco Adler,⁴⁴ Taylor Locke,⁴⁵ Jamie Dornan, Brett Simon,⁴⁶ and Brandon Davis.⁴⁷ In December 2008, there were reports that she was dating The Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard.⁴⁸ The reports were confirmed during the relationship by Pritchard; Barton only confirmed the relationship after the pair split in March 2009, writing on her blog: "I think Luke is a great guy, but the type better suited as a friend. We have a surprising amount of mutual friends in England and I don't regret our time together, I just couldn't keep it going."⁴⁹⁵⁰⁵¹

Charitable affiliations

Barton is currently the spokesperson for Climate Star, an organization that fights global warming through social and legislative activism.⁵² Barton has worked with the home shopping company QVC to raise funds for women's cancer research.⁵³

In 2006, Barton also became a spokesperson for the SAFE (Skin Awareness for Everyone)⁵⁴ campaign and also lent her name to the TRAID campaign (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) in association with Visa Swap.⁵⁵ Barton is an ambassador for Save the Children and the "One Water" campaign which brings water to remote locations in Africa, and is on the board of the "Lupus Research Committee" in Los Angeles.⁵⁶

Legal troubles

Barton was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, possession of marijuana, and driving without a valid license on December 27, 2007.⁵⁷ She was stopped by the police during the early morning hours in West Hollywood, California when she was seen "straddling the lanes and failing to signal for a turn". Police discovered during the traffic stop that Barton "was an unlicensed driver and was driving while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage".⁵⁷ She was detained and released later the same morning from the West Hollywood Sheriff Station on US$10,000 bail. On January 11, 2008, Barton called into Ryan Seacrest's radio show On Air with Ryan Seacrest (KIIS FM) and took full responsibility for her actions:

“

I was pulled over... just that. Obviously, I’m 100 percent responsible for my actions in this case and I’m really disappointed in myself... I don’t know what to say about it, except that I’m not perfect and I just don’t ever intend to do something this stupid again."58

�

Barton was subsequently charged with two misdemeanors: driving without a valid license; and a DUI.⁵⁹ On January 21, 2010, Barton was sued by her New York landlord for refusing to pay three months of $7000 per month rent on her apartment.⁶⁰

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1995	Polio Water	Diane	Short film
1997	Lawn Dogs	Devon Stockard
1999	Pups	Rocky
	Notting Hill	12-Year-Old Actress
	The Sixth Sense	Kyra Collins
2000	Paranoid	Theresa	Straight-to-DVD
	Skipped Parts	Maurey Pierce
	Frankie and Hazel	Francesca 'Frankie' Humphries
2001	Lost and Delirious	Mary 'Mouse' Bedford
	Tart	Grace Bailey
2002	Octane	Natasha 'Nat' Wilson
2005	Julie Johnson	Lisa Johnson
2006	The Oh in Ohio	Kristen Taylor
2007	Closing the Ring	Young Ethel Ann
	Virgin Territory	Pampinea	Straight-to-DVD
2009	Walled In	Sam Walczak	Straight-to-DVD
	Homecoming	Shelby	Limited US theatrical release
	St. Trinian's	JJ French
	Assassination of a High School President	Francesca Fachini	Straight-to-DVD
2010	The Science of Cool	Jane	In production
	You and I	Lana Starkova	Post-production
	Bhopal: Prayer for Rain	Eva	Post-production
	Don't Fade Away	Kat	Post-production
2011	Into the Darkness	Allie	pre-production
	Engram	Meg Winter	In-production

Television
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1995	All My Children	Lily Benton Montgomery#2	1 episode
1996	New York Crossing	Drummond
1996-97	Kablam!	Betty Ann Bongo	16 episodes
2000	Frankie & Hazel	Francesca 'Frankie' Humphries	TV movie
2001-02	Once and Again	Katie Singer	8 episodes
2002	A Ring of Endless Light	Vicky Austin	TV movie
2003	Fastlane	Simone Collins	1 episode
2003–2006	The O.C.	Marissa Cooper	Seasons 1 - 3
2009	The Beautiful Life	Sonja Stone	2 episodes aired on The CW, 5 episodes aired online
2010	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Gladys Dalton	1 episode

Music videos
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Addicted	Love interest	Enrique Iglesias video
2005	Goodbye My Lover	Girlfriend	James Blunt video

Theatre

Year	Production	Role	Notes
1995	Slavs!	Vodya	Tony Kushner play
	Twelve Dreams	Emma
1996	Where The Truth Lies	Cinda
1997	One Flea Spare	Morse

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Television programme	Result
2004	Teen Choice Award	Choice Breakout TV Star â€” Female	The O.C.	Won
	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV Actress â€” Drama/Action Adventure	The O.C.	Nominated
2005	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV Actress: Drama	The O.C.	Nominated
	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV Chemistry with Ben McKenzie	The O.C.	Nominated
2006	Teen Choice Award	TV â€” Choice Actress	The O.C.	Won
2007	Prism Award	Performance in a Drama Series Episode	The O.C.	Nominated

References

External links

• Official website
• Mischa Barton at the Internet Movie Database
• Mischa Barton at Allmovie
• Mischa Barton at TV.com
• Mischa Barton at People.com

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia