Mischa Barton
Mischa Barton, 2006
Born	Mischa Anne Marsden Barton 24 January 1986 (1986-01-24) (age 24) London, England
Occupation	Actress, presenter, model
Years active	1995–present

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

Early life

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

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, at Sir Richard Attenborough's urging, 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. 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", and Enrique Iglesias' music video "Addicted".

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, 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.

In July 2006, Barton appeared on the British comedy variety show The Friday Night Project as a guest host. 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. In the episode, Gok goes on an exclusive shopping trip in Paris with Mischa. 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. Sony will release the title in the US on DVD on 6 October 2009.

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.

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."

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

She will guest star on a Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode airing on 3 March 2010.

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.

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. 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. She has also endorsed Chanel jewelry, appearing at a number of events for the brand. In a 2005 interview, 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.

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

In July 2008, she created a 14 piece handbag collection for online retailer, ASOS.com. 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.

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. In early 2009, she became the "new face" of Herbal Essences.

Personal life

Relationships

Barton's previous boyfriends have included Cisco Adler, Taylor Locke, Jamie Dornan, Brett Simon, and Brandon Davis. In December 2008, there were reports that she was dating The Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard. 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."

Charitable affiliations

Barton is currently the spokesperson for Climate Star, an organization that fights global warming through social and legislative activism.

Barton has worked with the home shopping company QVC to raise funds for women's cancer research.

In 2006, Barton also became a spokesperson for the SAFE (Skin Awareness for Everyone) campaign and also lent her name to the TRAID campaign (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) in association with Visa Swap.

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.

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. 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". 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."

Barton was subsequently charged with two misdemeanors: driving without a valid license; and a DUI.

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.

Filmography

Theatre

Awards and nominations

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