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Olivia Wilde Biography

Olivia Wilde (born Olivia Jane Cockburn on March 10, 1984) is an American actress. Coming from a family of journalists, she began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of film and television parts, including her roles on the series The O.C. and The Black Donnellys.

Biography, Early life: Wilde was born in New York City. Her mother, Leslie (née Corkhill Redlich), is a 60 Minutes producer and journalist, and her father, Andrew Cockburn, is an Irish journalist. Her paternal grandfather was the British novelist and journalist Claud Cockburn. Wilde has said that as a result of her family background, she has a "strong journalistic streak", being "really critical and analytical". She has wanted to become an actress since the age of two. Wilde attended Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C., as well as the Phillips Academy, and subsequently moved to Dublin, Ireland, where she attended The Gaiety School of Acting. She had initially began working as a casting assistant, and changed her surname from "Cockburn" to "Wilde" when she began acting professionally.

Career: Wilde has appeared in the films The Girl Next Door, Alpha Dog and Turistas. She became known for her recurring role on The O.C. as the bisexual character Alex Kelly. She has also appeared in the Dashboard Confessional music video for "Stolen" and was heavily considered to play Bond girl Vesper Lynd in the 21st Bond film Casino Royale; Eva Green eventually won the role. In 2005, Wilde was ranked #61 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100. She was also ranked #95 on the FHM 100 Sexiest Women of 2006.

As of 2007, Wilde is a part of the ensemble cast of the NBC midseason drama The Black Donnellys. Her character, Jenny Reilly, is the lone principal female character in the series following the lives of an Irish-American family tied to organized crime in New York City. Also in 2007, Wilde will appear in the play Beauty on the Vine, a political thriller scheduled to premiere in late April and run until June; Wilde will play three different characters.

Best known for her lusty portrayal of the stunningly sexy and bisexual Alex Kelly on the Fox teen drama, “The O.C.” (Fox, 2003- ), starlet Olivia Wilde broadened her status as one of the decade’s most promising new actors by appearing in a slew of feature films in 2006.

Born Olivia Jane Cockburn on March 10, 1984 in New York City, NY, the future actress was raised in Washington D.C. by journalist parents – National Geographic reporter/author Andrew Cockburn and “60 Minutes” (CBS, 1968- ) producer Leslie Cockburn. In fact, her entire family was steeped in journalism – her sister Chloe Cockburn was a writer, her grandfather was James Helvick (aka Claud Cockburn) and her two uncles Alexander and Patrick Cockburn were also journalists.

Cockburn graduated from Philips Academy in Andover, MA, where she studied acting and starred in, directed and produced over two dozen school productions. During her summers, she traveled abroad, including Ireland, where she studied drama at the renowned Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin. She was a rebellious teen and acted out by getting tattoos and piercings, dating older guys, and at one time, even shaving her head – hence “Wilde” as her stage name.

After graduating, Wilde moved to LA where, after spending a month on the set of the film “The Girl Next Door” (2004), starring Elisha Cuthbert (of “24” fame), her knock-out good looks and talent landed her a small role in the film. Before the movie was released, Wilde was cast as Jewel Goldman, the female lead in “Skin” (Fox, 2003), a Romeo and Juliet update set in the wild world of porn. Unfortunately for Wilde (and viewers), the much publicized drama series ended up being a flop and was yanked from the schedule after only three out of eight completed episodes were aired. After her show was canceled, Wilde eloped in the back of a LAFCO (Los Angeles Filmmaker's Cooperative) bus with photographer and documentary director Tao Ruspoli, who just happened to be an Italian prince. Upon returning to LA, she was one of the key models in Abercrombie & Fitch’s “Rising Stars” campaign in the summer of 2004.

However, it was Wilde’s next television role that really put her on the map. She breathed dynamic and provocative life into the temptress Alex Kelly on “The O.C.” during the 2004-05 season, stealing the show and attracting many male fans. In 2005, Wilde was ranked #61 on the Maxim magazine’s Hot 100 list.

As she continued her work on the popular Fox show, she began to land roles in feature films, including Nicholas Kazan’s hotly anticipated, hyper-violent and Sundance Film Festival favorite “Alpha Dog” (2006), co-starring pop singer Justin Timberlake, Sharon Stone and fellow “The Girl Next Door” alum Emile Hirsch; the adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel “Running with Scissors” (2006), co-starring Annette Bening, Evan Rachel Wood, and Alec Baldwin; and “Bickford Shmeckler’s Cool Ideas” (2006). Wilde was also cast in the pilot of Bobby Moreseco’s (co-screenwriter and co-producer of 2005’s “Crash”), TV drama “The Black Donnellys” (NBC, 2006).

In addition to her acting work, Wilde was a team member of the Los Angeles Filmmaker's Cooperative, serving as the editor in chief of LAFCO NEWS and as a chair member of the education department. She served as project manager for the LAFCO production of The Lysistrata Project, the first-ever world-wide theatrical event for peace held in hundreds of cities worldwide. 

The New York Observer has described Wilde as having a "throaty voice" and the "wide, teal-eyed charisma of Hollywood in the days of yore". She has cited Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver, Frances McDormand, Catherine Keener and Robin Wright Penn as acting inspirations, and also admires playwright Eve Ensler and director and actor Woody Allen.

Personal life: Wilde has dual citizenship between the United Stated and Ireland. On June 7, 2003, Wilde, nineteen at the time, married Prince Tao Ruspoli, an Italian documentary filmmaker, photographer and flamenco guitar player of aristocratic origin; the two eloped six months after they met and were married in a small civil ceremony conducted by a Justice of the Peace. They were introduced to each other at a party by journalist Duncan Campbell, a friend of Wilde's family. Wilde has said that she and her husband are from "completely different worlds". Wilde is a natural blonde and has stated that people have been "shocked" that she is a blonde but that "I wasn’t stupid".

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