Her mother, Leslie Cockburn (née Redlich), is a 60 Minutes producer and journalist. Her mother once recounted a story of a young Wilde eavesdropping one night on a conversation between Richard Holbrooke and Mick Jagger until Jagger noticed her and shooed her to bed. She became known for her role on The O.C. as Alex Kelly, although she originally auditioned for the role of Marissa Cooper. in 2009 Wilde was ranked No.1 on Maxim magazine’s Hot 100. Wilde joined the cast of the Fox medical drama House starring Hugh Laurie in September 2007, making her first appearance in season 4: episode 2 called “The Right Stuff”. Wilde left House in October 2011, in season 8: episode 3 called “Charity Case”. On February 8, 2011, she and her husband announced that they were separating.