Biography - Mischa Barton

Mischa Barton was born January 24, 1986 and has never been far away from privilege and wealth.  Born in England to a wealthy banker father, Barton moved to New York with her family when she was four.  Her childhood consisted of the pleasures of travel and culture.  When she was eight she was sent to summer camp, and it was there that, while performing a monologue she wrote about a turtle, an agent recognized her talent and encouraged her parents to take her ability seriously.

They enrolled her in acting classes, and when she was nine she was given an extraordinary opportunity to prove herself in Tony Kushner’s play Slavs!, performing opposite Marisa Tomei. Barton did not disappoint her audience. Her critically acclaimed work in Slavs! led to more theatre work at New York’s Lincoln Center and the New York Shakespeare Festival.

But it was in film that she desired to make her mark.  At first she managed to get a reoccurring role in the soap opera “All My children.”  As she became older her beauty became more obvious, and she signed with the Ford Modeling Agency.  She appeared in ads for Calvin Klein and worked for Vogue and Gitano.  1997 would prove to be a big year for the young actress.  She landed the lead role of a young girl who is befriended by a man who mows lawns in Lawn Dogs.  Starring opposite Sam Rockwell, Burton helped to make the film a favorite that year at the Sundance Film Festival.

By 1999 Barton had experienced success in two more hugely popular films, The Sixth Sense and Notting Hill.  In the next couple of years she landed roles that placed her on the screen with Jessica Alba (Paranoid, 2000), Melanie Griffith (Tart, 2001), and Courtney Love (Julie Johnson, 2001).  Barton’s star was rising.  Then it was in 2003 that Mischa, a relatively unknown young actress from New York City, would find her way into the homes millions of people.  Her role in Fox’s “The O.C.” has served to make her name synonymous with Marissa Cooper, her wealthy and sometimes awkward character on the hit television show, and secure her a reputation as one of the most captivating stars today.