Acting careerEarly success:
Lohan began her career with Ford Models at age three, but found little work as a fashion model. She persisted and eventually appeared in more than 100 print-ads for companies like Toys "R" Us and fashion brands like Calvin Klein Kids and Abercrombie Kids. 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 went on to appear in over 60 commercials, including a Jell-O 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 10-year-old in daytime serials" of the time.
Lohan gave up Another World for the big screen when director Nancy Meyers cast her to play the dual roles of the estranged twin sisters who try to reunite their long-divorced parents (Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson) in the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap. Trap was well-received for a family comedy, bringing in US$92 million worldwide. Film 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". Trap won Lohan a Young Artist Award for best performance in a feature film.
She played Bette Midler's daughter in the pilot episode of the short-lived series, Bette (2000), but Lohan, then 14, quit when the production moved from New York to Los Angeles. She also starred in two Disney television movies, Life-Size with Tyra Banks in 2000, and Get a Clue in 2002.
Rise to fame:Lohan won a lead role in another Disney remake in 2003: the family comedy Freaky Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis. At Lohan's initiative, her character was rewritten and changed from a Goth style to be more relatable. Critic Roger Ebert wrote that Lohan "has that Jodie Foster sort of seriousness and intent focus beneath her teenage persona". Friday earned Lohan an award for Breakthrough Performance at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards. As of 2009 it was her biggest commercial and critical film success, earning US$160 million worldwide and receiving an 88% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In 2004 two films were released with Lohan in the lead. The first, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, earned a domestic box office total of $29 million, "well above expectations as it was strictly for young girls", wrote Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo. It was a failure with critics. "Though still a promising star, Lohan will have to do a little penance before she's forgiven for Confessions," Robert K. Elder said. The teen comedy Mean Girls was Lohan's first movie outside of Disney. A critical and commercial hit, it ended up grossing US$129 million worldwide and, wrote Brandon Gray, "cementing her status as the new teen movie queen". "Lohan dazzles us once more," said Steve Rhodes. "The smartly written script is a perfect match for her intelligent brand of comedy." Lohan received four awards at the 2004 Teen Choice Awards for her work on Friday and Mean Girls, including Breakout Movie Star. Mean Girls also earned her two awards at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards: Best Female Performance and, along with several of the cast, Best On-Screen Team. With Mean Girls Lohan's public profile was raised significantly and paparazzi began following her.
Lohan returned to Disney in 2005 for Herbie: Fully Loaded, the fifth film in the series with the anthropomorphic car Herbie. Fully Loaded earned US$144 million worldwide and received mixed reviews. Lohan "is a genuine star who ... seems completely at home on the screen", wrote Stephen Holden. "As bright a starlet as she may be, Lohan ends up playing second fiddle to the car", said James Berardinelli. Vanity Fair called Fully Loaded Lohan's "first disastrous shoot", describing how she was hospitalized with a kidney infection brought on by stress in her personal life and the effort of recording her first album during the shoot. The magazine also described how Lohan terminated the promotional tour and was de-emphasized on the movie poster due to "un-Disney-like behavior". Lohan's next film in wide release, the romantic comedy Just My Luck, opened in May 2006. According to Variety Lohan was paid over $7 million to star in the movie. The opening weekend box office of $5.7 million "broke lead actress Lindsay Lohan's winning streak", wrote Brandon Gray. The film received poor reviews and earned Lohan her first Golden Raspberry nomination for worst actress.
Independent movies:
Following Just My Luck, Lohan focused on smaller roles in more mature, independent movies. Robert Altman's ensemble comedy A Prairie Home Companion, in which Lohan co-stars with Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin, had a limited release in June 2006. "Lohan rises to the occasion, delivering a rock-the-house version of 'Frankie and Johnny'," wrote Peter Travers. Co-star Streep said of Lohan's acting: "She's in command of the art form" and "completely, visibly living in front of the camera". The Emilio Estevez drama Bobby was released in theaters in November 2006. Lohan received favorable comments on her performance in the film, particularly a scene opposite Sharon Stone. As part of the Bobby ensemble cast, Lohan was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and won an award for Ensemble Acting at the Hollywood Film Festival where she also won a Breakout Award for her work in 2006. She then appeared in Chapter 27 as a John Lennon fan who befriends Mark David Chapman (Jared Leto) on the day he murders the singer. Filming finished in early 2006, but the film had trouble finding a distributor for the United States and received a very limited release in March 2008. In May 2007, the drama Georgia Rule, in which Lohan stars alongside Felicity Huffman and Jane Fonda, was released. "Lohan hits a true note of spiteful princess narcissism," wrote Owen Gleiberman. During the shoot in 2006 Lohan was hospitalized, her representative saying "she was overheated and dehydrated". In a letter that was made public, studio executive James G. Robinson called Lohan "irresponsible and unprofessional." He mentioned "various late arrivals and absences from the set" and that "we are well aware that your ongoing all night heavy partying is the real reason for your so-called 'exhaustion'." Co-star Fonda later commented that "when she showed up on the set, she was always great."
Following Just My Luck, Lohan focused on smaller roles in more mature, independent movies. Robert Altman's ensemble comedy A Prairie Home Companion, in which Lohan co-stars with Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin, had a limited release in June 2006. "Lohan rises to the occasion, delivering a rock-the-house version of 'Frankie and Johnny'," wrote Peter Travers. Co-star Streep said of Lohan's acting: "She's in command of the art form" and "completely, visibly living in front of the camera". The Emilio Estevez drama Bobby was released in theaters in November 2006. Lohan received favorable comments on her performance in the film, particularly a scene opposite Sharon Stone. As part of the Bobby ensemble cast, Lohan was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and won an award for Ensemble Acting at the Hollywood Film Festival where she also won a Breakout Award for her work in 2006. She then appeared in Chapter 27 as a John Lennon fan who befriends Mark David Chapman (Jared Leto) on the day he murders the singer. Filming finished in early 2006, but the film had trouble finding a distributor for the United States and received a very limited release in March 2008. In May 2007, the drama Georgia Rule, in which Lohan stars alongside Felicity Huffman and Jane Fonda, was released. "Lohan hits a true note of spiteful princess narcissism," wrote Owen Gleiberman. During the shoot in 2006 Lohan was hospitalized, her representative saying "she was overheated and dehydrated". In a letter that was made public, studio executive James G. Robinson called Lohan "irresponsible and unprofessional." He mentioned "various late arrivals and absences from the set" and that "we are well aware that your ongoing all night heavy partying is the real reason for your so-called 'exhaustion'." Co-star Fonda later commented that "when she showed up on the set, she was always great."
Career interruptions:In early January 2007 production on the film I Know Who Killed Me was put on hold when Lohan underwent appendix surgery. Later in the month she entered a drug rehabilitation facility. She continued shooting the film, returning to the facility at night. Shortly thereafter, Lohan withdrew from a film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance, her publicist stating that Lohan needed to "focus on getting better". Lohan was replaced in The Edge of Love in late April 2007, just before filming was to begin, with the director citing "insurance reasons" and Lohan later explaining that she "was going through a really bad time then." Lohan was then cast in the film adaptation of the novel Poor Things. On May 26, four days before production was set to start, she was arrested on a DUI offense and subsequently entered rehab. The film's producers initially voiced support and production was put on hold. On July 24, Three weeks before filming was set to start again Lohan was arrested for a second DUI and went to rehab yet another time. Ultimately she fell out of the project.
In the wake of Lohan's second DUI arrest on July 24, 2007, she withdrew from a scheduled appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to promote I Know Who Killed Me, a low-budget thriller-mystery in which she stars as a stripper with a dual personality. The film premiered to what Entertainment Weekly called "an abysmal $3.5 million". It earned Lohan two Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Actress. She came in first and second, tying with herself.
Hollywood executives and industry insiders commented that it would be difficult for Lohan to find employment until she could prove that she was sober and reliable. They mentioned possible issues with securing insurance, a crucial part of any movie production. Robinson, the producer who previously criticized Lohan's work ethic on Georgia Rule, said that he would work with her again if she got the proper medical care, and went on to describe her as "one of the most talented young women in the movie business today."
Continued career:
In May 2008, Lohan appeared on ABC's Ugly Betty television series, her first screen appearance since I Know Who Killed Me. She guest starred in four episodes, spanning seasons two and three in 2008, as Kimmie Keegan, an old schoolmate of the protagonist Betty Suarez. In the 2009 comedy Labor Pains Lohan plays a woman who pretends to be pregnant. During the shoot Lohan's manager worked with the paparazzi to encourage the media to show her working, as opposed to partying. It was originally planned for a theatrical release, but instead appeared as a TV movie on the ABC Family cable channel in July 2009, "a setback for the star", said Variety. The premiere received 2.1 million viewers, "better-than-average" for the channel according to E! Online. Lohan "looks to be coasting through a part that requires little effort, anyway", wrote The Boston Globe. "This is not a triumphant return of a prodigal child star. ... [Labor Pains] never shakes free of the heavy baggage Ms. Lohan brings to the role", said Alessandra Stanley.
Lohan will appear in Robert Rodriguez's 2010 film Machete, which she was shooting in August and September 2009. It was announced in May 2009 that Lohan has landed the lead role in the upcoming film The Other Side, planned for a 2010 release. Since 2007 she has also been set to appear in the film Dare to Love Me.
In May 2008, Lohan appeared on ABC's Ugly Betty television series, her first screen appearance since I Know Who Killed Me. She guest starred in four episodes, spanning seasons two and three in 2008, as Kimmie Keegan, an old schoolmate of the protagonist Betty Suarez. In the 2009 comedy Labor Pains Lohan plays a woman who pretends to be pregnant. During the shoot Lohan's manager worked with the paparazzi to encourage the media to show her working, as opposed to partying. It was originally planned for a theatrical release, but instead appeared as a TV movie on the ABC Family cable channel in July 2009, "a setback for the star", said Variety. The premiere received 2.1 million viewers, "better-than-average" for the channel according to E! Online. Lohan "looks to be coasting through a part that requires little effort, anyway", wrote The Boston Globe. "This is not a triumphant return of a prodigal child star. ... [Labor Pains] never shakes free of the heavy baggage Ms. Lohan brings to the role", said Alessandra Stanley.
Lohan will appear in Robert Rodriguez's 2010 film Machete, which she was shooting in August and September 2009. It was announced in May 2009 that Lohan has landed the lead role in the upcoming film The Other Side, planned for a 2010 release. Since 2007 she has also been set to appear in the film Dare to Love Me.
Music career:Aiming to become a triple threat—actor, singer and dancer—similar to Ann-Margret and Marilyn Monroe, Lohan began showcasing her singing talent 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. Two years later, Lohan signed a recording contract with Casablanca Records, headed by 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 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 Total Request Live and was nominated for Best Pop Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. "Rumors" eventually earned a Gold certification in America. The album spawned the second single "Over" and the third single "First", which was featured in Lohan's 2005 film Herbie: Fully Loaded.
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. Slant magazine called it "contrived ... but for all the so-called weighty subject matter, there's not much meat on these bones." The album 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 debut of her sister, Ali—was a dramatization of the pain Lohan says her family has suffered at the hands of her father. It was Lohan's first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #57.
Following a switch to Universal Motown, Lohan began working on a third album in late 2007 and in May 2008 the song "Bossy" was released. In November 2008 she stated that work on the album had stalled and that she wanted to avoid the stress of working on movies and music at the same time.
Other workAppearances:
In 2004, at age 17, Lohan became the youngest ever host of the MTV Movie Awards. Following Mean Girls, which 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, when she also hosted the World Music Awards. She was a guest judge on US TV style contest Project Runway sixth season premiere episode, which aired in August 2009. In December 2009, Lohan spent a week in India working on a BBC Three documentary on trafficking of women and children.
In 2005, Lohan became the first person to have a My Scene celebrity doll released by Mattel. She also voiced herself in the animated direct-to-DVD film My Scene Goes Hollywood, based on the series of dolls. Lohan makes a cameo in the drug themed music video for the May 2008 N*E*R*D song "Everyone Nose". In April 2009, following her break up with Samantha Ronson, Lohan appeared in a skit on the comedy website Funny or Die. The self-deprecating video is a spoof of the personal ads on dating website eHarmony. It was viewed 2.7 million times in the first week and received favorable comments from the media.
Modelling and fashion:
Lohan was voted #10 on the list of "100 Sexiest Women" by readers of FHM in 2005. Maxim placed her at #3 on its 2006 Hot 100 list. In 2007, Lohan placed at #1 on the Maxim "Hot 100". Lohan has been the face of Jill Stuart, Miu Miu, and Dooney and Bourke, as well as the 2008 Visa Swap UK fashion campaign. Lohan was also the face of Italian clothing company Fornarina for its Spring/Summer 2009 campaign.
Lohan has a long-lasting admiration for Marilyn Monroe going back to when she saw Niagara during the The Parent Trap shoot. In the 2008 Spring Fashion edition of New York, Lohan re-created Monroe's final photo shoot, known as The Last Sitting, including nudity. She said doing the photo shoot was an honor. The New York Times critic Ginia Bellafante found it disturbing: "the pictures ask viewers to engage in a kind of mock necrophilia. ... At 21 [Lohan] seems even older than Monroe, who was 36 in the originals ... [and] the photographs bear none of Monroe's fragility".
In 2008, Lohan launched a leggings line, whose name 6126 was designed to represent Monroe's birth date (June 1, 1926). In April 2009 she released a self-tanning spray under the brand name Sevin Nyne in collaboration with Sephora. On September 9, 2009 it was announced that Lohan would be an artistic adviser for the French fashion house Emanuel Ungaro. The first collection, by designer Estrella Archs with Lohan as adviser, was presented on October 4. Entertainment Weekly and New York described the reception by the fashion world as "disastrous". Fashion trade journal WWD called the collection "an embarrassment", Style.com "a bad joke" and The New York Times compared Lohan's work to "a McDonald’s fry cook taking the reins of a three-star Michelin restaurant." Ungaro president Moufarrige told Reuters in November that despite the harsh criticism "the designs are selling well but not as much as expected".
Lohan was voted #10 on the list of "100 Sexiest Women" by readers of FHM in 2005. Maxim placed her at #3 on its 2006 Hot 100 list. In 2007, Lohan placed at #1 on the Maxim "Hot 100". Lohan has been the face of Jill Stuart, Miu Miu, and Dooney and Bourke, as well as the 2008 Visa Swap UK fashion campaign. Lohan was also the face of Italian clothing company Fornarina for its Spring/Summer 2009 campaign.
Lohan has a long-lasting admiration for Marilyn Monroe going back to when she saw Niagara during the The Parent Trap shoot. In the 2008 Spring Fashion edition of New York, Lohan re-created Monroe's final photo shoot, known as The Last Sitting, including nudity. She said doing the photo shoot was an honor. The New York Times critic Ginia Bellafante found it disturbing: "the pictures ask viewers to engage in a kind of mock necrophilia. ... At 21 [Lohan] seems even older than Monroe, who was 36 in the originals ... [and] the photographs bear none of Monroe's fragility".
In 2008, Lohan launched a leggings line, whose name 6126 was designed to represent Monroe's birth date (June 1, 1926). In April 2009 she released a self-tanning spray under the brand name Sevin Nyne in collaboration with Sephora. On September 9, 2009 it was announced that Lohan would be an artistic adviser for the French fashion house Emanuel Ungaro. The first collection, by designer Estrella Archs with Lohan as adviser, was presented on October 4. Entertainment Weekly and New York described the reception by the fashion world as "disastrous". Fashion trade journal WWD called the collection "an embarrassment", Style.com "a bad joke" and The New York Times compared Lohan's work to "a McDonald’s fry cook taking the reins of a three-star Michelin restaurant." Ungaro president Moufarrige told Reuters in November that despite the harsh criticism "the designs are selling well but not as much as expected".
