Mischa Barton Biography

Summary

"Mischa Anne Barton" (born January 24 1986) is an English actress and fashion model, known for her role as Marissa Cooper on the former Fox television teen drama series "The O.C."

Biography

Barton was born in Hammersmith, London, to an Irish mother, Nuala (née Quinn), a photographer, and English father, Paul Marsden Barton, a stockbroker. She has two sisters, Hania and Zoe Barton. Barton moved to New York City at the age of four and was naturalized as a citizen of the United States in Los Angeles on February 3, 2006. She still retains her status as a British citizen. Barton graduated from the Professional Children's School in Manhattan in 2004, and attended classes at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the fall of 2006.

Career

Barton began acting at the age of nine, co-starring the Off Broadway premiere of "Slavs!" written during 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", and "Lost and Delirious." Barton was also seen in many various 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 first appeared on television in 1996, as young Lily Montgomery in "All My Children". 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.", which became an instant overnight success. 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.

Recently, Barton was cast in an upcoming international film produced by the Russian band t.A.T.u., called "Finding t.A.T.u." (previously known as 'Finding t.A.T.u.'). She will then work on the films "The Sophomore" and "Malice in Sunderland".

Endorsements

Barton has modeled for companies such as Calvin Klein, bebe stores, Aéropostale, Monsoon Accessorize, Dooney & Bourke, JC (Jeans and Clothes), Morgan de Toi, Jaspal, and Neutrogena skincare products. She has more recently become the spokesperson for Keds Sneakers, substantially increasing sales. 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, Mischa 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. Mischa was photographed in April 2007 for the Fall 2007/2008 advertising campaign for Italian clothing brand Iceberg, modeling with Nicolas Bemberg.