Lindsay, Paris and a complicated discussion about celebrity ‘motherhood redemption’.

Paris has a baby. Lindsay is pregnant. And Britney’s trying. Nothing says it’s 2023 like our former bad girlies doing good. 

It’s been 17 years since the trio was papped, piling out of the Beverly Hilton and into a car, at the peak of their fame. The pop star, the actress, and the heiress. And all the drama that entailed. 

For anyone who lived through the 2000s, you couldn’t pick up a magazine without seeing one of these ladies on the cover. But not for the right reasons. 

From stumbling out of nightclubs to drink driving charges, cocaine possession and hit-and-run offences — and who could forget Lindsay’s stint with an electronic monitoring anklet? — the three were far from setting a good example. 

Watch: This Is Paris official trailer. Post continues after podcast.

A lot’s changed since 2006, but the party girls of the noughties have had a hard time shaking that bad girl public persona. But can you really blame society? While Paris has curated her own empire as a savvy businesswoman, becoming the world’s highest-paid female DJ has done little to lose the wild child image. 

And while Lindsay — who’s struggled with addiction — took a break from acting for a few years, the actress became a viral meme after getting on stage at her beach club in Mykonos in 2018 and pulling some moves.

But while the pair have flitted in and out of the limelight in recent times, with a film and documentary here and there, nothing has delivered them a higher redemption than motherhood. 

Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan back in ye olden days of 2005. Image: Getty.

A surprise baby 

Earlier this year, Paris Hilton surprised the world by announcing that she and her new husband, Carter Reum, had secretly welcomed a baby. 

While Paris had previously had her eggs frozen, Phoenix had been the result of a surrogate mother — a tip the socialite had picked up from former bestie, Kim Kardashian.

Suddenly, the 41-year-old DJ took on this *mothering quality* and since then her Instagram feed, formerly dominated by the socialite’s high life and DJ sets, has been peppered with pics of her little one. 

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On February 24, we first caught a glimpse of Phoenix’s face in a sweet image of the new family. With the baby cuddled up on Paris’ shoulder, it’s hard to even begin to imagine that the Stars Are Blind singer found fame with a sex tape.

“Being a mum is the most incredible experience I have ever had,” the woman who was known for her “that’s hot” catchphrase wrote on Instagram in celebration of her first mother’s day. “It’s a love that cannot be put into words, a feeling that I never knew existed until I held my little prince in my arms.”

Listen to the hosts of cancelled discuss Lindsay "put down the stranger's child" Lohan. Post continues after podcast.

From electronic tracker to baby emotion. 

Now, while Lindsay has been battling to get her career back on track (let’s not even speak of that Christmas flick..), her real show-stopping moment came in March this year when the Mean Girls actress revealed that she was pregnant with her husband, Bader Shammas. 

“We are blessed and excited,” the now 36-year-old posted on Instagram alongside a photo of a ‘coming soon’ onesie. And former gal pal Paris was there to celebrate. “Congratulations love!” the heirless wrote online. “So happy for you. Welcome to the Mummy Club!”

(Anyone else forget that these two were once frenemies whose public feud fuelled us through the 2000s?)

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While the actress has been living a relatively quiet, paparazzi-free life as an American expat in Dubai, it’s this announcement that has changed public perception. Now, gushing in an interview with Allure that this is the happiest she’s ever been, Lindsay is quizzed on how she found out she was pregnant and her thoughts on motherhood.

“I can’t wait to see what the feeling is and what it’s like to just be a mum,” she said, explaining that she now cries at the drop of a hat. “Happy tears,” she added. “That’s just who I am. Though now, it’s probably baby emotion. It’s overwhelming, in a good way.” 

The motherhood redemption isn’t new.

And we can see it throughout Hollywood’s history. Take Paris’ childhood bestie and her The Simple Life co-star Nicole Richie. The pair were joined at the hip and went down with the show when they were both caught up in major charges for driving under the influence in 2006. 

It wasn’t the first time that the adopted daughter of Lionel Richie had been in trouble with the law. On top of her party girl image, the socialite had racked up a history of misdemeanours, including heroin possession. 

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But then she met Joel Madden at the end of 2006, and despite his rock band ways, went on to clean up her image with, you guessed it, babies. In January 2008 she welcomed a daughter, Harlow, and had a son, Sparrow, in September 2009.

A perfect example of the power of the motherhood redemption is to look at Tara Reid — the blonde actress who played Vicky in the American Pie films. In the wake of the franchise’s success she shot to fame, but not for her talent. It was the bad girl persona. Now I can’t even remember what other movies she starred in, but I do remember the nip slip. 

The now 47-year-old says not becoming a mother is what ruined her career. 

“I’m not married, I don’t have kids, and I think in Hollywood if you don’t have kids or you’re not married, you’re judged,” she recently told the Mr Warburton Magazine. “So, they still think you’re that party girl from 40 years ago.

“But all of a sudden, if you have a kid and you get married, ‘Oh she grew up, that’s great!’.

Unfortunately, for celebrities who’ve fallen from grace, it seems it takes a family to put the past behind you. 

Image: Instagram + Getty + Mamamia.