FOR a decade, it seemed like Lindsay Lohan would never again get a part in Hollywood.
The troubled child star, who hit the big time in 1998’s The Parent Trap, went from beloved actress to a very public fall from grace following drug and alcohol abuse, five stints in jail, a sex tape and multiple box office flops.
But now tinseltown seems to have forgiven the former wild child.
Actress Lindsay, 38, is working on a sequel to her hit 2003 film Freaky Friday, marking a triumphant comeback after years of redemption.
We revealed yesterday how the star, now living a low-key life of luxury in Dubai with her multi-millionaire husband and baby son, was all smiles as she filmed in LA with co-star Jamie Lee Curtis, 65.
A source said: “After numerous failed comebacks over the years, it seems Lindsay has finally been let back into the fold.
“It has been a long road, which has seen her leave her old life in LA, where she was at risk from bad influences.
“She’s taken time off, focused on her healthy lifestyle, become a mother and is enjoying being back at work, doing what she loves most.”
Her wild child days during the Noughties led to her gaining a reputation for being difficult on set, with one producer likening her behaviour to that of a “spoiled child” in 2006.
Lindsay — who once dated a string of British men, including Calum Best and The Wanted’s Max George — eventually quit America for London in 2014, later calling it “the best thing I’ve done for myself”.
She was just three years old when she was signed by Ford Models, landing jobs with the likes of Calvin Klein Kids.
Around the same time, her parents, Michael and Dina, separated, before reconciling later.
Speaking about her turbulent childhood in 2007, the year her mum and dad divorced, she said: “I feel like a second parent in the sense I helped raise my family. I was put between my mother and father a lot.”
Lindsay has revealed that playing identical twins in Disney’s The Parent Trap, a remake of the 1961 hit, helped her deal with her own parents’ split.
She said: “My parents were kind of separating at the time. And it made it a lot easier for me to play these characters that were figuring it out.
“I just felt so lucky and really blessed . . . Without this movie, I wouldn’t have gotten the acting bug.”
Her performance was widely praised, with Hollywood veteran Dennis Quaid, who played her on screen dad, saying in 2020 of her audition: “The first thing I remember was meeting Lindsay . . . and I remember thinking, ‘Oh my god, she’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever met. Forget that she’s 11 years old’.”
It became a box office smash and earned Lindsay a Young Artist Award for best performance in a feature film.
Her obvious talent led to a string of roles in hit films, including the remake of Disney’s family comedy Freaky Friday, the part of Cady Heron in 2004 movie Mean Girls and the 2006 Disney comedy Herbie: Fully Loaded — plus a platinum-selling pop album.
She was on the cover of every magazine and became a familiar face at showbiz parties, rubbing shoulders with US socialites including Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.
She’s taken time off, focused on her healthy lifestyle, become a mother and is enjoying being back at work
A source
But in 2006, Hollywood studio boss James G. Robinson warned the starlet to stop partying, calling her “unprofessional” for arriving late on the set of film Georgia Rule, in which she starred with Jane Fonda and Felicity Huffman.
He reportedly said in a letter that was later made public: “You and your representatives have told us that your various late arrivals and absences from the set have been the result of illness; today we were told it was ‘heat exhaustion’.
“We are well aware your ongoing all-night heavy partying is the real reason for your so-called exhaustion.”
He added: “You’ve acted like a spoiled child, alienated many of your co-workers and endangered the quality of this picture.”
It was around this time Lindsay enjoyed an on-off romance with Calum Best, son of legendary ladies’ man George, after meeting in London nightclub Kabaret. She reportedly caught his attention with a lap dance.
He said at the time: “She’s dynamite between the sheets. Lindsay’s so highly sexed she can make love all night in every position imaginable. No girl I’ve ever slept with comes close.”
However, in his book, Second Best: My Dad and Me, Calum wrote in 2015: “The two of us together are combustible.
“At this moment in our lives, we’re both a bit nuts. We both like to party a lot and it makes things tempestuous.”
After being convicted of driving under the influence and cocaine possession in 2007, Lindsay admitted that she was battling addiction.
In a statement, she said: “It is clear to me that my life has become completely unmanageable because I am addicted to alcohol and drugs.
“I broke the law and today I took responsibility by pleading guilty to the charges in my case.”
As her career took a downward spiral, she said in 2010: “I don’t care what anyone says.
“I know that I’m a damn good actress, and it’s been my passion since I was a child, and I know when I care about something, I put 100 per cent and more into it.
“And I know that in my past I was young and irresponsible — but that’s what growing up is. You learn from your mistakes.
“And I’m not getting any younger. I want my career back. I want the respect that I had when I was doing great movies.
“And if that takes not going out to a club at night, then so be it. It’s not fun anyway. I don’t care. It’s the same thing every time.”
The actress also posed for Playboy in 2012, enjoyed a lesbian relationship with British DJ Samantha Ronson and allegedly slept with nearly 40 famous men, named in a leaked “Sex List”, reportedly written by Lindsay herself.
The claimed tally was said to include former England rugby star Danny Cipriani and the now late actor Heath Ledger.
Lindsay — who once racked up a £36,000 bill during a 47-day stint at celeb fave Chateau Marmont hotel in 2012, before being asked to leave — was also convicted of the theft of a necklace in 2011.
A reckless driving rap followed in 2012 after she crashed her Porsche into a truck on her way to a movie shoot.
In total, Lindsay has been jailed five times — her longest stretch being 14 days — and sentenced to rehab for various violations of her probation.
During one stay at the Betty Ford clinic, the actress reportedly got into a fight with a worker.
On another occasion, she was dragged into court by a judge who warned her house parties weren’t allowed while she was on house arrest.
It took more than 50 court hearings to resolve the cases. She closed the last of one in 2015.
By then, she had settled in London, where she made her West End debut in David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow at the Playhouse Theatre.
A source said: “When she moved to London, she changed her phone number and email addresses to weed out any temptation from old friends.”
Speaking at the time, Lindsay said: “I’d always wanted to make the move to London, but I don’t think I was in the right place. I wasn’t ready. I still wanted to run around, and moving to another country on your own is a big deal.
Moving to London was the best thing I’ve done for myself
Lindsay
“I came here for days and ended up staying for months, and now that I’m here, I’m happy. I work more. I take better care of myself.”
Lindsay won praise for her stage role, but insisted she did not read reviews, adding: “At first I didn’t think it was going to be just me on the poster.
“And then, when I realised, I knew people were only coming to watch me f*** up, anyway.
“I didn’t care. I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m going to because I know it so well.’ ”
Relocating came at a time when she adopted a calmer lifestyle, even taking up meditation. She said in 2016: “Moving to London was the best thing I’ve done for myself.
“I think, as you grow up, life changes and you experience new things In London, I was able to take myself outside of whatever my family was doing and the people I had in my life that maybe weren’t the best for me.”
Marking her first role in a major production in over a decade, Lindsay, who moved to Dubai in 2015, starred in Netflix romantic comedy, Falling For Christmas, in 2022.
She also performed original songs for the soundtrack, and received positive reviews, with the flick becoming the most-watched holiday movie released that year in the US.
The actress was also in the streaming giant’s romantic comedy Irish Wish, released in March, with a third Netflix film, Our Little Secret, starting production at the beginning of this year.
And it seems she has finally settled in her personal life too.
She was romantically linked in 2020 to boyfriend Bader Shammas, 37, a financier who works as the assistant vice president at Dubai-based international wealth management firm, Credit Suisse.
And she revealed on Instagram in late 2021 that they had got engaged.
The lovebirds tied the knot the following year, and Lindsay gave birth to their son Luai last July.
Celebrating his recent first birthday, she shared a sweet post with her 15million Instagram followers, writing: “I love you more than anything in this world. My son, my baby, my heart, my everything.”
And while Lindsay loves being in front of the camera again, an insider insisted she will never move back to LA.
They added: “It’s a very unsafe place for her, with a lot of bad memories, but there’s still interest in the studios to work with her.”
