Mischa Barton, best-known for her role on the 2003 Fox television series "The OC" reveals her life after falling into a downward spiral of alcohol and drug abuse as a result of the pressures of early fame and constant media scrutiny.
"It was a full-on breakdown," Barton told People. "I was under enormous pressure."
Tabloid stories about her weight and party behavior added to the pressure. When Barton was at the peak of her career in the early 2000's, she was a tall, thin teenager, whose waif-like frame fueled rumors that she was anorexic.
A few years later, when Barton put on a few pounds while struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction, she was publicly taunted and called "fat" by tabloids and bloggers.
"It was always, 'She's too skinny, she must be sick,'" Barton said. "Then it was, 'She's too big.' I was never the right weight."
In addition to appearance, tabloids emerged about her partying, which grew out of control. Barton partied with celebrities like Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan, both of whom have wrestled drug addiction.
"We thought, 'Work hard, play hard,' " she said of those years.
In 2007, Barton was arrested for DUI. Then in 2009, she blacked out under the influence of a sedative and landed in the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center psychiatric ward under an involuntary 5150 hold after she threatened to kill herself, People reported.
"I've learned a lot," she said. "I'm stronger now."
Barton has a London boutique, which carries her new makeup collection.
She's also acting again and stars in a supernatural thriller "I Will Follow You Into The Dark". Barton has filmed a TV pilot with Frankie Jonas, "The Gutsy Frog", in which she plays a crush-worthy schoolteacher.
