Olivia Wilde was born in New York City on March 10, 1984. She was christened Olivia Jane Cockburn but later changed her family name to "Wilde" - after writer Oscar Wilde and her rebellious nature. Olivia comes from a very political and intelligent family: her mother, Leslie Cockburn (née Corkhill Redlich), is a producer and journalist, and her father, Andrew Cockburn, is a National Geographic reporter/author. In fact, her entire family is rooted 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 are also journalists. Her half-aunt is mystery writer Sarah Caudwell. Wilde has said that as a result of her background, she has a "strong journalistic streak", being "really critical and analytical".
However, ever since she was a child, acting was always the profession of choice for Olivia, who was mainly raised in Washington D.C. She graduated from Philips Academy in Andover, MA in 2002, where she studied acting and starred in, directed and produced over two dozen school productions. Among others Wilde portrayed Cecily Cardew in The Importance of Being Earnest, later deriving her stage name from its writer. During her summers, she traveled abroad, including Ireland, where she studied drama at the renowned Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin. In fact, Olivia has dual citizenship between Ireland and the United States. Olivia was a rebellious teen and acted out by getting tattoos and piercings, dating older guys, and at one time, even shaving her head - suitable for her stage name, "Wilde".
Once she graduated and traveled, Olivia moved to Los Angeles. After spending a month on the set of Elisha Cuthbert's The Girl Next Door (2004), she landed a small role in the film. Before the movie was released, Wilde was cast as Jewel Goldman, the female lead in Fox's Skin in 2003, a Romeo and Juliet update set in the wild world of porn. Unfortunately the much publicized 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 home to Los Angeles, she was one of the key models in Abercrombie & Fitch’s "Rising Stars" campaign in the summer of 2004.
It was Olivia's next television role that really put her name on the map. She turned heads as the sultry bisexual temptress Alex Kelly on Fox's The OC during the 2004-05 season. She appeared in the series for 13 episodes. "What's interesting," Wilde says, "is watching people's reactions as all this unfolds. People might have expected 'Girls Gone Wild,' kiss-in-the-hot-tub type of thing, but what's going to be interesting is when people realize that's not what we did. I hope they don't want that and expect that, 'Oh, I want some crazy, hot lesbian scene.' It's not like that. It's much more about Marissa discovering these feelings, and Alex tentatively welcoming her into this, and then what happens after is even more interesting." Asked if the love scenes with Mischa Barton pushed her beyond her comfort zone, Wilde says, "No, no. It was definitely something I had never done, it was definitely a challenge, but it wasn't something that ever made me feel uncomfortable. I got pushed, but in a good way, in a direction that made me try something new."
Next Wilde has appeared in Alpha Dog (2006). Of the role Olivia said: "I'm Emile Hirsch's crazy, violent nymphomaniac girlfriend." Wilde also appeared in Conversations with Other Women (2005), Camjackers (2006) and Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas (2006) before landing a larger role in the horror pic Turistas (2006). "I think because it was written well, it had the girls being very powerful and overcoming all their obstacles and not running around in a wet t-shirt and walking into the attic with a butcher knife. It wasn’t that type of film. It was smart and well written and we had a good captain, the director John Stockwell was someone we could trust, being in vulnerable wardrobe; being in vicarious situations without many clothes on. He was someone we could trust and we knew he would take care of us." she also had a very small role in Running With Scissors (2006) and appeared in the Dashboard Confessional music video for "Stolen", and the French Kicks music video for "So Far We Are". She was reportedly considered to play Bond girl Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale but Eva Green eventually won the role.
In 2007, Wilde was a part of the ensemble cast of the 14-episode NBC mid-season drama The Black Donnellys. Her character, Jenny Reilly, was 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 starred in The Death and Life of Bobby Z and filmed Fix (2008). Olivia appeared in 11 episodes of the high profile series House M.D. When Wilde was cast on House, she had no idea how long she'd be around. Her character, nicknamed Thirteen, was competing for a spot on Dr. House's fellowship team — and Wilde herself was fighting for a job in the regular cast. Apparently Thirteen will return in future episodes of House. Next for Wilde is The Year One (2009), an adventure comedy in which she will star alongside Jack Black and Michael Cera.
Olivia Wilde married Tao Ruspoli, a filmmaker and photographer, in Washington, Rappahannock County, Virginia, on June 7, 2003. The actress, who has cited Meryl Streep, Frances McDormand, Catherine Keener and Robin Wright Penn as acting inspirations, admires feminist playwright Eve Ensler and director Woody Allen. In addition to her acting work, Olivia 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. Olivia has a dog named Paco. A charismatic actress, an intelligent mind and stunningly beautiful to look at, Olivia Wilde is no doubt in the business to stay for good.
Last updated on April 10, 2008
© Olivia-Wilde.org Do not re-post without our expressed permission.