Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Morgan Lohan (born 2 July 1986) is an American actress and pop music singer. Lohan was born in New York City and raised in Merrick, Long Island, New York. By 2005, she was splitting her time between her family's home and her residence in Beverly Hills, California.

Lohan began her professional career as a child model and later ventured into acting, both on television and in feature films. In 2004, she launched a career in music, hoping to become a "triple threat" like her idol, Ann-Margret. By 2005, she had released two studio albums.

Modeling

Freckle-faced, auburn-haired Lindsay Lohan began her career with Ford Models at age three, at a time when blue-eyed blondes were in highest demand. She later worked for Calvin Klein Kids and Abercrombie Kids. Lohan has been featured in such diverse magazines as Vogue, Elle, Vanity Fair, Bliss (UK), and Blenda (Japan).

Television

As a child, Lohan appeared in more than 60 commercials and was a regular on soap operas, spending several months as Allison "Alli" Fowler on Another World, "where she delivered more dialogue than any other 10-year-old in a daytime series."

As a teenager, Lohan starred in two Disney Channel original 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 before bowing out when the production moved from New York to Los Angeles.

Three years later, Lohan was Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher—a practical joke that led Lohan to believe that her limousine driver had missed the birth of his child. On 8 November 2004, Lohan made a much-publicized cameo appearance on That '70s Show, playing Danielle opposite Kelso (Kutcher) and Fez (then-boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama).

Lohan has hosted Saturday Night Live twice.

Film

Lohan gave up her role on Another World when Nancy Meyers cast her as estranged twin sisters who try to reunite her estranged parents (Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson) in The Parent Trap (1998). Film critic Janet Maslin said Lohan (at age 11) "plays the dual role with ... so much forcefulness that she seems to have been taking 'shy violet' lessons from Sharon Stone."

Amanda Seyfried, Lohan and Lacey Chabert (l-r) in Mean Girls (2004).Her next feature (five years later) was Freaky Friday (2003), starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lohan as a mother and daughter who get trapped in the other's bodies. Critic Roger Ebert wrote that Lohan "has that Jodie Foster sort of seriousness and intent focus beneath her teenage persona." The film was a huge commercial success, grossing over US$110 million.

Lohan was given the lead in two films: Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (Disney's first non-remake involving Lohan) and Paramount's Mean Girls, both of which were released in 2004. Drama Queen was only a moderate success at the box office; reviews of the film were dismal, though Lohan's performance fared better with critics. Mean Girls, her first PG-13 (and first non-Disney) film, is considered her breakout role; the critical and commercial hit grossed over $86 million, "cementing her status as the new teen movie queen."

In 2005, Lohan starred in Herbie: Fully Loaded, the fifth film in Walt Disney Pictures' long-dormant Herbie series. Her next film, Just My Luck, arrives in theatres on 12 May 2006. In July, 2005, she finished work on A Prairie Home Companion, an independent film directed by Robert Altman, to be released 9 June 2006 (its North American premiere is set for 10 March 2006 at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas).

By the end of 2005, Lohan had completed filming the independent Emilio Estevez film Bobby, opposite Elijah Wood. Chapter 27 with Jared Leto began filming in New York on 9 January 2006.

Music

In 2002, Lohan signed a five-album production deal with record producer Emilio Estefan. For the 2003 Freaky Friday soundtrack, she performed the theme song, "Ultimate". The next year, she recorded four songs for the Drama Queen soundtrack.

In 2004, Lohan signed a recording contract with Casablanca Records and well-known 'diva-maker' Tommy Mottola. Her debut album, Speak, peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by early 2005. Speak's lead single, "Rumors", eventually earned a Gold certification; its sexually-suggestive video reached #1 on MTV's TRL and was nominated for Best Pop Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. Follow-up singles "Over" and "First" saw only moderate sales.

Her second album, A Little More Personal (Raw), debuted at #20 on the Billboard 200 before falling to #88 by its fifth week. The first single, "Confessions of a Broken Heart (Daughter to Father)", premiered on AOL's "First Listen" on 30 September 2005. The accompanying music video was directed by Lohan, and features her sister, Aliana, in an expression of the pain Lohan says her family has suffered at the hands of her father. Nevertheless, Lohan hopes "he sees the positive side of the video rather than the negative." Her next video will be for "I Live for the Day."

In the media spotlight

Entertainment media claim there is some animosity between Lohan and Hilary Duff (both have taken similar career paths, and both had previously dated singer Aaron Carter). Lohan and Duff have been quoted in some reports complaining that the other has started a fight, and in other reports saying each hardly knows the other. Lohan also poked fun at the "feud" on Saturday Night Live.

Lohan (then 17) moved in with Valderrama in early 2004; their breakup that November made headlines among entertainment media, which then linked her to several men (Lohan denied ever meeting some reported beaus and said other relationships were strictly professional). She was also portrayed as a "party girl" who spent too much time at clubs with friends like Nicole Richie and Paris and Nicky Hilton. That image, and repeated rumors of breast enhancement (fueled in part by accidental exposures to paparazzi), brought constant denials from Lohan, who later lampooned the tabloids on SNL.

In July, 2005, Mattel released a Lindsay Lohan 'My Scene' doll.

Personal life

Lindsay is the eldest child of Michael and Dina (née Sullivan) Lohan. She has three younger siblings, Michael, Aliana ("Ali") and Dakota ("Cody"). Ali is an aspiring model and actress.

Lohan's family name was originally pronounced LOW-han but, by 2005, the actress and her mother seemed to settle on LOW-en, suggesting a return to its European roots (her heritage is Irish and Italian). In 2005, Lohan said on the cable television show TEENick that her middle name originally was Dee, but she later changed it to Morgan.

Lohan is involved in 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 father has had multiple problems with the law. In May, 2005, Michael Lohan was ordered to serve 1½ to 4 years in prison after pleading guilty to several charges, including aggravated unlicensed driving and attempted assault. On 12 December 2005, Lindsay's parents settled their divorce case. Dina's attorney said she "and the children are delighted that this chapter in their life is over"; Michael's attorney said he "looks forward to rebuilding his relationship with his children".

On 31 May 2005, Lohan suffered minor injuries in a car accident involving a paparazzo who was following her for a photograph. (Police called the crash intentional and arrested him for assault with a deadly weapon; on 28 December 2005, prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges.) She was involved in another accident on 4 October 2005, when her black Mercedes-Benz convertible struck a van in West Hollywood. Police ruled that the van's driver made an illegal U-turn.

In early 2005, Lohan exhibited dramatic weight loss, leading to reports suggesting an eating disorder and/or drugs. She told People magazine, "I got a trainer ... Just old-school working out." Later, Lohan admitted that she lost so much weight at one point that she "nearly died", and said, "I'm working out with a trainer and eating healthily. I want my boobs back." Her weight gain was evident in later photographs.

Starting on 3 January 2006, Lohan spent about two days a Miami, Florida, hospital after suffering a serious asthma attack.

In a 4 January 2006 interview for Vanity Fair, Lohan admitted using drugs "a little" but 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". One week later, Lohan claimed she was "appalled" that her words were "misused and misconstrued" for the story; Vanity Fair quickly replied that her interview is "on tape."

Filmography

Confessions of A Teenage Drama Queen DVD

Freaky Friday DVD

Get A Clue DVD

Herbie Fully Loaded DVD

Life Size DVD

Mean Girls DVD

Parent Trap DVD