Olivia Wilde, Biography, Images, Videos, News

Born Olivia Jane Cockburn on March 10, 1984 in New York, NY, Wilde – who later adopted her acting surname from playwright Oscar Wilde – was raised in Washington D.C. by her father, Andrew, a former National Geographic reporter and author, and her mother, Leslie, a journalist, author and producer for “60 Minutes” (CBS, 1968- ). In fact, many in her family were dedicated to journalism – her sister Chloe was a writer, while her grandfather, James Helvick (a.k.a. Claud Cockburn), and her two uncles, Alexander and Patrick Cockburn, were also journalists. But Wilde wanted to do something different – she wanted to act. After graduating from the Georgetown Day School in D.C., she attended Philips Academy, where she studied acting and appeared in over two dozen school productions. She later moved abroad to Ireland to continue her dramatic studies at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin. A rebellious teen and young adult, Wilde acted out by getting tattoos and piercings, dating older men and, at one time, even shaving her head – hence the natural fit of her stage name.

Wilde returned to the states and took up residence in Los Angeles, where she landed the lead in her first television series, “Skin” (Fox, 2003), a modern day take on “Romeo and Juliette” in which she played the sultry daughter of an adult film producer (Ron Silver) who falls for the son (D.J. Cotrona) of an anti-porn district attorney (Kevin Anderson). “Skin” came and went after only three episodes, leaving Wilde to find work elsewhere. Keeping with the adult film theme, she made her movie debut with a supporting role in “The Girl Next Door” (2004), a coming-of-age comedy about a straight-arrow overachiever (Emile Hirsch) who falls for his neighbor (Elisha Cuthbert), only to find out that she used to be a porn star. Meanwhile, after “Skin” was canceled, Wilde eloped with Los Angeles Filmmaker's Cooperative (LAFCO) founder and documentary filmmaker, Tao Ruspoli. Upon returning to Los Angeles, she was one of the key models in Abercrombie & Fitch’s “Rising Stars” campaign in the summer of 2004. But it was her next television role that put Wilde on the map for good.

Returning to the small screen, Wilde began starring on “The O.C.” and delivered a lusty portrayal of the stunningly sexy and bisexual Alex Kelly, the bad girl owner of the Bait Shop, where the other kids start hanging out. Though only on the show for its second season, Wilde was dynamic and provocative as the temptress Kelly, stealing the show from the rest of the cast and attracting many male fans, especially after her character became romantically involved with Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton). As she continued her work on “The O.C.,” Wilde landed roles in feature films, including Nicholas Kazan’s hotly anticipated Sundance Film Festival favorite, “Alpha Dog” (2006), co-starring Justin Timberlake, Sharon Stone and Emile Hirsch. After a small part in the critically acclaimed adaptation of “Running with Scissors” (2006), she played a college sorority girl who steals the prized notebook of a reclusive freshman (Patrick Fugit) in “Bickford Shmeckler’s Cool Ideas” (2006), a straight-to-DVD comedy that barely registered with audiences.