Actress Lindsay Lohan has a history of drug abuse, alcoholism, and multiple run-ins with the law. Notwithstanding, the 35-year-old managed to pull through her dark years and reclaim her Hollywood stardom.
Like most stars who began their career as kids, the pressure and glitz of Hollywood overwhelmed Lindsay Lohan, an actress plunged into the spotlight before she turned ten. Compiling her problems were family issues the youngster experienced.
Being unable to deal with it all at a young age drove the actress into the throes of alcoholism and drug use, culminating in several stints in prison. After years of struggling to get it all together, she took a hiatus from Hollywood, eventually staging a comeback no one saw coming.
Lohan’s First Taste Of Stardom
Lindsay Lohan landed the planet on July 2, 1986, as the eldest child of Dina and Michael Lohan. Determined to push their kids into the spotlights, the star’s parents started off her career at the age of three.
The icon spent her childhood modeling for top brands and appearing in over sixty commercials. At ten and already somewhat famous, she landed her first television role in the soap opera, “Another World.”
That same year, Lohan left the soap opera to star in “The Parent Trap,” playing the dual role of identical twins Hallie Parker and Annie James, separated at birth. The movie represented her Hollywood breakthrough, skyrocketing her to superstardom.
More hit movies followed throughout her teenage years, but Lohan hardly had the chance to bask in her stardom, as troubles in her personal life, coupled with constant heckling by the media overwhelmed her.
Battling Addiction
For a child who went through so much, it came as no surprise that the wildlife seemed like the perfect outlet. Lohan turned to drugs and alcohol the first chance she got.
By the time she turned 21, she was already nose-deep in substance abuse and alcoholism. In January 2007, the then-21-year-old voluntarily checked into rehab to beat her demons and restore her personal health.
But it seems that the attempt failed. Barely months later, the star was back in rehab on a mandatory 45-day program following a DUI-induced accident.
She did four more court-imposed stints in rehab before turning 27, giving her a reputation as “a messed-up actress.” The constant media coverage and paparazzi did little to ease her struggles.
Being an era where troubled young Hollywood stars were topics for major headlines, her troubled life became a target, so much that little about the actress went unreported.
In a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Lohan admitted at the peak of her addiction battle, she did cocaine about 10 to 15 times a day contrary to her previous claim of three to four times.
Going further, she explained that the fear of being judged forced her to lie initially about the extent of her addiction. She also opened up about her alcohol addiction, which was the bane behind her drug use. According to her, she only did drugs to enable her to drink more but never injected.
Those claims seemed flawed, as years earlier, a clip showing Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton brandishing syringes containing heroin while making out surfaced. The video also showed the actress injecting herself with the substance at the party, just fourteen hours after her release from jail.
Lohan Had Several Run-Ins With the Law
On account of her substance abuse, Lohan landed herself in trouble a handful of times, leading to her multiple arrests. Her first arrest was reported in May 2007, after the icon hit a curb while driving under the influence.
Following her release, she checked into rehab for a mandatory stint. Months later, cops busted her for cocaine possession, DUI, and driving with a suspended license. That earned her a day in jail and another rehab stint. She also did community service and was put on probation.
But by November that year, she was back in jail again and spent 84 minutes behind bars. In 2010, the “I Know Who Killed Me” star failed to appear for a mandatory court hearing, thereby violating her terms of probations.
As a result, she received a 90-days jail sentence but ended up serving fourteen before her release due to overcrowding. Allegations of theft also plagued her, including claims she stole from jewelry stores, parties, friends, and even movie sets.
Those reports contributed to ruining her reputation and making her more of a liability to movie producers than an asset despite her global fame.
Leaving It All Behind
After several failed movies, an eight-part docuseries “Lindsay,” detailing her troubled life, and more mentally-draining headlines, Lohan decided to say goodbye to Hollywood.
She retired to Greece, where she spent the next three years setting up nightclubs alongside partner Panos Spentzos. But the showbiz sensation could not stay away for so long.
In 2019, she had a short-lived stint in the Australian version of “The Masked Singer.” That same year, she launched her reality show, “Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club.”
The show featured Lohan and Spentzos as the rulers of their nightlife empire in Greece, run by nine glamorous bartenders trained to lure customers in and keep them spending. It ran for one season on MTV before going off-air.
The Grand Comeback
Following the ousting of her short-lived reality series, Lohan moved to Dubai, explaining she sought the only place she knew she would be free from the paparazzi.
However, after barely one year of peace and quiet, the icon announced her return to the United States and Hollywood to manage her sister’s career.
Along with managing Ali Lohan’s career, the former child model, who previously dropped the album, “Speak,” retraced her music roots. She released a song in 2020, snagged a lead role in a Netflix Christmas movie, and resurrected her love life.
Further immortalizing her comeback, the showbiz idol starred in a commercial for Planet Fitness, which aired during the Super Bowls in February 2022. Taking to Instagram, Lindsay Lohan celebrated the success of her Super Bowl commercial, describing it as a dream come true.
In November 2021, the 35-year-old announced her engagement to partner Bader Shammas, showing off her sparkler on Instagram. The big news came five years after her very public split from former fiance and Russian businessman Egor Tarabasov.
Of course, finally reaching a point in her life she was proud of did not come easy, as the icon pointed out. Rather, it took lots of hard work and determination to pull through whatever life threw at her.
