EARLY LIFE

Olivia Wilde

Born Olivia Jane Cockburn in New York City, New York on March 10th, 1984, Olivia is the youngest of two children to producer/journalist Leslie and journalist Andrew Cockburn. Her sister, Chloe, is a civil rights attorney in New York. Despite her parent’s careers, Olivia wanted to be an actress from a very young age, reportedly since she was two years old. She studied at the Georgetown Day School in Washington D.C. before enrolling at the Phillips Academy in Massachusetts to study acting. She appeared in numerous school productions there, and graduated in 2002. She also briefly studied her craft at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland.

FIRST JOB AND TELEVISION BREAKTHROUGH

After moving to Los Angeles, Olivia soon earned her first television role; as Jewel Goldman on the Romeo and Juliet-inspired series Skin in 2003. She adopted the surname Wilde as her screen name to retain her family’s privacy and as a reference to famed author and playwright Oscar Wilde. Though the show was ultimately cancelled after 6 episodes, Olivia soon found herself another role. She was working on the set of the 2004 film The Girl Next Door, when she was eventually asked to join the cast. It was back on television though where Olivia would find her breakthrough role landing a recurring character on the popular teen drama The O.C. in that same year. From there, Olivia’s career slowly began to take off as she balanced small roles in film with more prominent performances on television. She appeared in the independently produced Conversations with Other Women (2005), ensemble drama Alpha Dog (2006) with Emile Hirsch and Bruce Willis, and the horror film Paradise Lost (2006), before returning to television in Paul Haggis’ short-lived crime series The Black Donnellys in 2007. That same year, she became a series regular on Hugh Laurie’s critically-acclaimed medical-drama series House, starring as one of the titular doctor’s new assistants.

FEATURE FILM BREAKTHROUGH

House’s success gave Olivia a great deal of exposure, earning the actress a Teen Choice nomination in 2008 for Breakthrough Female. More roles were to follow, with Olivia balancing her work on House with more high-profile film releases. Her first high-profile role came in Harold Ramis’ 2009 biblical comedy Year One, playing Princess Inanna, the love interest of Jack Black’s idiotic neanderthal. Though the film was a box office disappointment, Olivia would return to the big screen the following year with a supporting turn in Disney’s highly anticipated Tron: Legacy, a long awaited sequel to the 1982 cult classic Tron. The film was a box office hit, earning almost $400 million worldwide, and made Olivia a star in the process, which she swiftly followed up with another supporting turn in jailbreak thriller The Next Three Days (2010) with Russell Crowe. Olivia’s set for a busy 2011 with more supporting turns in the likes of Jon Favreau’s high-concept alien invasion film Cowboys & Aliens, ensemble sci-fi Now, and rom-com The Change-Up with Ryan Reynolds.

Olivia Wilde with Hugh Laurie in House

ACTIVISM & MODELING WORK

Olivia is active in charity work and raising awareness for youth issues. She campaigned in the 2008 presidential election in support of Barack Obama and is involved with several charitable organizations including Artists for Peace and Justice, and the American Civil Liberties Union, with whom she has strived to raise awareness for voting among youths. Olivia has also had some success as a model and was featured in Abercrombie and Fitch’s “Rising Stars” campaign in 2004.

PERSONAL LIFE

Olivia has had a long relationship with Italian prince, documentary filmmaker, actor and musician Tao Ruspoli, with whom she eloped and married in a private ceremony in 2003. She has actively supported his film work by starring alongside Tao in his award winning feature Fix in 2008, and independent comedy Camjackers in 2006. As of February 2011, Olivia and Tao are separated.

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