She went from “The O.C.” to an OD.
Mischa Barton was so high on coke following a marathon three-day bender that friends called cops afraid she would kill herself, sources have told The Post.
Barton, 23, was taken away from her LA home by police and placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold on Wednesday.
The party-loving former “O.C” star was due to fly to New York for the premiere of her movie “Homecoming,” which has been slammed by critics.
A source close to Barton said, “She’s in very bad shape.
“She’s running out of money and can’t find love, so now she is looking for a good time to escape her misery. She is on a downward spiral.
“She is a mess. She is a suicidal, uninsurable mess.”
Photographed Tuesday at an LA hotel, the once-skinny Barton (above) looked bloated and almost unrecognizable.
A guest at the hotel said Barton seemed to be stumbling around poolside and at one point was topless.
Two weeks ago she hit the headlines after being kicked out of the ladies’ room at an exclusive London nightclub for trying to bring a gal pal into one of the stalls.
Barton told Life and Style magazine only days ago that she was “happy and healthy.”
She said: “It does get cumbersome to have to address the same non-issues on a repeated basis. Fortunately, I’m healthy and comfortable in my own skin.
“I’m happy. I wouldn’t change my body, and I couldn’t anyway. The only way to be happy and be a more enjoyable person is to embrace what you’ve got.”
Her publicist, Craig Schneider, released a statement yesterday confirming that the actress remains in the hospital under doctor’s orders. Under Section 5150 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, authorities can hold a person for up to 72 hours if they present a danger to themselves or others. It is the same law used to hospitalize Britney Spears last year.
A source believes it will take some time before Barton bounces back, saying: “She is a tortured and troubled person. You can survive a bad review, but when you don’t show up for the premiere of your new film, it’s not a good sign of where your career is heading.”