American actress Olivia Wilde was born on March 10, 1984 in New York City. Born into a family of writers and journalist, she would later describe herself as having a “strong journalistic streak,” although she aspired to become an actress since she was two years old. Her family later moved to Dublin, Ireland, where she entered The Gaiety School of Acting. She initially worked as a casting assistant before she started acting, debuting on the short-lived drama Skin in 2003. She played one of the major characters: Jewel, the daughter of a !$#!#graphy magnate (Ron Silver). Despite intensive promotion, the series got bad reviews and low ratings, and was cancelled after three episodes.
Wilde became more known to audiences when she joined the cast of The OC. She got a recurring role as Alex Kelly, a bisexual who dated both Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) and Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton). She appeared in 13 episodes between 2004 and 2005. Her next major television role was in the ensemble drama The Black Donnellys, where she was the only principal female character; she played the role of Jenny Reilly, the childhood friend of the Donnelly boys, and has a strained relationship with the second, Tommy (Jonathan Tucker). The series was dropped after six episodes, due to low ratings.
Her most recent television role was in the medical drama House, which she entered in its fourth season. She played the role of “Thirteen,” one of the aspiring applicants for Gregory House’s (Hugh Laurie) new diagnostic team. She eventually becomes part of the new team, along with Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson) and Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn), and is known for the many mysteries surrounding her character, including her real name.
Wilde has also appeared in several films, the first being the 2004 romantic comedy The Girl Next Door. Her other films include Alpha Dog, Conversations with Other Women, Turistas and The Death and Life of Bobby Z.