Personal life

Lindsay Lohan is the eldest child of Michael and Dina (née Sullivan) Lohan, both former actors. She has two younger brothers, Michael and Dakota ("Cody"), and a younger sister, Aliana ("Ali"). Lohan—who originally pronounced her name ' lo-han but later settled on ' lo-?n —is of Irish and Italian heritage . [2] She and her family have donated their time and money to charity projects such as The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Foundation, Save the Children , The United Cerebral Palsy Association, and her own charity organization, Dream Come True.

Lohan's family was financially comfortable from the start; her father had inherited his family's pasta business, and Lindsay helped him create Denata's Pasta Chips. Michael Lohan later sold the business to trade in futures (briefly becoming President of New York Futures Traders). More recently, he worked as an investment banker, securing funding for independent films. Lindsay's mother, a former Rockette at Radio City Music Hall , was a Wall Street analyst before settling in as her daughter's manager. Despite the Lohans' wealth, Lindsay attended public schools until just before graduation, finishing her studies at home

Like most celebrities , Lohan and her family have endured public scrutiny of their private lives. It was revealed in 2004 that Michael Lohan had spent much of Lindsay's preteen years in prison for securities fraud. In 2005, he was sent back to prison for unlicensed driving and attempted assault. Later that year, Lindsay's parents settled their divorce case; her mother's attorney said, "Dina and the children are delighted that this chapter in their lives is finally over", while her father, through his lawyer, said, "[I] look forward to the opportunity to rebuild my relationship with my children."

In 2005, Lohan bought a home in Beverly Hills , California , but still spent much of her time at her family's home in New York.

Early work

Lohan began her career with Ford Models at age three and, at a time when blue-eyed blondes were in highest demand, the freckle-faced, auburn-haired child found little work at first. [8] She persisted, and eventually did more than 100 print ads for Toys "R" Us . [9] She also modeled for Calvin Klein Kids (usually with siblings Michael and Ali) and Abercrombie Kids . Through young adulthood, Lohan was featured in such diverse magazines as Vogue , Elle , Bliss ( UK ), ??? ???? ("High Club", Bulgaria ), and Blenda ( Japan ).

Lohan's first auditions for television did not go well; by the time she tried out for a Duncan Hines commercial, she told her mother that she would give up if she did not get the job. [8] Once hired, the floodgates opened; Lohan has appeared in over 60 commercials, including a Jell-O pudding spot with Bill Cosby . Her ad work led to soap operas, and she was already considered a show-business "veteran" [9] when she spent several months in 1996 and 1997 as Allison "Alli" Fowler on Another World , "where she delivered more dialogue than any other 10-year-old in daytime serials" of the time. [2]

Lohan gave up Another World for the big screen when Nancy Meyers cast her as estranged twin sisters who try to reunite their long-divorced parents ( Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson ) in The Parent Trap (1998). Hired at age 10, Lohan was 11 when filming began in England and California (both in Los Angeles and the Napa Valley ). "I left school for eight months," she said. "When I came back, my friends [asked], 'Where'd you go?' I said, 'My family and I went on a long vacation.' Then the movie came out, and they were, like, 'Um, Lindsay? That's you in Parent Trap ,' and I said, 'Oh, yeah. I also did this movie while we were gone.'" [5] Trap did well at the box office, bringing in US$ 92 million worldwide (US$66 million in the United States). [10] Film critic Janet Maslin said Lohan "plays the dual role with ... so much forcefulness that she seems to have been taking shy violet lessons from Sharon Stone ." [11] Kenneth Turan wrote, "Lohan's the soul of this film as much as Hayley Mills was of the original, and ... she is more adept than her predecessor at creating two distinct personalities". [12]

Signed by Disney to a three-film contract, Lohan was offered the role of Penny in Inspector Gadget but, after seven months' work on The Parent Trap , she turned it down. [1] Later, she starred in two original television movies, Life-Size (with Tyra Banks ) and Get a Clue . She also played Bette Midler 's daughter in the first episode of the short-lived series, Bette (2000), but Lohan (then 14) quit when the production moved from New York to Los Angeles . In 2001, she hosted the ABC-TV commercial series commemorating Walt Disney 's 100th birthday during a rebroadcast of The Parent Trap .

Following a brief hiatus, Lohan auditioned for—and won—the lead teen role in another Disney remake. Freaky Friday (2003) starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Lohan as a mother and daughter who each get trapped in the other's body. Critic Roger Ebert wrote that Lohan "has that Jodie Foster sort of seriousness and intent focus beneath her teenage persona," [13] while Carrie Rickey called her performance "unpredictable and inspired." [14] The film was a commercial success, grossing over US$110 million domestically and US$160 million worldwide. [15]

Actor/ producer Ashton Kutcher featured Lohan in the second-season finale of Punk'd , his MTV series that played practical jokes on celebrities. Eleven months later, Lohan made a cameo appearance on That '70s Show opposite Kutcher and her then-boyfriend, Wilmer Valderrama .

Breakout role

Lohan was given the lead in two films, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (her first Disney feature that was not a remake) and Paramount's Mean Girls , both released in 2004. Drama Queen was a moderate success at the box office, but a failure with critics; Robert K. Elder wrote, "Though still a promising star, Lohan will have to do a little penance before she's forgiven for Confessions ." [16] However, Mean Girls —her first PG-13 (and first non-Disney) film—is considered her breakout role; the critical and commercial hit grossed over US$86 million (US$129 million worldwide), "cementing her status as the new teen movie queen," wrote Brandon Gray. [17] Steve Rhodes said, "Lohan dazzles us once more ... the smartly written script is a perfect match for her intelligent brand of comedy." [18]

Mean Girls was scripted by Tina Fey and featured several alumni of Saturday Night Live ; Lohan was later asked to host the show, in 2004 and again in 2005.

Lohan's rising popularity gave her the freedom to choose her own projects. [4] She returned to Disney for Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), the fifth film in the long-dormant Herbie series. At age 19, Lohan felt Herbie would help her make the transition into more grown-up roles. "In most of my other films, I was in high school," she said. "Here, [my character is] just out of college. It's nice to be able to do something that I think will be acceptable to the fan base I've accumulated from my Disney movies, but subconsciously they'll see me getting older and maturing." [19] Fully Loaded did moderately well at the box office, earning US$66 million in domestic release and US$144 million worldwide. [20]

Her next film, Just My Luck , arrives in theatres on 12 May 2006 ; A Prairie Home Companion , an independent film directed by Robert Altman , follows on 9 June 2006 (its North American premiere is set for 10 March 2006 at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas ). Lohan completed filming the independent Emilio Estevez film, Bobby , opposite Elijah Wood , in December, 2005; Chapter 27 with Jared Leto began filming in New York on 9 January 2006 .

Music

Hoping to become a "triple threat" (actor/model/singer) like her idol, Ann-Margret , Lohan began by showcasing her singing talents through her films. For the Freaky Friday soundtrack , she sang the closing theme ("Ultimate"); she also recorded four songs for the Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen soundtrack .

Emilio Estefan, Jr. , signed Lohan to a five-album production deal in 2002. "The minute I heard her sing, I knew she was gifted," he said, "and [she] has an incredible ability to connect with her audience. I am very excited to be working with her." Lohan said she was "extremely excited to be working with Emilio. I am surrounded by a group of very talented people." [21] Two years later, Lohan signed a recording contract with Casablanca Records and well-known ' diva -maker' Tommy Mottola . Her debut album, Speak , was released in December, 2004, and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 . By early 2005, it was certified Platinum . Though primarily a pop-rock album, Speak was introduced with the single "Rumors", described by Rolling Stone as "a bass-heavy, angry club anthem". [22] Its sexually-suggestive video reached number one on MTV's TRL and was nominated for Best Pop Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards . "Rumors" eventually earned a Gold certification.

"[W]ith just two hit films under her belt," Stephen Thomas Erlewine of All Music Guide wrote, "Lohan decided it was time to turn [herself] into a multimedia, cross-platform star ... and so Speak was recorded quickly and rushed into the stores". He called her music "a blend of old-fashioned, Britney-styled dance-pop and the anthemic, arena rock sound pioneered by fellow tween stars Hilary Duff and Ashlee Simpson. [However,] Lohan stands apart from the pack with her party-ready attitude and her husky voice". [23]

In December, 2005, her second album, A Little More Personal (Raw) , debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 chart, but fell under the top 100 within six weeks. Critics wondered why an album in which Lohan poured out her heart came across instead as a "slick pop production." [24] Slant magazine called it "contrived" and said, "for all the so-called weighty subject matter, there's not much meat on these bones." [25]

The music video for her first single, "Confessions of a Broken Heart (Daughter to Father)"—directed by Lohan and featuring the acting début of her sister, Ali—was a dramatization of the pain Lohan says her family has suffered at the hands of her father. [26] "It's kind of offensive," she said, "[but] I hope he sees the positive side of the video rather than the negative."

Media spotlight

Lohan became a regular subject of tabloid media after reports of a catfight with Hilary Duff over her relationship with singer Aaron Carter . Lohan and Duff both later said there was no "feud". Lohan was 17 when she moved in with Valderrama in early 2004; their breakup that November made the gossip columns, forcing actors such as Bruce Willis to refer to their relationships as "purely professional." [27] Lohan was also portrayed as a "party girl" who frequented clubs with Nicole Richie and Paris and Nicky Hilton , among others ("people [say], 'Oh, she goes out and she parties,'" Lohan said. "No, we are just going out and having fun." [28] ), while accidental exposures to paparazzi brought repeated rumors of breast enhancement ("they're real though," she said. [29] ). Lohan later lampooned the various rumors on SNL .

Three car accidents in 2005 made headlines. The first was a minor rear-ender, though the victims later threatened to sue Lohan. [30] She suffered minor injuries when a paparazzo who was following her for a photograph hit her car (police called the crash intentional, but prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to file criminal charges). [31] Lohan also struck a van in West Hollywood ; police ruled that the van's driver made an illegal U-turn . [32] When VH1 named Lohan "Big 'It' Girl" for its ' Big' in '05 Awards in December, it was, Lohan quipped, "because being Big in '05 means getting in three car crashes in one year, people!" [33]

A Lindsay Lohan 'My Scene' doll was released by Mattel in 2005.

In early 2005, Lohan exhibited dramatic weight loss, which she attributed to "old-school working out." [34] Later, Lohan admitted that she "nearly died" [35] and said, "I'm working out with a trainer and eating healthily. I want my boobs back." [36] Lohan spent about two days at a Miami, Florida , hospital after suffering a serious asthma attack in January, 2006. [37] That same week, Vanity Fair released an interview in which Lohan admitted using drugs "a little" (she denied ever using cocaine, calling it a "sore subject"). The article said she had recovered from " bulimic episodes", and that her 2005 hospitalization was for "a swollen liver and kidney infection". [38] Lohan later said she was "appalled" that her words were "misused and misconstrued" for the article; the magazine quickly replied that her interview is "on tape . Vanity Fair stands by the story."