Highlights

• Mischa Barton's career has had its highs and lows, but she is still working steadily in recent years, with projects in production.
• After leaving Hollywood, Mischa Barton found solace in riding horses and lived on the East Coast, away from the spotlight.
• Mischa Barton's personal life has been filled with ups and downs, from dating a multimillionaire to feuds with gossip bloggers and struggles with substance abuse.

When Mischa Barton was Marissa on The O.C., Miley Cyrus was Hannah Montana. Teens everywhere were about to become obsessed with Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens in High School Musical. It's nearly two decades later - Miley, Zac, and Vanessa are still around, but where's Mischa? Her career's been quiet since the glory days of 2003-2006, but her social life hasn't.

Three seasons into the early 00s hit, Mischa Barton left The O.C. She went from being a Hollywood 'It-girl' to an L.A. party girl. She got arrested for a DUI. When she did, she joined the ranks of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.

"That was a low point for me. I never, ever would have thought I would be arrested," She later told Nylon magazine. "I was disappointed because it associated me with a group of girls that I would rather not be associated with. That was the biggest bummer for me—I didn't leave my house. I was too embarrassed...I don't know what to say about it except I'm not perfect. I just don't ever intend to do something this stupid again."

She hasn't exactly kept her word on that. Here's what Mischa Barton's been up to in recent years.

Updated April 2024: Mischa Barton may not be in the spotlight the same way she was during the height of her career, but she has continued to work steadily over the years. Most recently, Barton starred in "Neighbours" in 2023. She also has two projects in various stages of production. And while these things may not make headlines, in February 2024, a good deal of interest was shone on Barton after she admitted that she and co-star, Ben McKenzie had an off-screen romance while they were filming "The O.C."

15 Mischa Barton Spent Time Riding Horses In Upstate New York

Mischa Barton has been riding horses since she was a young girl

After leaving The O.C. and getting arrested, Mischa Barton started fighting with Hollywood heavyweights. As such, she left Hollywood for the East Coast.

"A little bit of it did feel like running away," she told the New York Times. "I wanted to be back East, so I went back, and I was living in upstate New York, total farmland, riding horses."

She said she's been into horseback riding since she was a little girl.

14 Mischa Barton Dated A Multimillionaire

Mischa Barton dated James Abercrombie from 2017 to 2019

Mischa dated Australian multimillionaire, James Abercrombie, from spring 2017 to summer 2019. They met at a party and immediately headed off to France together, according to Daily Mail Online.

James is a model and the son of a politician and FlexiGroup CEO named Andrew Abercrombie. Mischa was snapped on the family's private jet and luxury yacht when the two were together. She's also been spotted at their holiday home in Aspen.

Mischa and James broke up shortly after the first season of The Hills reboot was shot. Since that time, Mischa has been with her boyfriend, Gian Marco Flamini.

What The Cast Of 'The O.C.' Has Said About Mischa Barton's On-Set Behavior

13 Mischa Barton Joined The Cast Of 'The Hills'

Mischa Barton was only on the first season of The Hills reboot

In October 2018, MTV announced that it was bringing back The Hills, with Mischa Barton as part of the cast. Even though Mischa wasn't on the original series when it launched in 2004, The O.C. was so similar to The Hills that producers thought Mischa would fit in seamlessly. So, she joined Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, Audrina Patridge, Brody Jenner, and Whitney Port.

Lo Bosworth Reveals The Hills Cast Was Forced To Fight After Previously Saying The Show Was Real

While the show was popular enough, when the cast felt that there were storylines being pushed on them and a younger cast was being brought in to try and replace them, many refused to come back for a third season. As such, MTV canceled the show after two seasons.

The Real Reason Mischa Barton Was Cast On ‘The Hills: New Beginnings’

12 Mischa Barton Had A Feud With Perez Hilton

Mischa Barton blamed Perez Hilton for his reporting about her when she was in a downward spiral

Mischa's biggest moment on The Hills happened when she confronted gossip blogger, Perez Hilton, at a party hosted by Stephanie Pratt. Perez was notorious for reporting on celebrities when they were at their worst, and many others have feuded with him.

"This bullying that you did for so long to so many young girls, I find it hard to let go," she told Perez. "I don’t really sit well with people who purposefully harm other people."

Perez was one of the reporters who publicized Mischa's mid-2000s downfall, painting her in the worst light possible when she began to spiral.

11 Mischa Barton Works To Save The Oceans

Mischa Barton works with charities to remove plastic from the ocean

"Mischa loves dolphins!" Mischa herself captioned this pic, which was posted to her IG in 2017.

Mischa has since worked with the charity, "Walk Project", encouraging her followers to reduce their use of microplastics. "Our future depends on a healthy ocean," she wrote. "We all know it. No more plastic."

10 Mischa Barton Sold Her Massive Mansion

Mischa Barton sold her $6 million mansion in 2016 after defaulting payments

The trouble with buying a house at the height of your career is that it may be hard to sell if you ever want to move on.

Not many can afford what the Daily Mail Online calls a six-bedroom, 10-bathroom "$6,400,064 Mediterranean style 7,607 sq ft mansion."

Mischa defaulted on some mortgage payments, according to L.A. Times, and finally ended up selling it in 2016, after it had been on the market for years.

9 Mischa Barton Was Tone-Deaf On A Yacht

Mischa Barton received backlash for commenting on a video that was released of a Black man being shot by police officers while on a yacht in a bikini

Mischa's IG took a controversial turn in 2016 when she captioned this pic with, “I’m truly heartbroken to watch videos like the #AltonSterling execution..."

Even her own followers didn't think it was an appropriate show of grief, as she was on a yacht in a bikini with a cocktail...and a Wi-Fi connection.

After the tone-deaf post made the news, she apologized via IG: "I’m human, I’m not perfect."

8 Mischa Barton Went Jet-Setting

Mischa Barton went around the world and attended exclusive events in a series of bold fashion choices

Along with lounging on private yachts, Mischa's been jet-setting all over the world to attend exclusive events. She's been making some bold fashion choices along the way. Watch out, Victoria Beckham, because you've got competition!

Mischa's been attending all sorts of elite international sporting events in statement hats and 'fascinators'. Mischa looks pretty in these pics. One of them was taken at the Crown Palladium, during Australia's Melbourne Cup week.

7 Mischa Barton Concerned Her Neighbors With ‘Disturbing Behavior’

Mischa Barton took a hallucinogenic that caused her odd behavior

In January 2017, Mischa's neighbors called an ambulance to have her taken away for a psychological evaluation, as reported by Entertainment Tonight.

Video footage was released showing Mischa leaning over her backyard fence in a dress shirt and a tie, shouting about her mother being a "witch."

She later said she had been given a substance that made her hallucinate and that she was embarrassed about the whole thing.

6 Mischa Barton Fought With Her Mom

Mischa Barton claimed that her mom took money from her and only gave her a small portion for an allowance

Things got messy between Mischa and her mom in 2015. Mischa filed papers against her mother, Nuala, claiming that Nuala kept more than her fair share of commissions on Mischa's earnings from The O.C. Reportedly, she would only give Mischa a small allowance from her paychecks.

NBC Newsreported that Mischa Barton's mother denied the allegations. Nuala's legal team called "the allegations false and defamatory," and mother and daughter are estranged as a result.

5 Mischa Barton Explained All Of Her Scandals To Dr. Phil

Mischa Barton appeared on Dr. Phil in 2017 to explain her side of all the scandals she was involved in

In April 2017, Mischa sat down with Dr. Phil to spill details about her most recent scandals. The biggest topic they covered was Mischa's legal issues with two of her ex-boyfriends, who were trying to sell private and revealing footage of her. She took them to court and won, but told Dr. Phil the whole ordeal was emotionally traumatic. Yikes.

4 Mischa Barton Starred In Made-For-TV Movies

Mischa Barton worked to revive her career with Lifetime and Hallmark movies

Mischa's IMDb went a little quiet after her early 2000s gigs. However, in recent years, she's been cast in a number of made-for-TV movies for companies like Lifetime and Hallmark.

Some of the more recent projects that Mischa has worked on, according to IMDb include:

Given that Mischa has appeared in so many projects in the more recent years, she is proving that her career is far from over.

3 Mischa Barton Appeared On Dancing With The Stars

Mischa Barton appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2016

In 2016, Mischa was briefly a contestant on Dancing with the Stars and she hated it

"I was told that I could do the costume design aspect of it, that's kind of the reason why I agreed to do it," she told The Ringer. "That didn't happen...It was like The Hunger Games. It was all a popularity contest. It was awful. I was so glad to get kicked off."

2 Mischa Barton Started Not Showing Up For Work

Mischa Barton was cast in a lead role but did not show up for work and was sued for $200,000

In 2014, Mischa got a leading role, but she didn't show up for filming, so they recast her part and sued her for breaking her contract.

The Guardian reports that a judge ordered Mischa to pay screenwriter, David Lief, $200,000 for the offense. Unfortunately for Mischa, the evidence sealing the deal was her own IG. It showed pics of her on holiday when she should have been on set.

1 Mischa Barton Sold Sponsored Products On IG

Mischa Barton collaborated with companies to promote their product on Instagram

Most of Mischa's social media around 2020 was promoting sponsored lifestyle products. From Hydroxycut supplements to Tacori bespoke jewelry to Bioclarity essential oil skincare, Mischa's IG account had it all.

As of 2024, Mischa's Instagram is filled with pictures of the beautiful places she has recently traveled. Perhaps her days of collaboration are over.

Sources: IMDb, Marie Claire, NBC News, Radar Online, Daily Mail, New York Times, Nylon, LAtimes

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