Olivia Jane Wilde (born
Olivia Jane Cockburn, "co-burn";
March 10, 1984) is an
American actress. She began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of
film and
television parts, including roles on the
series The O.C. and
The Black Donnellys. She currently portrays
Dr. Remy "Thirteen" Hadley in the TV drama
House.
Early life
Wilde was born in
New York City on March 10, 1984 as Olivia Jane Cockburn. Her mother,
Leslie Cockburn (
née Corkhill Redlich), is a
60 Minutes producer and
journalist, and her father,
Andrew Cockburn, is an
Irish journalist, as are her paternal uncles
Alexander and
Patrick, all of whom are contributors to the political website
CounterPunch.org. Her half-aunt was the late writer
Sarah Caudwell. Her paternal grandfather was the Irish-born novelist/journalist
Claud Cockburn. Wilde has said that as a result of her family background, she has a "strong journalistic streak", being "really critical and analytical".
Both her parents were prominent in the Washington social scene, hosting dinner parties. Her mother once recounted a story of a young Wilde eavesdropping one night on a conversation between
Richard Holbrooke and
Mick Jagger until Mick noticed her and shooed Olivia to bed.
She has wanted to become an actress since the age of two.
For a short time, Olivia's family had a house in
Guilford, Vermont, USA. Wilde attended
Georgetown Day School in
Washington, D.C., as well as
Phillips Academy in
Andover, Massachusetts, and subsequently moved to
Dublin, Ireland, where she attended
The Gaiety School of Acting.
She initially began working as a casting assistant.
