Olivia Wilde is an American actress, producer, model, and director, mostly known for her character in the medical series House.
She played the role of Doctor Remy “Thirteen” Hadley. She also starred in various movies, including Alpha Dog, Tron: Legacy, Cowboy & Aliens, Her, Drinking Buddies, and Rush. Apart from TV appearances and roles on the silver screen, she has also performed for theater in Beauty and the Vine and 1984.
Olivia has proven herself to be a good artist by winning the Best Actress Award, Rising Star Award, and Choice TV Breakout Star Female.
Her work in the entertainment industry also includes her appearance in music videos such as Stolen by Dashboard Confessionals and City of Angels by Thirty Seconds to Mars.
She has also actively engaged in social activities and has become an ambassador for different organizations. Her work also included directing the documentary Body Team 12 that follows a team that was assigned to collect the victims who died in the Ebola Virus crisis.
The Early Life of Olivia Wilde
Born Olivia Jane Cockburn on March 10, 1984, in New York, Olivia grew up in a family of journalists. She has stayed in Georgetown, Washington D.C. in her growing years but spent a good portion of her summer years in Ardmore, County Waterford in Ireland. She has also lived for a while in their house in Guilford, Vermont.
The influence of her parents’ work along with her relatives and even her babysitter, who was also a writer has developed Olivia’s interest in journalism.
Olivia attended the Georgetown Day School in Washington D.C., one of the prestigious schools in the area. She also attended the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.
Olivia changed her surname in high school in honor of her family of writers. She got the name “Olivia Wilde” after the Irish author, Oscar Wilde.
She graduated finished her basic education in 2002 and was accepted at Bard College, a fine private college in New York that specializes in Liberal Arts. However, Olivia did not pursue her studies there and instead enrolled in Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland to pursue her plans of focusing on acting.
The Cockburn Family
She grew up in a prominent family that descends from German, Manx, Scottish, Irish, and English ancestry. Her family used to host big parties and celebrations with guests that include diplomats and other important dignitaries.
Her mother once recalled young Olivia to have been caught sneakily eavesdropping on their guests’ conversation. Their family roots from upper-class families that lived through the British Empire and lived all around the world, including Peking, Cairo, and Tasmania.
Andrew Myles Cockburn
The parents of Olivia are highly known within Washington, D.C. Her father, Andrew, is an Irish journalist that was born in 1947 in London.
His father was also a journalist and socialist author. He is the great-grandson of Henry Arthur Blake, a Brtish Colonel administrator and Governor of Hong Kong, as well as, George Arbuthnot, a British Politician.
He earned his degree at Glenalmond College in Perthshire and the Worcester College in Oxford.
He is related to other writers and authors, Alexander Cockburn, Patrick Cockburn, Sarah Caudwell, and Claudia Caudwell. In 1977, he married Leslie Corkhill Redlich in San Francisco. Together, they have three children: Chloe Frances Cockburn, Olivia Jane, and Charles Phillip.
Andrew is also related to Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, Admiral of the Fleet of the Royal Navy. Other relatives of her father include James Ramsey, an Anglican minister and Abolitionist, Henry Cockburn, a literary figure, Lord Provost of Edinburgh Sir William Arbuthnot, and Sir Thomas Osborne.
Leslie Corkill Redlich
Her mother, Leslie, is a native of San Mateo, San Mateo County in California. Olivia’s maternal grandfather is shipping magnate, Christopher Rudolph Redlich.
Growing up, Leslie earned her education at the Santa Catalina School for Girls before studying at Yale. She then studied her Master’s Degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
She has worked in NBC News and CBS. She also has covered reports like Contra War, the overthrow of Duvalier in Haiti, the Pentagon military scandal, and more.
She married her Andrew Cockburn with whom she had co-written several books. They got married in San Francisco in 1977 and have three children together.
As of late, she and her husband are living comfortably in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Her other notable works include American Casino.
Siblings: Chloe and Charles
Her sister Chloe was born as Chloe Frances on April 03, 1979. Meanwhile, her youngest sibling is Charles Phillip, born on January 31, 1993.
Relationships of Olivia Wilde
Olivia has been rumored to have dated different individuals in the past. But, she has only confirmed two of the guys on the list.
Tao Ruspoli
The first marriage of Olivia Wilde was with Tao Ruspoli. He is the second son of Prince Alessandro Ruspoli, 9th Prince of Cerveteri. He was born on November 07, 1975 and graduated his philosophy degree at University of California, Berkeley.
They first dated on December 2002 for about six months before he proposed and they got married on June 07, 2003. Their marriage took place at Washington, Virginia.
However, after a joint statement on February 08, 2011, the couple admitted to the public that they are parting ways. Olivia filed a divorce due to irreconcilable differences on March 23, 2011, and was finalized about six months later. A private discussion for the division of property took place.
Jason Sudeikis
In November 2011, she and actor Jason Sudeikis started dating. He was born David Jason Sudeikis on September 18, 1975. He has starred in roles in Horrible Bosses 1 &2, We’re the Millers and The Angry Bird Movies. He was first married to writer-producer Kay Cannon before they divorced in 2010.
He and Olivia got engaged in January 2013, 2 years after they got together. Together, they share two children: Otis Alexander born on April 20, 2014, and Daisy Josephine, born on October 11, 2016. The couple has been together for about six years now.
Acting Career of Olivia Wilde
Olivia first appeared as Kellie in The Girl Next Door in 2004 and other roles such as Angela Holden in Alpha Dog, Bea in Turistas, and Bella in Fix. She then made her big break as Princess Inanna in 2009 film Year One.
Her success continued as she starred in Tron: Legacy in 2010 and also voiced the game version. She was also in Cowboy & Aliens. She has also worked with Ryan Reynolds in The Change-Up. Throughout 2011 she has appeared in three more films, In Time, On the Inside, and Butter.
After her divorce, Olivia focused on her career and was nonstop in the work that she did. She starred alongside Chris Pine in People Like Us, then starred in Deadfall, and The Words. All these films were released on 2012.
Her continued success went on the following year when she starred in Drinking Buddies and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.
In 2015, she was starred as the lead protagonist/antagonist in the thriller film The Lazarus Effect. She then acted and directed for Meadowland which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. She debuted her writing and directing work in 2011 for Glamour Magazine’s short film series. Her work was titled Free Hugs.
House
Perhaps one of the biggest breakthroughs of Olivia is her role in the FOX series, House. She played the role of Doctor Remy “Thirteen” Hadley for a total of 81 episodes.
Her character first appeared in the second episode of the fourth season before she made her exit in the third episode of the eighth season. However, she has agreed to return for the penultimate episode of the show and even on its finale.
Olivia is the only person to know what the real name of “Thirteen” was until it was revealed in the fifteenth episode of the fourth season. Her last appearance for House was her speech during Dr. House’s funeral service.
Documentary and Other Works
Her work didn’t just stop in acting for television and film. She has also followed the footsteps of her parents and explored the world of journalism.
She became an executive producer and director for various documentaries, including her latest Body Team 12 that won Best Documentary Short at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.
She has also joined other documentaries and talked about her learning of the struggles of women in Kenya.
She has also directed two music videos with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros for their respective songs.
On top of that, she became the 2011 Revlon Ambassador which lasted until 2016. In May 2017, she became the Chief Brand Activist of True Botanicals.
Net Worth
For her years of acting, directing, modeling, and producing, Olivia Wilde has had accumulated the total net worth of $20 million.