Where Is The Cast Of "The O.C." Now? Everything About Mischa Barton, Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson, & More!

Mischa Barton — Marissa Cooper

Spoiler Alert: Everyone remembers (and is traumatized by) the tragic death of Misha Barton’s character, Marissa Cooper, during the season three finale. Since then, Barton has appeared on Season 22 of Dancing with Stars and starred in the reboot of iconic soap Neighbours for a 10-week guest stint in Australia in 2023.

The actress’s recent guest appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast has her revisiting life The O.C., speaking on her mental health and familial issues both during and after filming. One of the biggest takeaways? Barton dated co-star Ben McKenzie IRL during the show — and if you're wondering about their age gap, he was 25 and she was 17... Needless to say, her abrupt exit from the show makes a lot more sense through the lens of that breakup.

Per Daily Mail, Barton is last linked to boyfriend Gian Marco Flamini, although it’s unclear whether they are still in a relationship.

Ben McKenzie — Ryan Atwood

Ben McKenzie (known for his character Ryan Atwood) is now an author and actor. After The O.C., McKenzie took on some notable roles in Johnny Got His Gun, Southland, and landed his first voice acting role in Batman: Year One. He then returned to the Batman world in Gotham on Fox from 2014 until 2019.

He then made his broadway debut with Second Stage Theater in 2020 for Bess Wohl’s Grand Horizons. McKenzie is married to actress Morena Baccarin and has two children.

Adam Brody — Seth Cohen

Adam Brody, who played Seth Cohen on the show and is known for his appearance on Gilmore Girls, is currently married to Leighton Meester (AKA the queen Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl) with two kids. Brody had a public relationship with co-star Rachel Bilson but split while still filming the show in 2006. Since the series ended, he’s acted on projects such as River Wild, The Kid Detective, American Fiction, and more.

Rachel Bilson — Summer Roberts

Rachel Bilson is reminiscing on her time as her character, Summer Roberts, in a rewatch podcast with Melinda Clarke. Although her that podcast wrapped in 2023, Bilson continued the comedy podcast “Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson & Olivia Allen). The actress starred in the Hart of Dixie until 2017 and Take Two in 2018. She has one child, Briar Rose, with former beau and Canadian actor, Hayden Christensen. She sparked dating rumors with actor and musician Garrett Hedlund, per Extra TV.

Peter Gallagher — Sandy Cohen

Peter Gallagher, who played Adam Brody’s father in the show, was a longtime actor before landing his gig as Sandy Cohen. The While You Were Sleeping actor has made recent appearances in Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. David Hamilton and Grace and Frankie as Nick Skolka. He has been married to Paula Harwood since 1983 and has 2 children.

Kelly Rowan — Kirsten Cohen

Actress Kelly Rowan played Sandy Cohen's wife and Seth Cohen's mom during her time on the show. After The O.C., Rowan starred in a handful of films and television shows, but she hasn't acted much recently — her last project was a movie called Tulips In Spring in 2016. She was previously engaged to David Thomson (who she shares a 16 year old daughter with), but according to Hello! they broke it off before the wedding bells rang.

Melinda Clarke — Julie Cooper

Melinda Clarke, known for playing Marissa Cooper's mother, made a brief return to The O.C. world with Rachel Bilson on their rewatch podcast which ended in 2023. From 1997 to 2005, Clarke was married to Ernie Mirich, and they share one child together. She's been with her current husband, Adam Farmer, since 2015. Clarke still acts, with titles like Fantasy Island, The Vampire Diaries, and Entourage under her belt since her stint on The O.C.

Tate Donovan — Jimmy Cooper

The other half of Marissa Cooper's parents, Tate Donavan just played Stanley Clotfelter in the award-winning film The Holdovers. Donovan is no stranger to the screen either, working on projects like Ghosted, Rocketman, and Argo. One of my fave works of Donavan's has to be his voice acting as Hercules in the Disneyclassic of the same name — truly iconic! Donovan was married to Corinne Kingsbury from 2005 to 2008, and hasn't remarried since.