Mischa Barton : (Celebrity In Spotlight)

Mischa Anne Marsden Barton is an award-winning actress perhaps best known for her role as Marissa Cooper in the American television series The O.C..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, 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, 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., which became an 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. In July 2006, Barton appeared on The Friday Night Project as the guest host. The O.C. dropped in ratings dramatically during its third and fourth seasons, and ended in early 2007.

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, 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.