Mischa Anne Marsden Barton [ 1 ] born 24 January [ 2 ] is a British-American film, television, and stage actress. She began her career on the stage, appearing in Tony Kushner 's Slavs!
Her first major film role was as the protagonist of Lawn Dogs , a drama co-starring Sam Rockwell. She appeared in major pictures such as the romantic comedy Notting Hill and M. Night Shyamalan 's psychological thriller The Sixth Sense She also starred in the indie crime drama Pups The role brought Barton into mainstream fame, and Entertainment Weekly named her the " It Girl " of In , she returned to the stage, performing in the Irish production of Steel Magnolias.
She has garnered critical praise for her roles in independent films, with the Los Angeles Times praising her "standout" performance in Starcrossed In , she was cast in an extended guest role for the rebooted Australian soap opera, Neighbours on Amazon Freevee and Network Her maternal grandfather was an Irish language professor at Queen's University Belfast.
In , [ 3 ] she became a naturalised citizen of the United States, but retained her British citizenship [ citation needed ]. She is also eligible for Irish citizenship through her mother. Barton began acting at the age of eight, co-starring in the off-Broadway premiere of the play, Slavs! Canby again praised Barton, noting that she "has a sweet gravity as the doomed Emma". The New York Times also remarked that "the winning child actresses Brittany Boyd and Mischa Barton are already smart enough not to overplay the naivete and precocity of their respective characters.
She made her film debut in Lawn Dogs , which won awards at film festivals around the world. Barton won critical favour for her role, with Janet Maslin of The New York Times praising her "poised" performance [ 18 ] and Empire celebrating her "hypnotic central performance". She also starred in Pups , a " Dog Day Afternoon for the MTV generation", [ 20 ] alongside Burt Reynolds ; along with her co-star Cameron Van Hoy, film critic Roger Ebert called their work in the film "two of the most natural and freed performances I have seen by actors of any age.
