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Mischa Barton to join Dancing With The Stars

O.C. alum Mischa Barton will join the 22nd season of the hit US reality dance competition, Dancing With The Stars.
Mischa Barton

You might best remember Mischa Barton as the troubled Marissa Cooper, and rumour has it that she’s about to waltz back to make her big TV comeback!

While she hasn’t confirmed anything, both ET and US Weekly claim that the O.C. star will be joining the cast of DWTS for its 22nd season.

According to PureDWTS, Mischa will partner with Russian dancer, Artem Chigvintsev, who last competed with Patti LaBelle in season 20 and finished in eighth place.

The news of her latest gig comes as a bit of a surprise, considering that the star has purposefully remained out of the spotlight since her TV drama days.

Flashback! Mischa as Marissa Cooper in the hit series, The O.C.

It’s news to no one that – like most teen stars – the blonde beauty struggled to cope with the invasive nature attached to life in the limelight.

Back in 2000, Mischa was at the height of her fame, partying with the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Amanda Bynes, who were the Hollywood ‘it’ girls at the time.

But the pressures of life as a teen idol and the relentless scrutiny from the media began to take a toll on the star.

The moment everything changed for the teen star.

In 2008, she was charged with a DUI and sentenced to probation, and in 2010 she was admitted to a psychiatric ward to aid in the recovery of her mental health.

“It was a full-on breakdown,” she told People in 2013. “It was terrifying. Straight out of Girl, Interrupted. Story of my life.”

“I was just overworked and depressed. I accepted this was time I needed to be away from work, my family and all the pressure,” she recalled.

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Since her recovery, the 30-year-old has taken her acting career in a different direction, swapping Hollywood block busters for indie films.

In 2015 alone, she starred in a whopping eight titles, and is currently on set in Bulgaria for Malevolent.

We look forward to seeing Mischa take the stage and get immersed in the frilly frocks, fake tan and foxtrots. Maybe last year’s winner, Bindi, can give this Cali girl a tip or two!

The full DWTS cast will be revealed during a live announcement on Good Morning America next week.

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