Mischa Barton guest-starred in a US cop show and played a pregnant prostitute whose on-screen traumas made her real-life troubles pale into insignificance.

The actress, who has had a string of well-documented personal problems, appeared in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

In her dramatic debut episode her hooker character Sunshine survived an attack by a serial killer, was kicked out of her home, suffered a seizure and gave birth four months premature.

She was arrested, forcing her to leave her sick baby in hospital while she was dragged off to court to identify her attacker.

The episode ended with Sunshine running away and handing over all legal rights to her critically-ill daughter to one of the cops.

Mischa was infamously arrested for DUI and drug possession in December 2007.

She was hospitalised under a reported involuntary psychiatric hold last summer, admitting she had “hit rock bottom”.

But later she insisted she was on the road to recovery and felt “really in control”.

Mischa Barton has splashed $15,000 on a convertible cadillac,

The newspaper featured photos of the actress, most recently reported facing financial hassles, looking upbeat for the first time in many months.

Barton’s eyes sparkled in the sunlight as she dealt with a minor roadside mishap. After running out of gas, the actress managed to hitch a ride with trailing paparazzi to get a canister and fill up her new wheels all by herself.

Barton spent a few months in New York after suffering a very public meltdown that saw her admitted for a few days to a psychiatric ward in Los Angeles last summer. The actress’s time in New York was not without its troubles, either. Her show, The Beautiful Life, went down the plug after just two episodes and her landlord is suing her for alleged unpaid rent on a Tribeca apartment.

The UK newspaper reports her realtor, MRA Realties Inc, claims Barton owes three months’ rent at $7000 per month. She owns a house in Los Angeles.

Barton recently located to New York to play the part of an aspiring model on The Beautiful Life that was executive produced by Ashton Kutcher.

The UK Mirror reports Barton’s landord quoted the rent on the apartment, that carries a one-year lease from last September, at $7000 dollars a month.

The Beautiful Life was pulled after just two episodes. MRA Realties said Barton was three months behind in rent on the Tribeca apartment. She will also be liable for legal fees, according to the report.

Barton also resides in Los Angeles. She was made famous in the series, The OC.

Mischa Barton was spotted in the East Village walking alone in the wake of her show’s cancellation.

The Beautiful Life, which some saw as a raft for Barton and her recent troubles, was unceremoniously dropped after just two episodes.

Barton must be reeling after segueing straight from a stint in a psychiatric ward in Los Angeles to the show’s set in New York and the company of executive producer Ashton Kutcher and co-star Elle Macpherson.

The 23-year-old actress threw herself into work for the show, arousing the fears of some friends that she was pushing herself too hard too soon. Barton went on record saying she only suffered bad dental surgery that sent her into a decline and was blown out of proportion as a mental health issue.

CW dropped the show after poor ratings and replaced it with re-runs of the audience staple Melrose Place.

Source: Splash News

Mischa Barton came up trumps at the Ronson twins’ weekend bash in New York.

Barton, whose recent mental health has been a matter of concern, was all smiles and vitality as she attended the shindig for the I (Heart) Ronson clothing line put out by DJ Samantha Ronson and her sister Charlotte.

UK television presenter Alexa Chung and actress Hilary Duff were guests for the Chelsea Piers event, while Lindsay Lohan was not. Lohan is Samantha Ronson’s on-again, off-again partner.

Barton, who jumped straight from psychiatric treatment into work in New York on The Beautiful Life, arrived at the Ronson do with a pal, actress Ashley Madekwe. The pair are co-stars in the Ashton Kutcher-produced story of models trying to make it in New York.

Barton’s quick return to work had some friends concerned. One said: “It’s only been a matter of days since she was released from the hospital, and I think she definitely wasn’t there long enough. She needs to be very cautious – she’s at a very big risk.”

But for now Barton appears to be getting by with the help of her friends.

Source: Splash News

Mischa Barton’s pals fear she has returned to work too soon after she was released from hospital.

The former OC star was placed under involuntary psychiatric care at Los Angeles Cedars-Sinai Medical Center earlier this month after she reportedly suffered a breakdown.

But now just 12 days after she was released, she is in New York set to begin work on new television drama, The Beautiful Life. And friends say she is not ready to handle the workload.

One said: “Mischa needs more aggressive treatment over a long period of time.

“It’s only been a matter of days since she was released from the hospital, and I think she definitely wasn’t there long enough.

“She needs to be very cautious – she’s at a very big risk. I personally think it’s a bad idea to go back this quickly, given her past history with substance abuse.”

In the new show, produced by US television network The CW, the London-born starlet, 23, will play an ageing supermodel with a drug problem.

Mischa was arrested on drugs and drink driving charges in 2007 and spent time in rehab.

Production on the show was originally scheduled to begin on July 22 but was delayed until this week. Producers insist the delay was not related to her stint in hospital.

Her spokesman, Craig Schneider, said: “Mischa is excited to be back at work, and so too are the studio and network.”

The show is set to debut in the US on September 16.

Source: Splash News

Mischa Barton has admitted she tried to lose her British accent when she went to live in New York.

The OC star, 23, revealed that most people do not realise that she is originally from the UK or that her family are British.

She said: “I’m British, although everyone thinks I’m American… but my entire family is British and I’ve been raised as a Brit.

“But nobody can get their head around the fact I’m anything but a Hollywood girl. In the US, nobody thinks of me as American and [in the UK], nobody believes I’m British.”

She added: “I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I consciously tried to lose my English accent. When I lived in New York, I tried really hard to ditch the British accent to fit in.

“It’s a mess – I don’t sound like I’m from anywhere any more.”

Marion Cotillard has given foot fetishists a whole new thrill with her dazzling pair of statuette heels.

Stepping out in a Christian Dior Deesse shoe, the French Oscar winner presented an award for the Bike in Style Challenge in New York City. Cotillard wore a bone-coloured plain suit to the event held in the Tower Room of the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH.

The super-high shoes, which feature a slouching female statuette heel and silver sandal top, are reported to command £750. Designed by John Galliano, who was collaborating with Dior, they are said to represent a fertility goddess.

Mischa Barton appeared with a similar pair at Dior’s haute couture spring/summer show in Paris earlier this year.

Donna Karan and Hilary Duff were co-presenters at the New York do.