Created by Josh Schwartz Portrayed by Samaire Armstrong Significant other Seth Cohen | Gender Female Creator Josh Schwartz | |
 | ||
Occupation High school student
(at the Harbor School; departed)
College student
(at Brown; ambiguous) Family Cameron Stern
(father)
Patricia Stern
(mother) Residence Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Formerly:
Newport Beach, California First appearance "The Debut", (episode 1.04) Last appearance "The Party Favor", (episode 3.23) Similar Seth Cohen, Caleb Nichol, Jimmy Cooper, Hailey Nichol, Kirsten Cohen | ||
Anna Stern is a fictional character on the FOX television series The O.C., portrayed by Samaire Armstrong. Initially intended to appear in only one episode, she was brought back at fan request for several episodes of the first season. After a successful run, Melinda Clarke and Rachel Bilson were added to the main cast in the thirteenth episode, while Samaire Armstrong wasn't despite the regular appearance of her character. She appears on the back of the Music from the OC: Mix 1 album with the main cast of season 1.
Contents
In the season 3 episode "The Party Favor", Anna says to Seth and Summer: "I'm gonna go. I fly back tomorrow, but I'll see you both in Providence." So Anna is a student at Brown University, but she is offscreen. In the booklet of the 'Mix 5' CD, most cast members leave messages to each other, including, "Hey, guys-see you soon! Missing you in Pittsburgh-Anna"
Season 1
Having just moved to Newport Beach from Pittsburgh, she was paired with newcomer Ryan Atwood to attend the annual cotillion ball. Seth and Anna connected instantly as they talked about their shared passion, comic books. When Ryan chose not to attend (until Marissa persuades him to change his mind), Seth and Anna went to cotillion together. Seth turned down Summer Roberts, the love of his life, to go with Anna, which became an omen of their relationship to come.
When Anna returned to school after a summer sailing trip, she and Seth picked up where they left off. Anna admitted that she liked Seth but understood that he would never see her as anything more than a friend. When she kissed him later that night, Seth assumed that it was part of their plan to make Summer jealous, and Anna didn't correct him.
Soon, though, Seth became aware of Anna's feelings; at the same time, Summer admitted that she had feelings for him. The previously girl-less Seth now had two girls who liked him and no idea what to do. Things came to a head at Thanksgiving, when both girls showed up.
On New Year's Eve, Anna found herself lonely and morose at a New Year party. Anna went to Seth's house, and the New Year saw the two making out on Seth's bed. Their relationship had a rocky start, with both Anna and Seth afraid to tell Summer, whom they had both become friends with. Seth began paying her more attention, however, and it became obvious he still had feelings for Summer. Anna realised this and broke up with Seth eventually. After a trip back to Pittsburgh, Anna returned to find Seth and Summer together. Although she remained friends with Seth, she missed Pittsburgh too much and decided to move back, with a tearful goodbye to Seth at the airport. The character appeared in 13 episodes throughout this season.
Season 3
Anna returned in season three where she bumped into Seth at a Brown University Pre-Frosh event. They re-connected instantly, and Seth shared some of his recent troubles with her concerning not getting into Brown and his breakup with Summer. But Summer thought they were going out when she saw them hug at the airport. Anna helped Seth get an interview with the Rhode Island School of Design and also returned to Newport to attend the Prom with Seth and help him win Summer back. She appeared in 2 episodes in season 3 for a total of 15 episodes.