In the upcoming issue of People, The O.C. star Mischa Barton talks candidly about what she calls her “terrifying” breakdown after fame.
10 years ago Barton, at the age of just 17, seemed to become an “it girl” overnight with her breakout success from The O.C. As time passed she made headlines for all the wrong reasons as her partying got way out of control. “We thought, ‘Work hard, play hard,'” she says of that period of her life.
In 2007 she was arrested for a DUI and in 2009, not long after her parents tried an intervention, she blacked out while under the influence of a sedative and found herself in the hospital on an involuntary 5150 psychiatric hold after threatening to take her own life.
In discussing the details for the first time she stated, “It was a full-on breakdown. I was under enormous pressure.” This episode caused her to refocus on getting healthy and even then she faced public criticism for the weight she gained while in the process of straightening her life out. The 27-year-old said:
“She’s too skinny, she must be sick,. Then it was, ‘She’s too big.’ I was never the right weight.”
Barton’s O.C. days may be behind her but she’s a very busy woman having recently starred in the supernatural thriller I Will Follow You Into The Dark as well as a pilot with Frankie Jonas, The Gutsy Frog, in which she portrays a school teacher. Mischa also is the owner of a London boutique.
“I’ve learned a lot. I’m stronger now,” she affirmed to the publication. Make sure to catch the Friday edition of People for the full story from Barton about her breakdown and recovery.
