Mischa Barton Facts: Celebrities Who Started on Soaps

Mischa Barton is a theater, television, and film actress who is currently a reality star on the MTV show The Hills: New Beginnings. However, Barton is best known for playing Marissa Cooper on The O.C. She was also on a soap.

Along with The O.C., Barton has also appeared in Notting Hill and The Sixth Sense. She’s even competed on Dancing With the Stars. From where she grew up to her interesting Hugh Grant connection, here are five fast facts about the actress.

Who Is Mischa Barton?

Barton was born on January 24 in Hammersmith, London. Her family moved to New York City when she was very young for her father’s work, so she attended the Professional Children’s School in Manhattan. She also started acting at the age of 8 in an Off-Broadway play and continued working in theater as a child.

Soap Beginnings
Barton was cast as a young Corvina Lang on All My Children in 1994, but she ended up returning to the show in 1995 to replace Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) in the role of Lily Benton Montgomery.

Hugh Grant Connection
Barton was born in the same hospital as Hugh Grant in London, Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital. Then, coincidentally enough, she ended up working with Grant on Notting Hill in 1999.

It All Comes Full Circle

Barton is currently a cast member on the MTV reality show, The Hills: New Beginnings, which is a reboot of the reality show, The Hills. The original show was actually a spin-off of Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, another reality show that aired in the 2000s that was inspired by The O.C., Barton’s breakthrough series. The O.C. was such a hit at the time that MTV wanted to create a “real” version of the show.

Getting Personal With Mischa Barton
Barton has been rumored to be in a number of relationships with various socialites and celebrities, but the actress recently split from her model boyfriend James Abercrombie in August 2019 after two years together.