It took the cancellation of her show “The Beautiful Life” for Mischa Barton to realize that TV is not for her, but it isn’t bringing her down. Barton was seen partying in New York City Monday night.

Wearing a Versace gown, the 23-year-old Barton attended the Whitney Museum Gala, where she said that she doesn’t mind not working on TV shows anymore. She explained, “I think I need to back away from the whole TV approach. That whole world of network television, probably isn’t, for me, a good idea now. I need to start reading for more serious roles.”

Although she wants to get serious with her career, she has no idea what role she’ll do next. Barton said, “It’s too early to tell yet. I’m passing on all the [early] offers, because that’s not the stuff you want to do. I want to go fight for interesting things and look for something that’s going to be interesting for me … as a role.”

Mischa Barton is calling her break from work “lovely. Barton noticeably looked healthier at the NY event, which she says it’s because of free time to get back in shape. Mischa said, “Now that I’m not doing the TV show, I’ve got lots of time to work out.”

Images from Wenn.com