Lindsay Dee Lohan (born July 2, 1986), known
professionally as Lindsay Morgan Lohan, is an American actress and pop
music singer. She started in show business as a child fashion model for
magazine ads and television commercials. At age ten, she began her acting
career on a soap opera; at eleven, she made her motion picture debut by
playing both twins in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap. Lohan's
breakout role as a leading actress came six years later with 2004's Mean
Girls, which shone the media spotlight on her professional and personal
lives—including her nightlife and her parents' marital and legal
struggles.
As an adult, Lohan began to take on more varied roles and projects, including
Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion. While filming Herbie: Fully
Loaded in 2004, Lohan launched her career in music, recording and releasing
her first studio album, Speak; her second album, A Little More Personal
(Raw), was released in 2005. Her third album is going to be release December
2006.
Personal
Lohan was born in New York City and grew up in Merrick and Cold Spring
Harbor on Long Island in New York. She is the eldest child of Michael
and Dina (née Sullivan) Lohan, both former actors. She has three
younger siblings: brother Michael had a role as "Lost Boy at Camp"
in The Parent Trap (1998), sister Aliana is an aspiring model and actress,
and brother Dakota (Cody) has modeled fashions. Lohan is of Irish and
Italian heritage and was raised Catholic. She originally pronounced her
name 'l??hæn but later settled on 'l???n and, in 2005, explained
to a TEENick audience that she had changed her middle name to something
that sounded more professional.
Lohan and her family have donated time and money to charity projects
such as The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Foundation, Save the Children,
The United Cerebral Palsy Associations, and Dream Come True.
Lohan's family was financially comfortable from its inception; her father
had inherited his family's pasta business, which he later sold 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. Lohan's mother, a former Rockette at Radio City Music Hall, was
a Wall Street analyst before becoming her daughter's manager. Despite
the family's wealth, Lohan—when she wasn't tutored on film sets—attended
public schools on Long Island until just before her high school 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 his daughter's preteen years in prison for securities fraud.
In 2005, he was sent back to prison for "aggravated unlicensed driving"
and attempted assault. Later that year, Lohan'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 2004, Lohan shared an apartment in the Los Angeles, California, area
with actress Raven-Symoné. The following year, she bought a home
in West Hollywood while still spending much of her time at her family's
home in New York. She has dated actor Wilmer Valderrama and Pink Taco
restaurateur Harry Morton.
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 as a fashion model.[9] She persisted, and eventually
appeared in more than 100 print ads for Toys "R" Us. 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 work 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. She was hired, and Lohan
went on to appear in over 60 commercials, including a Jell-O pudding spot
with Bill Cosby. Her ad work led to roles in soap operas, and she was
already considered a show-business veteran in 1996 when she landed the
role of Alexandra "Alli" Fowler on Another World, "where
she delivered more dialogue than any other ten-year-old in daytime serials"
of the time.
Lohan gave up Another World for the big screen when director 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 in 1997 at age 10, Lohan was 11 when filming began in England and
California (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.'"
Trap was well-received for a family comedy, bringing in US$92 million worldwide.
Film critic Janet Maslin found Lohan's dual performances so forceful "that
she seems to have been taking shy violet lessons from Sharon Stone."
Critic Kenneth Turan called Lohan "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".
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. Later, she starred in two original television
movies, Life-Size (2000) (with Tyra Banks) and Get a Clue (2002). 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 attended her first-ever film audition
and won the lead teen role in another Disney remake; Freaky Friday (2003)
starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Lohan as a mother and daughter trapped in
the other's body. Critic Roger Ebert praised Lohan's "Jodie Foster
sort of seriousness and intent focus beneath her teenage persona,"
while Carrie Rickey—who panned the film—called her performance
"unpredictable and inspired." Through 2005, Friday was Lohan's
biggest commercial film success, earning US$160 million worldwide.
Actor/producer Ashton Kutcher considered Lohan a sufficient ratings draw
in December 2003 to feature her in the second-season finale of Punk'd,
his MTV series that plays practical jokes on celebrities (the episode
was widely reported as the end of the series—also a practical joke).
Eleven months later, Lohan appeared 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 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
grossing about 30 million but was a failure with critics; "Though
still a promising star," Robert K. Elder wrote, "Lohan will
have to do a little penance before she's forgiven for Confessions."
That "penance" came with Mean Girls, her first PG-13 (and first
non-Disney) film. Her breakout lead performance pushed the critical and
commercial hit to grosses of over US$86 million domestically and US$128
million worldwide, "cementing her status as the new teen movie queen,"
wrote Brandon Gray. "Lohan dazzles us once more," said Steve
Rhodes. "[T]he smartly written script is a perfect match for her
intelligent brand of comedy."
Mean Girls was scripted by Tina Fey and featured several alumni of Saturday
Night Live; Lohan was asked to host the show three times, in 2004, 2005,
and 2006.
Lohan returned to Disney for Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), the fifth film
in the long-dormant Herbie series. Her rising popularity allowed her to
choose from a wider variety of projects and, 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." Fully Loaded did well at the box office, earning more
in international release than in the United States.
Her next film in wide release, Just My Luck, opened in May 2006 to poor
reviews and earned only $33 million worldwide. The following month, A
Prairie Home Companion—an ensemble film directed by Robert Altman—fared
better, debuting at #7 in limited release and ending its run with nearly
$US20 million in domestic box-office receipts."Lohan rises to the
occasion," wrote Peter Travers, "delivering a rock-the-house
version of 'Frankie and Johnny'." Lohan completed filming the independent
Emilio Estevez film, Bobby, opposite Elijah Wood, in December 2005; the
film débuted at the Venice Film Festival on September 5, 2006,
and its release is scheduled for November 17, 2006. Chapter 27 with Jared
Leto began filming in New York on January 9, 2006, and had wrapped by
March.
Three new projects were announced in April 2006; Lohan will play a girl
molested by her stepfather in Georgia Rule opposite Felicity Huffman and
Jane Fonda (filming began in June), and a speech assistant to Adrien Brody
in Speechless (she also was set to portray the friend of a rebellious
teenage boy in the comedy Bill, but dropped out). In May, Lohan joined
Annette Bening and Sean Bean as the announced stars of the film adaptation
of Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance. MTV News announced in October
that she was signed to play opposite Keira Knightley in The Best Time
of Our Lives.
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.
Producer 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—who
said she was "extremely excited"—added, "I am surrounded
by a group of very talented people." Two years later, Lohan signed
a recording contract with Casablanca Records, headed by "diva-maker"
Tommy Mottola. Her début 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". 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", wrote Stephen Thomas
Erlewine of All Music Guide, "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".
In December 2005, her second album, A Little More Personal (Raw), débuted
at number 20 on the Billboard 200 chart, but fell under the top 100 within
six weeks. Reviews were unfavorable; critics wondered why an album in
which Lohan poured out her heart came across instead as a "slick
pop production." Slant magazine called it "contrived ... for
all the so-called weighty subject matter, there's not much meat on these
bones." Still, A Little More Personal (Raw) was certified Gold on
January 18, 2006. The music video for the album's 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.
She said "It's kind of offensive" but "I hope he sees the
positive side of the video rather than the negative."
Universal Music Group moved Lohan from Casablanca to Motown Records in
February 2006. In March, she told OK! magazine that she was writing lyrics
for her third album, which she called "a little different [from]
the last one". It is set for a Christmas, 2006, release.
Media spotlight
Lohan became a regular subject of tabloid media after reports of a catfight
with Hilary Duff in 2003 over their relationships 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, and their breakup
that November made the gossip columns; numerous romantic rumors followed,
forcing actors such as Bruce Willis to refer to their relationships with
Lohan as "purely professional." 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."), while accidental exposures to paparazzi brought repeated
rumors of breast enhancement ("they're real though," she asserted.).
Lohan later lampooned the various rumors on Saturday Night Live.
In July 2005, she participated in the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids,
an effort to help prevent teenagers from smoking cigarettes and to help
current smokers quit. Lohan, who began smoking in 2004, was also trying
to break the habit as of early 2006.
Lohan's three car accidents in 2005 made headlines. The first was a minor
rear-ender, though the victims later threatened to sue her. 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). Lohan also struck
a van in West Hollywood; police ruled that the van's driver made an illegal
U-turn. 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!"
A Lindsay Lohan My Scene doll was released by Mattel in 2005.
That same year, Lohan exhibited dramatic weight loss, which she attributed
to "old-school working out." Later, Lohan admitted that she
"nearly died" and said, "I'm working out with a trainer
and eating healthily. I want my boobs back." Lohan spent about two
days at a Miami, Florida, hospital after suffering a serious asthma attack
in January 2006. 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".
Lohan later said she was "appalled" that her words were "misused
and misconstrued" for the article; the magazine replied, "Every
word [was recorded] on tape. Vanity Fair stands by the story."
Lohan was interviewed for the March 2006 issue of Allure magazine; she
said she hoped to be taken seriously as an actress, adding, "I hate
it when people call me a teen queen." She addressed the numerous
romantic rumors ("I know now that I don't need a boyfriend.")
and her weight loss ("I will say that I went through a phase. I lost
weight when I was in the hospital, and then I wanted to keep it off.").
Lohan says 2005 "felt like five lifetimes because I've grown up a
lot".
In July 2006, Lohan was taken to a hospital while shooting Georgia Rule,
complaining that she was "overheated and dehydrated"; Morgan
Creek Productions CEO James G. Robinson had a letter delivered to Lohan
in which he accused her of "all night heavy partying" and making
up "bogus excuses", and threatened to take action to recover
any "monetary damages". Her mother later appeared on Access
Hollywood to refute the accusation, saying her asthmatic daughter was
working in 105-degree heat. Calling Robinson's letter "way out of
line", Dina Lohan said, "I don't know him. I can't judge him.
I don't think it was a smart thing to do to a young girl."
According to court documents published in August 2006, Lohan's mother
was sued for fraud by two men who claim they helped cut half of the songs
for the Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen soundtrack. The documents
outline a claim filed in Nevada and a request "to take a deposition
outside the State of Nevada of Lindsey Lohan, who resides in the State
of California."
Lohan was voted #10 on the list of "100 Sexiest Women" by readers
of FHM. All of the top ten—except Paris Hilton—gained fame
as actresses, including Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry.
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