Name: Lindsay Lohan
Profession: Actress, Singer
Birth Date: July 2, 1986
Height: 5' 5"
Lindsay Lohan grew up in the town of Merrick on Long Island in New York. She is the eldest child of Michael and Dina Lohan, both former actors.
Lohan began her career with Ford Models at the age of three. At a time when blue-eyed blondes were in highest demand, the freckle-faced, auburn-haired child found little work at first. She persisted, however, 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 several magazines, including Vogue and Elle.
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. "
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).
Signed by Disney to a three-film contract, Lohan was offered the role of Penny in "Inspector Gadget," but after seven months of work on "The Parent Trap," she turned it down. 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), which starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Lohan as a mother and daughter who each get 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.
Actor/producer Ashton Kutcher considered Lohan a sufficient ratings draw in December 2003 and decided to feature her in the second-season finale of "Punk'd," his MTV series that plays practical jokes on celebrities. Eleven months later, Lohan appeared on "That '70s Show" opposite Kutcher and her then-boyfriend, actor Wilmer Valderrama.
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, but a failure with critics. "Mean Girls" though, her first PG-13 (and first non-Disney) film, would prove to be a breakout role. Her well-received performance pushed the critical and commercial hit to grosses of more $86 million in the U.S. and $129 million worldwide, "cementing her status as the new teen movie queen." "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.
Her next film, "Just My Luck," was theatrically released on May 12, 2006, and "A Prairie Home Companion," an ensemble film directed by Robert Altman, followed on June 9, 2006 (it premiered in North America on March 10, 2006, at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas) and features Lohan's singing talents, including a version of "Frankie and Johnny."
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. Two years later, Lohan signed a recording contract with Casablanca Records, headed by "diva-maker" Tommy Mottola. Her debut album, "Speak," was released in December 2004 and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. By early 2005, it was certified Platinum.
In December 2005, her second album, "A Little More Personal (Raw)," debuted at No. 20 on the Billboard 200 charts, but fell out of the top 100 within six weeks. Still, the album was certified Gold on January 18, 2006.
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