Pilot News: Mischa Barton Lands "Bitchy" Beautiful Role

The O.C. alumna Mischa Barton is not moving to the shiny new Melrose Place, but rather New York City, having landed a role in A Beautiful Life, a CW pilot being executive-produced by Ashton Kutcher.

Revolving around a group of models who live together in the Big Apple (or a Los Angeles soundstage facsimile thereof), A Beautiful Life has Barton playing Sonja, an experienced supermodel in danger of becoming ... well, less super.

Barton describes Sonja to People as "bitchy ... a totally different character for me." (Which Marissa was I watching?)

The new role hits close to home in that Barton has in the past modeled for the likes of Calvin Klein, Aeropostale and Dooney & Bourke. Similarly, the series' subject matter stems from Kutcher's own early, pre-acting/producing/Demi days.

Says Barton, "Ashton developed it about his life growing up as a model from Iowa, so it's about the whole fashion world that he was in."

Read TVGuide.com's complete coverage of all the biggest fall pilot castings.