Mischa Barton using Dancing stint to show real personality

Actress Mischa Barton wants to use her stint on Dancing With The Stars to dispel false rumors about her personal life.

The former The O.C. star has famously hit headlines for all the wrong reasons in the past, including an arrest for driving under the influence (DUI), which led to a stay in rehab in 2007 and a family intervention in 2009, when she suffered an emotional breakdown.

Mischa, now 30, has since turned her life around and she hopes giving fans an insight into her life while on the ballroom dancing competition will show them a different side to her personality.

"People don't really know me and my personality that well, so that's kind of one of the main reasons why I'm doing it," she explained to Access Hollywood Live of her decision to sign on for the contest. "It's a nice way (for people) to get to see me and do something challenging... It's a journey."

"I am really private and this is a good way (to set the record straight about my life)... because there's so many ideas out there of what goes on in my life," she continued. "This is a good way for people to really get to see me and you know, how I handle things and just have fun."

Mischa has been partnered with professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev for Dancing with the Stars, and he reveals the pairing is a full circle moment for his career after previously landing a small role on The O.C.

"I appeared in one of the episodes...," he confessed. "There's actually footage of me... seducing Mischa's mom on the show, in a bar... So this (pairing) is not an accident, obviously!"