Actress and model Mischa Barton played poor-little-rich-girl Marissa Cooper in the popular television series The O.C.. Barton was born in the United Kingdom, moved to New York as a child and began acting and modelling before she was in her teens. In the late '90s she began getting TV and movie roles, including a small role (as the poisoned girl) in M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense (1999, starring Bruce Willis). She had the lead role in the adolescent love story Lost and Delirious (2001) and appeared in several episodes of TV's Once and Again, but it was The O.C. that made her a star. Between 2003 and 2006 she worked on the series and as a model for clothing and cosmetics companies. Barton's character, Marissa, was killed in a car accident at the end of the third season -- a plot point the actress inadvertently revealed prior to the episode's airing. Since leaving the series, she has focused on modelling and a career in films.
Career Highlights: Skipped Parts, Lost and Delirious, The Oh in Ohio
First Major Screen Credit: New York Crossing (1996)
Biography
Hailed as one of the most talented child actors of the 1990s, Mischa Barton had carved out the beginnings of an enviable career on the screen and stage by the time most kids her age were being allowed to see PG-13 movies on their own. Possessing blonde hair, blue eyes the color and approximate size of Wedgewood saucers, and precocious intelligence, Barton first came to the attention of critics and audiences as the ten-year-old heroine of John Duigan's Lawn Dogs (1997), a drama that cast her as an alienated girl whose friendship with an earthy lawn boy (Sam Rockwell) creates controversy in her exclusive neighborhood. Born January 24, 1986, in London, England, Barton was raised in the city until the age of four, when her father took a job on Wall Street that relocated the family to New York. Following the move, she began working as a child model and taking summer camp acting classes; after being spotted by a talent agent, the aspiring actress got her first professional break on the New York stage in 1994, when she played Vodya Domik, one of the lead characters in an off-Broadway production of Tony Kushner's Slavs! Earning rave reviews for her performance, Barton went on to perform in a number of plays, including the Lincoln Center production of James Lapine's Twelve Dreams and Naomi Wallace's One Flea Spare at the New York Shakespeare Festival's Public Theatre, which cast her in the lead role of a street urchin opposite Dianne Wiest. While she was building a career on the stage and as a model for the likes of Calvin Klein, Barton was also beginning to accumulate a number of screen credits. After doing a year-long stint on the popular soap opera All My Children, she had her first publicized screen role in the little-seen New York Crossing (1996), in which she starred as an Upper East Side schoolgirl opposite Tina Majorino and Karen Black. The film was released in 1997, the same year that Lawn Dogs came out to fairly strong reviews that resulted in the first shades of publicity for Barton. A starring role as a 13-year-old who holds up a bank alongside her boyfriend followed in 1999, in the independent drama Pups; unfortunately, the film was released only two days before the tragic killing spree at Columbine High School, and unsurprisingly, failed to earn much in the way of distribution. That same year, Barton appeared in supporting roles in both Notting Hill and M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, the latter of which cast her as the ghost of a sickly girl.
Barton's increasing recognition was subsequently reflected by her involvement in a number of screen projects. Included amongst them was Skipped Parts (2000), a coming-of-age comedy which cast her as a sexually precocious 14-year-old who is in a hurry to lose her virginity. The film also starred Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brad Renfro, and Drew Barrymore. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
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,[13] 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.[14]
It has been widely reported that Barton is in talks to join the cast of the hit television series Ugly Betty in a 5-episode guest appearance.[19][20] 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."[10]
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.[24] 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.[25] She has also modeled jewelry for the company Waxing Poetic.[26]
In 2007, Barton also became a spokesperson for the SAFE (Skin Awareness for Everyone) campaign.[27] In addition, she lent her name to the TRAID campaign (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) in association with Visa Swap.[28] Barton was photographed in April 2007 for the Fall 2007/2008 advertising campaign for Italian clothing brand Iceberg, modeling with Nicolas Bemberg.[29]
In July 2008, she created a 14 piece handbag collection for online retailer, ASOS.com.[30] 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.[31]
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.[32]
In early 2009, Mischa Barton became the "new face" of Herbal Essences.[33]
"Hey guys. As some of you might have heard, I've been working with Herbal Essences on their latest ad campaign."
Personal life
In December 2008, there were reports that she was dating The Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard[34] . The reports were confirmed during the relationship by Luke; Mischa only confirmed the relationship after the pair split in March 2009.[35][36]
When asked in interviews if she feels English or American, she states she feels English.[37][38]
Charitable affiliations
Barton is currently the spokesperson for "Climate Star", an organization that fights Global Warming through social and legislative activism.[39]
Barton serves as an Entertainment Industry Foundation Ambassador teaming up with QVC to spread awareness and raise funds for women's cancer research through the Fashion Footwear Association of New York Shoes on Sale Initiative.[40]
In 2006, Barton also became a spokesperson for the SAFE (Skin Awareness for Everyone)[41] campaign and also lent her name to the TRAID campaign (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) in association with Visa Swap.[42]
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.[43]
Arrest
Barton was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, possession of marijuana, and driving without a valid license on December 27, 2007.[44] 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".[44] She was detained and released later the same morning from the West Hollywood Sheriff Station on US$10,000 bail.
"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."[45]
Barton was subsequently charged with two misdemeanors: driving without a valid license; and a DUI.[46]
