Lindsay Dee Lohan ( LOH-ən; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She was signed to Ford Models at the age of three, and gained early recognition as a child actress on the soap operas Guiding Light (1993) and Another World (1996–1997). Her breakthrough role came with the dual role of reunited identical twins in the Walt Disney comedy The Parent Trap (1998); its success led to subsequent roles in Life-Size (2000), Get a Clue (2002), Freaky Friday (2003) and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004). Her portrayal of Cady Heron in the teen comedy Mean Girls (2004) affirmed her status as a teen idol and established her as a prominent leading lady; The New Yorker later ranked it as the eleventh-best film performance of the 21st century.
Lohan signed with Casablanca Records and released two studio albums, the platinum-certified Speak (2004) and gold-certified A Little More Personal (Raw) (2005). She also starred in the comedies Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005) and Just My Luck (2006). To show her range, Lohan began choosing roles in independent films such as A Prairie Home Companion and Bobby (both 2006) and Chapter 27 (2007).