Mischa Barton is angry and fighting back. After coming under intense scrutiny and ridicule for having cellulite, the 22-year-old actress has come to OK! to discuss Hollywood body image issues, the pressure to be thin and how she handles all the nasty talk. "I like my curves," the former O.C. star, who's currently dating rocker Taylor Locke, says. "My boyfriend loves them. So whatever works!"


Do you ever look at magazine pictures of yourself?
No, not usually really. I don’t really use the internet and I never buy tabloids. I’m not much an Internet person, I’m pretty backwards in my technology skills to be honest. So no, I tend to stay away from that kind of stuff. I think it’s kind of bad for you to harp over it.

Are you self-conscious about your body?
No, I’m not self conscious about my body. I eat really healthy, I work out. Everybody has things that they are conscious of that they don’t like, but any girl – I talk about this with my girlfriends all the time. We work out and we eat healthy and we do what we do, I feel very comfortable. I come from a European family that’s always very comfortable with their bodies. You are what you are as a woman.

So you’re not too worried about weight?
I mean you could get worried about it, but then I think you’d have a whole plethora of problems. What I do as an actress is make films and work. There’s been lots of nasty gossip that’s been written about me over the years. If I were to get upset about it and cry over every single thing than I’d be the most depressed person ever. And trust me there have been some low points in my life where I get really depressed about it, but in general I find it’s smarter to not get depressed about it and not to feed into it.

Every woman has cellulite. How do you feel about the photos that highlighted yours?
Every woman does have cellulite! I just feel like the photographers try to get the most unflattering shots. They know they are worth more money and even the photographer that took those shots. I went up to him and said, "Do you understand that what you’re doing is so low and that you cause trouble and make people upset? I haven’t had a vacation in forever and you’re ruining that for me. And this is why actresses can’t relax and live normal lives." And he was like, "Oh well. I’m going to sell it for as much money as I can get." That kind of attitude about not giving actors or women or anyone their personal privacy is what makes people turn strange. I’ve never claimed to have a perfect body, but it is what it is.


Full interview