Name: Olivia Jane Cockburn (she’s known professionally as Olivia Wilde)
Birthdate: March 10, 1984
Birthplace: New York, New York
Claim to fame: She first came on the scene when she played Marissa Cooper’s lesbian lover Alex Kelly, on The O.C. Also her role on the Fox medical drama, House, is what really launched her film career.
What we can see her in next: She stars in Third Person, alongside other stars such as Liam Neeson, Mila Kunis, and James Franco, which has a limited release in the US on June 20.
Interesting fact: She dropped her surname of Cockburn, when she played Gwendolen in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest in high school. She also did it to honour the writers in her family, who often went by pen names.
Best quote: “People assume actresses are afraid to get older; the truth is the roles get a whole lot more compelling once you’re too old to play dumb.” — voicing her opinion on the perks of getting older in Hollywood.
Why we love her: It’s crazy to think that ten years ago Olivia Wilde was a nobody actress, who just happened to be playing Mischa Barton’s lesbian love interest on the hit show, The O.C. Most of us (including myself) wouldn’t have thought the girl in that role would end up becoming a very big star one-day. Well that’s exactly what has happened, Olivia Wilde is a big star. She’s our crush this week because she’s got the looks of an Abercrombie & Fitch model, yet the talent of one of the finest young actresses in Hollywood.
For those that don’t remember her role as Alex Kelly on The O.C., you’ll probably remember her from the hit Fox medical drama, House. This is where she really broke out and started to become the star that she is today. I guess you can call it the classic modern day formula to career success: be on a hit television show and transition your success on TV into a film career. Well right now, Olivia Wilde is on the cusp of finally completing that transition to perfection. She’s popping all over the big screen in tons of movies now. Most recently she had a small role in the Oscar-nominated film, Her, as well as starred opposite Sam Rockwell in this year’s Better Living through Chemistry. And soon you will be able to see her in the new movie, Third Person, which features three interlocking love stories involving three couples in three cities: Rome, Paris, and New York.
Olivia Wilde is hard not to be fond of. This is because she seems far away from your typical Hollywood movie snob. She’s a self-proclaimed tomboy who always wished she’d had brothers; as well she married her first husband (an Italian prince) at the age of 19 in a broken down school bus. There’s that, then there’s the sweet image of her and Marissa Cooper going at it permanently etched into our minds. Olivia Wilde, you can be my drinking buddy any day.
You can see Third Person in select theatres on June 20.
