Mischa BartonMischa Barton is graduating from high school to high fashion.

The actress, who played Marissa Cooper on “The O.C.” over three seasons, has signed on to star in the CW drama pilot “A Beautiful Life.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Ashton Kutcher-produced project follows a group of models living together in a co-ed residence in New York. Cooper, 23, will play a veteran supermodel who is struggling to stay on top.

Barton, who herself has modeled for such companies as Calvin Klein and Dooney & Bourke, recently spoke to PEOPLE about her new role.

“Ashton developed it about his life growing up as a model from Iowa, so it’s about the whole fashion world that he was in, and obviously I have a lot of friends in the fashion world, so I’m used to being around a lot of people in that,” she told the magazine.

Barton’s casting debunks recent rumours that she will star in the CW’s “Melrose Place” revival.

Since leaving “The O.C.” in 2006, Barton’s film credits have included “Closing the Ring,” “Assassination of a High School President” and the upcoming “Bhopal: Prayer for Rain.”






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