Mischa Barton Then & Now: Photos of ‘The O.C.’ Actress Through the Years

Mischa Barton has been in our minds since ‘The O.C.’ Celebrate her 38th birthday with photos of the star through the years.

California, here we come! Mischa Barton is a British-American actress who rocketed to fame on Fox’s rich-teen soap opera The OC. The star, whose birthday is Jan. 24, 1986, got her big break at the age of 17 when she was cast as Marissa Cooper on The OC. Despite her character being beautiful and from a wealthy family, Marissa was plagued by issues, a strained relationship with her mom, and up and down relationship with sweetheart Ryan Atwood. Eventually, Mischa felt her character had run its course after three seasons and asked for her character to be killed off entirely.

Mischa later moved to London to attend drama school and ended up dabbling in fashion with a clothing store there. She flirted with acting, playing roles in independent films, and appearing in a 2010 Law & Order SVU episode. Mischa also appeared on Dancing With The Stars in 2016, but wasn’t exactly light on her feet. After she was eliminated early on, she told several media outlets that she was glad to get kicked off and called the experience on the show ‘awful.’

Mischa joined the cast of MTV’s The Hills in summer 2018, but did not return for the show’s 2nd season.

Want to see more of Mischa? Scroll through the gallery!