Lindsay Lohan: Time to LiLo

Published on 09/07/2010 14:41

IT IS the kind of tragic true-life story that Hollywood thrives on. An adorable little girl star melts hearts in her Disney big-screen debut before going on to crash and burn with a string of arrests, stints in rehab and public slanging matches with family, exes and fellow celebs.

Once tipped by Entertainment Weekly magazine as the next Julia Roberts, Lindsay Lohan is all grown up and on her way to prison. Last week, the archetypal Hollywood brat was sentenced to 90 days' jail and ordered to attend rehab for violating her probation after a 2007 drug case.

The sentence surprised many, not least Lohan who had clearly thought her fame would get her off. The 24-year-old wept on her lawyer's shoulder and insisted in court "I did the best I could."

Judge Marsha Revel was not moved. She told her: "You're someone who cheats and doesn't think it's cheating until they're caught."

After the verdict, the blogosphere went into overdrive. While a few fans expressed sympathy, many more haters celebrated the verdict. Comments included "Finally!!!!"; "For once, the US justice system has come through"; and "90 Days! Hallelujah!! I hope she does every day!!!"

Celebrity site zimbio.com had advice on how she could do her time in style, saying "Rocking an orange jumpsuit isn't easy". The site advised Lohan to spend her last days of freedom experimenting with jumpsuits and the colour orange, rolling up the sleeves and wearing the hem at a jaunty angle to "take the look from incarcerated to inspired!"

Lohan responded to the verdict as any self-respecting star would, by taking to Twitter, where she protested her innocence and her frustration towards the "constitutionally perverted" justice system, citing Article 5 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Her lawyer has since released a statement saying her client is "extremely disappointed" but "is prepared to serve her jail time and comply with the court's orders".

In the months leading up to the sentence Lohan, who appeared in court on Tuesday with "F*** U" painted on a fingernail, had seemed to be thumbing her nose at the law. She missed a court appearance, unable to return from the Cannes Film Festival after claiming to have lost her passport. Later the alcohol monitoring bracelet she was ordered to wear was activated during an MTV Movie Awards party. She then failed to attend alcohol education classes.

Manhattan psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert says Lohan's reaction to her sentence is typical of someone who has been in the spotlight from a young age.

He said: "Being a child star brings a sense of entitlement. Lindsay Lohan feels she is special and above the law.

She sees herself as a victim, a wounded starlet who did nothing wrong."

According to Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the sheriff's department, she will probably only serve around three weeks of her 90-day sentence, "due to overcrowding and being a non-violent female prisoner". He added: "She most likely will be separated from the general population due to her celebrity."

LiLo, as the media has dubbed her, is expected to do her time in the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, California, where she was sent in 2007 - for a mere 84 minutes - after being arrested for drunk driving and cocaine possession. It's the place for celebrity jailbirds - Lohan's one-time friends Paris Hilton, Lost star Michelle Rodriguez, Khloe Kardashian and Nicole Richie all served time there.

Lohan, who was once quoted as saying "I never want to be alone" will have lots of solitude. According to prison insiders, she will spend all but one hour of every day alone in her cell. The chain smoking star won't have a mobile phone, computer or cigarettes as it's a no-smoking jail. Melanie Bromley, of celeb magazine Us Weekly, said, "This is going to be a huge transition for Lindsay Lohan. She's used to living a very free lifestyle doing what she wants to do - now she'll be in solitary confinement."

Daniela Aguilar, a former inmate just released from the same jail, said she expects the party-loving actress will have a hard time inside. Speaking on CBS News, Aguilar said: "She's probably going to go crazy in there. It's going to be hard for her 'cause she's not going to have no-one to talk to."

So where did it all go wrong for the cute child star of Disney's Parent Trap? The spotlight-grabbing antics of Lohan's fame-loving parents, Dina and Michael, suggest the seeds of LiLo's downfall were sown early on. Publicly, Lohan has admitted her relationship with her family is not easy. The eldest of four children, Lindsay and her siblings have all worked as actors and models, though it was she who brought in the biggest pay-cheques. Her parents separated when she was three before reuniting then divorcing in 2007. Dina acted as Lindsay's manager and is said to be pushy, manipulative and cold. Former reality TV star dad Michael is forever Tweeting about his famous daughter, posing as her would-be saviour, presumably to her fury.

While other parents might rush to be at their child's side in their hour of need, LiLo's limelight-loving father instead hightailed it down to the studios of Larry King Live to give his exclusive take on the verdict. "Any kind of jail is harsh, especially for a young lady like Lindsay that doesn't need jail. I've been there myself and I know jail didn't do anything for me with my addictions," he said referring to his own two-year stint in jail following a drink-driving conviction in 2005.

Perhaps not surprisingly in light of his further comment that his eldest child is addicted to prescription drugs, father and daughter are estranged. After his TV appearance, Michael was photographed relieving the strains of the day by partying in LA with a bevy of young women and posing with fans.

Born in New York City in 1986, Lindsay Lohan began modelling aged three, appearing in Vogue and Elle and in TV adverts for Gap and Pizza Hut among others. Aged ten, she landed a role in the US soap Another World. She got her big screen break in Parent Trap, aged 11, and went on to star in Freaky Friday, Mean Girls and Herbie: Fully Loaded. She recorded a couple of albums and starred in Robert Altman's Prairie Home Companion and Emilio Estevez's Bobby, opposite Demi Moore and Sharon Stone, but her career was dogged by reports of erratic and diva-ish behaviour on set. While filming Georgia Rule, she was hospitalised for "heat exhaustion". In a letter leaked to the press, the producer suggested her "illness" was the result of "ongoing all night heavy partying". Her film career began to unravel.

In 2007, Lohan, whose idols include Jodie Foster and Marilyn Monroe, lost a string of movie deals after she was arrested twice for driving and drug and alcohol offences. The psychological thriller I Know Who Killed Me was panned by critics and Lohan picked up a Razzies Worst Actress Award for her performance. Her newly launched fashion line was mocked in the media and she became known not for her work but for her partying, dramatic weight loss, trips to rehab and tumultuous relationships, not least with DJ ex-girlfriend Samantha Ronson. Her offer to help Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008 was reportedly turned down and in April she was fired by the producers of The Other Side. Her hard partying was beginning to take its toll on her looks.

Finally, it looked as if she might have a chance to turn her career slump around when she was cast as 1970s porn legend Linda Lovelace, a role which could not have been further away from the squeaky clean parts that made her a star. Filming was due to start in August but the project is now hanging in the balance as the producers must figure out whether the latest chapter in Lohan's troubled life is a publicity-generating asset or a curse. Other stars have had public battles with drink and drugs and emerged with careers intact. But Lohan, despite a few good performances, is no Drew Barrymore or Judy Garland; hugely talented, charismatic stars who, no matter how much of a train wreck their lives became, the public empathised with and rooted for.

On 20 July, Lohan must surrender to a Beverly Hills court before being hauled off to start her sentence. What she does in her final days of freedom could have an impact on her jail experience.

Will she have an epiphany and spend those precious days visiting the elderly and volunteering at a soup kitchen? Or will she embark on a ten-day party-fest with her entourage, breaking off to Tweet and bleat that all the world is against her?

According to Alpert, prison could be the best thing for her. "Lindsay will have plenty of time to reflect and a spell in jail might serve as a catalyst to change. Only time will tell."zzz