Life Lessons from Lindsay Lohan

Welcome to Life Lessons. This week, we’re revisiting our June 2006 cover story with Lindsay Lohan, who recently made headlines after stepping out in NYC with her financier husband Bader Shammas. In her Karl Lagerfeld lensed cover story, the newlywed actor pays homage to Elizabeth Taylor—a star equal parts famous for her talent and many marriages. Below, the “it” girl sits down with then Editor-in-Chief Ingrid Sischy to discuss life in the spotlight.

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“I don’t really hide things. I’ve been raised that way. It’s bad karma to lie, But there’s so much shit going on, why do they care about me putting gasoline in my car or me walking out of Fred Segal with a shopping bag—who really cares about that?”

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“The tabloids distract from the real things that matter. Do you know what it distracts from? The fact that we’re at war, and people should accept peace more than anger.” 

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“I’m not going to say that here and there I don’t have my hissy fits like everyone does. Whether you’re in business, in high school, studying law, or whatever, whoever you are, you have those moments, and I think you have to go through them—you have to get to your lowest low to get to your highest high.” 

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“I’m a tough cookie. That’s what they say Ann-Margret said about herself.” 

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“Family is such an amazing thing. They’re not judgmental, like many people can be. And they’re a safe haven. My brother Michael is my best friend. My sister, Aliana, is my best friend. Michael is 18 now, so he can go out with me, which I really appreciate.”

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 “I appreciate every single millisecond of every day that I live because I never know what’s going to happen. I don’t want to know, because I learn from my mistakes. I like the challenges. They make me want to work harder.” 

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“I’m an observer. Whether I’m out at dinner or a bar or a club or on a set, I always watch the people who are there, and at the end of the night I take everything with me, and I usually write stuff down. It’s something I learned from my mom.”

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“With A Prairie Home Companion I loved being able to see the actors interact with the crew—that showed me how much they appreciate what they were doing and why they were doing it.” 

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“I think people connect with the downfalls in someone’s career.” 

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“No one is perfect. It’s not interesting to be perfect. You have to do stupid things. You have to do crazy things sometimes, whether you’re in the public eye or not.”

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“I like the idea of being able to represent something that I really care about.”

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“You have to learn and go through things and experience life…. I’ve lived with the impact of addictions my whole life with my father, and it takes a toll on everyone. And I don’t want that.” 

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