'I had a full-on breakdown': Mischa Barton recalls her dark days in a psychiatric ward after The OC fame... and hits back over those cruel weight taunts

She was once the belle of The OC in 2003, partying with Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie.
But her life started to show cracks after being arrested in 2007 for a DUI and being placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold in 2009.
Now Mischa Barton - who has several new movies coming out - is admitting to People, 'It was a full-on breakdown. It was terrifying, straight out of Girl, Interrupted. Story of my life.'

Her Hollywood nightmare is over: Mischa Barton tells People that international fame at age 17 from starring on the hit The OC drove her to destruction

'I was never suicidal,' Mischa tells the magazine. 'I was just overworked and depressed. But one slip of the tongue in a heightened moment and you find yourself in that situation.'
She said her time in the psych ward was 'an eye-opener' and she was 'deeply hurt at first' that she had been placed there. But it ultimately forced her to change her life.
'I accepted this was time I needed to be away from work, my family and all the pressure. I had been through the wringer,' she explains.

Burned by fame: At age 17 the actress became the center of attention on her hit series The OC, but she now says that kind of success has 'a flip side'

The London native, who's now 27, says it was two events that led to her problems.
In 2007, when she was arrested for a DUI and for driving without a license, she was court-ordered to visit to rehab and spend time with a sober coach.
When that didn't get her clean, her family staged an intervention in 2009 during which she passed out from taking Xanax (she had gotten a prescription after wisdom tooth surgery).
That led to her being taken to the hospital where she was place on a 5150 psychiatric hold - the same hold that Britney Spears and Amanda Bynes were put under - when she threatened suicide.

Intense love: Her relationships with Brandon Davis (left, in 2004) and Cisco Adler (right, in 2006) brought her even further into the spotlight

Her life in the fast lane started when she was just five years old and she moved with her manager mother Nuala, her financier father Paul and her sisters Hania and Zoe from London to New York City so Mischa could work.
After several theater jobs, she landed a standout role in the 1999 smash hit The Sixth Sense. 



Four years later she was the star of the successful teen dream series The OC and her life changed forever.
'I was living a jet-set lifestyle,' she admits to the weekly.
She also revealed there were a lot of 'enablers' around her that made sure her every need was met. That's also when she started partying with club goers Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie.
'We thought, work hard play hard,' says the actress of the sudden spotlight that had been placed on her from playing the seductive Marissa Cooper on the series that stayed on the air from 2003 to 2006. Working nonstop and keeping up with her new friends took a toll on the young star, however.
'It was a train I couldn't not get off of,' she admits to People writer Elizabeth McNeil.
She admits that all that celebrity has 'a flip side' but ultimately gave her a 'a massive career' that she's grateful for today.

She was an international party princess: In July 2009 the star rocked out with friends at Whisky Mint nightclub in London

Her mother has been criticized with pushing her too hard, but Mischa defended her parents saying, 'They were thrust into this situation that was completely foreign to them. Nothing could prepare them to have their children jump into the overtly sexualized and crazy world of LA.'
Still, she complains she was pressured to keep on chugging even though she was running out of fuel fast.
'I asked to get out of jobs all the time and the response was, "No you have to." There's an attitude that you can't say no.'
She also said, 'I felt like I was 35 when I was 17.'
Intense relationships with Beverly Hills trust fund looker Brandon Davis and musician Cisco Adler also were hard for her to deal with though she does admits she was 'madly in love' with the latter.
The 5ft, 9in beauty - who now splits her time between her flat in London (where she owns a boutique) and her home in the Hollywood Hills - says that she's taking a break from dating.

A 'jet set life': In 2004 with Lindsay Lohan at the Vanity Fair Oscar party

She has also come to terms with her weight, which was heavily criticized for during her meltdown - she was even given the harsh moniker Mushy Fartone by one blogger.
'When you're 16, you're not what you are at 25,' she explains of the pounds she added after being rail thin on The OC.
'I was really young and just had not filled out at all. Not everybody stays the same body type. It was always, "She's too skinny, she must be sick." The it was, "She's too big." I was never the right weight.'
She now works out regularly at SoulCycle in LA.
A time out in Paris and London after her 2009 troubled phase taught her to take life easier.
'I've learned a lot,' says the Don't Fade Away actress who lives with her three dogs Charlie, Ziggy and Harvey.
'I'm stronger now, and I'm excited for what's ahead.'
Mischa has five films in the can, including the horror film I Will Follow You Into The Dark, which is in theaters now.

Then and now: At her worst in the summer of 2009, just before her intervention (left), and on October 8 at her film premiere for I Will Follow You Into The Dark