Lindsay Lohan’s complicated new redemption story.

It's the story of twins separated through divorce who finally find each other by chance at a summer camp.

For most millennials, The Parent Trap is a movie that holds a special place in our hearts. Ever since the remake was released in 1998 the film's star Lindsay Lohan has been a celebrity we've been rooting for - through all the ups and downs.

Now, at 37-years-old Lohan is experiencing somewhat of a renaissance. A Lohan-aissance if you will. Over the past few weeks the new mum has been celebrated thanks to the release of her new Netflix film Irish Wish which debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a 35% rating. That score has had little effect on the shouts of congratulations from the public. 

She has returned to our good graces, she seems happy, healthy, moisturised and unbothered.

Lindsay Lohan is back, folks.

But this 2024 comeback has been a rocky road fraught with scandals, arrests, drug abuse, celebrity feuds and diversion from her once sky-rocketing trajectory through Hollywood.

Lohan's comeuppance occurred at a time in the 2000s where being a female in the pop culture zeitgest meant you were immediately in the cross-hairs of tabloid media. Britney Spears had already been hounded for years. Paris Hilton was being vilified for having her private sex tape leaked to the press. And Linday Lohan was the fresh new face ripe for scrutiny.

Listen to The Spill hosts explain Lindsay Lohan's complicated new redemption story.

These women were body-shamed, slut shamed, harassed, dissected and spat out on the front covers of magazines across the world. They were a commodity for the public's viewing pleasure and every misstep was printed, before being strung up at the gallows only to be repeated again the next week.

With that kind of ruthless judgement underscoring Lohan's first foray into Hollywood, you might forgive her for how her life unfolded over the next decade.

Mean Girls era.

The early 2000s were undoubtedly the golden years for Lohan who was experiencing life as the next IT Girl. She starred in hits like Life Size with Tyra Banks and Freaky Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis before being cast as the lead in Mean Girls.

Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert and Rachel McAdams in Mean Girls. Image: Paramount Pictures.

The Tina Fey created teen comedy was the launch pad for Lohan into what was expected to be a long and illustrious career. She had star power in spades and all the big movie houses came knocking at her door to capitalise on that Lohan magic.

Watch: Mean Girls cast then and now. Story continues below.

Fall from grace.

When you fly so close to the sun and are the subject of intense media scrutiny, the wheels come perilously close to falling off. And sadly for Lohan, they did. 

2007 was a difficult year for the young actress who received a DUI before checking herself into rehab.

Upon completing her stay in rehab she was once again arrested — this time for possession of cocaine and driving under the influence. She spent 84 minutes in jail for the charge and had to complete an alcohol education program.

In 2010 things didn't get much better when she violated an appearance for a mandatory hearing and was sentenced to 90 days in jail. Thanks to overcrowding, she only served 14 days locked up and was ordered to see out the rest of her sentence on house arrest at her home in California.

Similar charges were laid against her in 2013 and 2014 with a mug shot hall of fame postcarding this troubling time in her life.

Rocky family life.

Sadly, the Lohan family home never seemed like it was the anchor a starlet needed to weather all the elements of Hollywood. In 2007 after 22 years of marriage Lohan's parents, Dina and Michael, split and eventually divorced.

The breakdown of their marriage turned ugly and very, very public with both taking to the media to denigrate the other. Years later both parents had their respective run-ins with the law with Michael being arrested in 2020 on domestic violence charges and Dina being arrested after a car collision that same year.

Refugee scandal.

When Hollywood had all but cast her aside, Lohan began exploring alternative career paths including that of becoming a philanthropist. While noble in pursuit, her behaviour at this time around 2018 was erratic and at times, erred on white saviour complex tendencies.

In September, 2018 in an Instagram Live posted to her account, Lohan approached an alleged Syrian refugee family on the streets of an unidentified city to ask them about their story as she filmed them. 

"Hey everyone, I just want to show you a family that I met," she said at the beginning of the live broadcast. "A Syrian refugee family that I’m really worried about. They really need help."

The encounter then took a disturbing turn when she offered to take the woman's children back to her hotel before criticising her.

"You should not have them on the floor, you should be a hard-working woman and you should be doing what you can for your children, so they have a better life," she said.

She then tried to take one of the children and it is suggested the mother may then have hit Lohan.

Life in Mykonos.

In 2019 Lohan made an attempt at returning to showbiz in the MTV reality series Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club. The premise was that Lohan was starting a new life in Mykonos by opening a day club. The show was a bit of a flop and only ran for one season.

I always hear 'Rumors' in my head when I see that video of Lindsay Lohan dancing in Mykonos. pic.twitter.com/oJRN3Qdthu

— kereD (@i__m__kered) January 9, 2023

We did, however, get this incredible dancing moment from it although it didn't exactly jumpstart her career again. Yet.

A new beginning.

When all else fails, Netflix is there to revive a career. In 2021 it was announced that Lohan had filmed a Christmas movie with Glee alumni Chord Overstreet. Falling For Christmas was released in 2022 and packed in just about every Netflix/Christmas/rom-com trope you could imagine - and the people loved it.

The return to the screen was punctuated by a two-film deal signed with the streaming giant and all but secured Lohan's much-awaited 'comeback'.

On a personal level, Lohan was experiencing domestic bliss after marrying Bader Shammas in 2022 and welcoming their first child, a baby boy name Luai, in 2023.

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A post shared by Lindsay Lohan (@lindsaylohan)

And now after the release of Irish Wish, her comeback has been cemented with magazine covers and social media awash with glowing reviews for the once It Girl of the 2000s. She's also announced that Freaky Friday sequel is in the works - news that will surely delight the masses.

I will watch every single campy movie Lindsay Lohan makes with Netflix. It gives me so much pleasure to see someone make a comeback after living their teens in Hollywood and being torn down so badly. Hell yes comeback queen.

— Edaline Strange (@fitz_e_s) March 18, 2024

There's water under this bridge, but LiLo has waded through to come out the other side. Is this her chance at giving showbiz another crack? The fans think so, the media thinks so and her biggest supporters think so.

Lindsay Lohan’s comeback needs to be studied

— カミス 🇵🇸 (@akaThursday) March 16, 2024

But how do you truly manufacture a comeback? Is it heavy-handed? Or is it the alchemy of being in the right place at the right time? Perhaps, for Lohan it's a mix of it all. She's tried 'comebacks' before with varying degrees of success but this time around it feels different. 

She's a far cry from the copper-hair, freckle-faced young star on the cusp of superstardom in the 90s, but this new season of Lindsay Lohan feels grounded, mature and ready to take on Hollywood on her terms.

Feature Image: Instagram @lindsaylohan/Disney/Santa Monica Police Department.