Mischa Barton

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

Mischa Barton was born in Hammersmith, London, to an Irish mother, Nuala (née Quinn), a photographer, and English father, Paul Marsden Barton, a foreign exchange broker. She has two sisters, Hania and Zoe.^[1][2] Barton moved to New York City at the age of four and became a naturalised citizen of the United States in Los Angeles on February 3, 2006. Barton graduated from the Professional Children's School in Manhattan in 2004, and attended classes at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the summer of 2006.

Barton began acting at the age of nine, 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.

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 and it put Barton on the map as Marissa Cooper until her departure from the show in the third-season finale in May of 2006. The O.C. dropped in ratings dramatically during its third and fourth seasons, and ended in early 2007.^[3] In July 2006, Barton appeared on the British comedy/variety show The Friday Night Project as a guest host.

Recently, Barton was cast in an upcoming international film produced by the Russian band t.A.T.u., called Finding t.A.T.u..^[4] She appeared in Assassination of a High School President, co-starring Bruce Willis, when the film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

Barton has been in many television commercials and print advertising campaigns. Long time friend and mentor Ivan Bart of IMG Models New York has represented her throughout her career. 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.^[5] In Australia, she appears in commercials for teen magazine Famous and was the guest of honor at retail giant David Jones Tahitian Summer Collection launch.

In 2007, 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 was photographed in April 2007 for the Fall 2007/2008 advertising campaign for Italian clothing brand Iceberg, modeling with Nicolas Bemberg.^[6]