Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde, born Olivia Jane Cockburn on March 10, 1984, in New York City, is an accomplished actress and filmmaker known for her diverse roles in film and television. Her background as the daughter of journalists—her father is Andrew Cockburn, a noted author and journalist, and her mother, Leslie Cockburn, a documentary filmmaker—shaped her artistic sensibilities. Wilde's early career included a breakout role as Alex Kelly on the popular series *The OC*, which led to various notable projects in both television and film, such as *House*, *Tron: Legacy*, and the critically acclaimed *Drinking Buddies*.
In addition to acting, Wilde made her directorial debut with the film *Booksmart* in 2019, marking her transition into filmmaking. She has actively sought to portray complex characters, challenging the industry's tendency to typecast her in traditionally sexualized roles. On a personal note, Wilde was married to filmmaker Tao Ruspoli and later engaged to actor Jason Sudeikis, with whom she shares two children. Wilde is also known for her activism, supporting various political causes and being involved with organizations like the ACLU. Her multifaceted career continues to evolve as she navigates both acting and directing in a variety of genres.
Subject Terms
Olivia Wilde
Actor
- Born: March 10, 1984
- Birthplace: New York, New York
Contribution: Olivia Wilde is an actor best known for her roles on the television series House (2007–12) and in the film Tron: Legacy (2010).
Background
Olivia Wilde was born Olivia Jane Cockburn on March 10, 1984, in New York City to a family of journalists. Her father, Andrew Cockburn, the son of the socialist author and journalist Claud Cockburn, is a journalist and the author of Rumsfeld: His Rise, Fall, and Catastrophic Legacy (2007), among other books; he was born in Ireland, and Wilde holds dual citizenship. Her mother, Leslie Cockburn, is a journalist and documentary filmmaker who is also a longtime producer of the long-running television news show 60 Minutes. Wilde grew up around many of the twentieth century’s most noted journalists and thinkers, including family friends Seymour Hersh and Peter Jennings. The late Christopher Hitchens, an award-winning author and journalist, was her babysitter. Wilde has two siblings: a sister named Chloe, who is an attorney, and a brother named Charlie. They grew up in Washington, DC.
Wilde attended the prestigious Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and then moved to Dublin to study acting. While there, she chose her stage name in honor of Oscar Wilde. She was accepted at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, but got permission from her parents to spend a year working for another family friend, a casting director in Hollywood.
Career
Wilde auditioned for the female lead in the popular primetime soap opera The OC but lost the role to actor Mischa Barton. She was then cast as the lead in Skin, a short-lived Romeo and Juliet–based Jerry Bruckheimer series about the teenage children of a pornographer and a district attorney. The show aired for three episodes in 2003 before being canceled.
Wilde’s big break came in 2004, when she began appearing on The OC as Alex Kelly, the love interest of Barton’s character. Kelly was written off the show after thirteen episodes because, according to producer Josh Schwartz, the network was squeamish about the character’s sexual orientation. Also in 2004, Wilde appeared with Elisha Cuthbert in a comedy about pornography called The Girl Next Door.
After turns in the Nick Cassavetes crime drama Alpha Dog (2006), costarring Justin Timberlake, and the horror movie Turistas (2006), Wilde landed a role in the television series The Black Donnellys, which premiered in 2007. The NBC crime drama was canceled after its first season.
The same year, Wilde began appearing as Dr. Remy “Thirteen” Hadley on the fourth season of the medical drama House (also called House, MD), starring Hugh Laurie. Hadley is a bisexual doctor who becomes self-destructive after being diagnosed with a terminal disease. Wilde was a regular on the show through the penultimate season and then appeared in three episodes of the final season, which concluded in 2012.
In 2010, Wilde starred as Quorra in Tron: Legacy, the sequel to the 1982 movie Tron. Like the original, the science-fiction adventure film also stars Jeff Bridges as a video-game designer trapped in a parallel universe inside of a computer. In Tron: Legacy, Bridges’s character is joined by his son, for whom Quorra serves as a guide. Next, Wilde appeared in the sci-fi films In Time and Cowboys & Aliens and the comedies The Change-Up and Butter, all in 2011. Continuing work in a variety of genres the following year, Wilde was in such movies as the crime film Deadfall (2012) and the drama People like Us (2012).
In 2013, Wilde starred in the comedy Drinking Buddies alongside Anna Kendrick, Jake Johnson, and Ron Livingston. The film focuses on the relationships between two couples and required some serious comedy chops, as the scenes were largely improvised. The film was positively reviewed by critics and praised for its authenticity and appealing characters. Wilde in particular was singled out for her rich and nuanced performance. Also in 2013, Wilde starred in the Spike Jonze film Her.
After starring alongside Sam Rockwell in the 2014 comedy-drama Better Living through Chemistry, Wilde had a prominent role in the film The Lazarus Effect (2015), a horror picture with a science-fiction twist in which researchers experiment with bringing people back from the dead. With 2015 proving to be a busy year for her, she also appeared in the films Meadowland and Love the Coopers in addition to several episodes of the second season of the comedy series Doll & Em. Though she had the opportunity to costar in the new HBO series Vinyl in 2016, it was ultimately canceled after the first season. She made her Broadway debut in a stage adaptation of George Orwell's classic 1984 (1949) in 2017, and in 2018, she appeared in the films A Vigilante and Life Itself. Closing out the decade, she portrayed real-life figure Kathy Scruggs, a journalist working for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution during the 1996 bombing attack at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park, in the Clint Eastwood–directed biographical crime-drama Richard Jewell (2019). Additionally stepping behind the camera in 2019, she served as director for the comedy Booksmart.
As entertainment productions, including films, were shut down or delayed due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic declared in early 2020, that year Wilde joined the cast of the audio comedy series produced by Audible titled Escape from Virtual Island. Starring Paul Rudd, the series features Wilde as the voice of the character Bianca. The year 2021 saw her appear in the comedy How It Ends.
Impact
In both television and film roles, Wilde has proven herself to be a versatile actor willing to challenge herself in a variety of genres, ranging from drama to comedy to science fiction. Though she has often been typecast as a sex object or love interest, she has taken steps to counter this, seeking out meatier roles and pulling out of a biopic of porn star Linda Lovelace in 2011 because she felt she had become too sexualized. With Drinking Buddies, Wilde broke out of her traditional mold and positioned herself to take on increasingly substantial films.
Personal Life
Wilde married Italian prince and filmmaker Tao Ruspoli in 2003, when she was still a teenager. The couple divorced in 2011. Wilde became engaged to Saturday Night Live alum and Drinking Buddies costar Jason Sudeikis in 2013. The couple welcomed a son in 2014 and a daughter in 2016 before separating in late 2020.
Wilde uses her celebrity to support political candidates, most notably then senator Barack Obama in 2008, and nonprofit organizations such as Artists for Peace and Justice. She is also a board member for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Principal Works
Film
The Girl Next Door, 2004
Alpha Dog, 2006
Turistas, 2006
Tron: Legacy, 2010
Cowboys & Aliens, 2011
Drinking Buddies, 2013
Her, 2013
Love the Coopers, 2015
A Vigilante, 2018
Richard Jewell, 2019
Television
Skin, 2003
The OC, 2004–5
The Black Donnellys, 2007
House, 2007–12
Doll & Em, 2016
Bibliography
Ebiri, Bilge. “Stranded with Olivia Wilde.” New York Magazine. New York Media, 13 Nov. 2009. Web. 4 Sept. 2013.
Gay, Jason. “Olivia.” GQ. Condé Nast, Sept. 2009. Web. 4 Sept. 2013.
Reid, Elwood. “Tron: Legacy Star Olivia Wilde.” Details. Condé Nast, 1 Dec. 2010. Web. 4 Sept. 2013.
Schwartz, Alexandra. "Olivia Wilde Is Living Her Best Life." Vogue, 9 Dec. 2021, www.vogue.com/article/olivia-wilde-cover-january-2022. Accessed 17 Dec. 2021.
Vilkomerson, Sara. “Wilde at Heart.” New York Observer. New York Observer, 16 Apr. 2007. Web. 4 Sept. 2013.
Wilde, Olivia. “Olivia Wilde on Drinking Buddies, Skinny-Dipping, Booze and More.” Interview by Marlow Stern. Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 4 Sept. 2013.