Mischa Barton has opened up about still experiencing ‘trauma’ following her rise to fame on teen drama series The O.C, sharing it “doesn’t go away overnight.”
In a recent interview with The Times, the star, 37, spoke about her ongoing post-traumatic stress disorder from being in the public eye.
“You can go to therapy every day for the rest of your life, but there’s just a certain amount of trauma from all that I went through, particularly in my early twenties, that just doesn’t go away overnight,” Barton revealed.
Barton was thrown into the limelight in 2003 at just 17 years old after landing the role of popular teen Marissa Cooper on The O.C.
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The actress left the hit teen series after the third season and was prominently depicted in the media for her ‘party girl’ ways throughout the early noughties.
In 2009, Barton was hospitalised following mental health struggles. The actress was arrested a couple of years earlier on charges of a DUI which led to court-ordered rehab.
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Speaking to The Times, the actress spoke about her struggles with the media and being thrust into the public eye at such a young age.
”I don’t think I was fully prepared for that level of fame. Because it has never been something that I have sought out,” Barton told to the outlet. The Times.
“I really would much rather be anonymous,” she admitted.
In the recent interview, the actress mentioned having panic attacks from camera flashes as part of her PTSD.
Barton has spoken about her emotional and mental struggles with fame previously, opening up in 2021 about not liking her photo taken in public.
“I’m not broken by any means but I certainly don’t like, and I’m very aware of, people taking pictures of me,” Barton told The Guardian.
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“I’m very aware of camera flashes and cars following me and stuff. And it’s not all in my head – it still happens.”
While Barton struggled behind the camera, the actress seemed to appear in fewer film and television roles following her departure from The O.C. in 2006.
Barton appeared in films such as Homecoming, Closing the Ring and The Oh in Ohio in the early noughties.
However, the star has recently made an unlikely career movie after appearing in the revival series of the Australian soap opera, Neighbours.
Barton also revealed to Variety that she is developing another project Down Under – a romantic comedy.
While not much is know about the project yet, the actress revealed that like her Neighbours character Reece Sinclair, she will star as an American again.