Mischa Barton Stays Away From Politics  4/26/06

The OC star Mischa Barton has just been granted her US citizenship, but insists she doesn't want to use her celebrity status to speak out on political issues.

The 20-year-old actress was born in London to an English father and an Irish mother and lived in the UK for the first five years of her life.

She explains, "I grew up in New York and that makes me pretty American, I think, but I'm definitely different to a lot of Americans.

"I just became an American citizen so I can vote now, and I'm really looking forward to that opportunity.

"There are things I stand up for, like voting and stuff like that; that's sort of thing's very important.

"I'm very opinionated in my private life, but I don't like to get too political in the press."