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Lindsay Lohan shot to fame in 1998 at the age of 12 when she made her big-screen debut in Disney’s “The Parent Trap.” She then went on to solidify her celebrity status by starring in two other popular Disney films, “Freaky Friday” (which celebrated its latest fantastic offering, “Freakier Friday,” this year<\/a>) and “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen.”<\/p>\n By 18, Lohan hit an apex. Her most iconic role may be\u00a0as the na\u00efve new transfer student Cady Heron in 2004’s “Mean Girls,” which was written by Tina Fey during the height of her “Saturday Night Live” career. Believe it or not, Lohan originally wanted to play one of the mean girls in the film, instead of the doe-eyed lead, but \u2014 based on the success of her recent family-friendly persona \u2014 Paramount worried that fans wouldn’t want to see her as a villain.<\/p>\n Lohan initially landed a part in the social commentary teen comedy via director Mark Waters, whom she had previously worked with on “Freaky Friday.” He tapped her to play “Mean Girls” bad girl Regina George (a top-tier baddie inspired by Alec Baldwin’s ice cold “Glengarry Glen Ross” salesman)<\/a>, but the combination of “Freaky Friday” being a bigger-than-expected hit and the studio being unable to find anyone suitable to play Cady led to Lohan stepping out of the persona of a plastic villain.<\/p>\n She was soon replaced by Rachel McAdams, who made the role her own. For Lohan, that may have been a disappointment. It may also have been the stroke of luck she needed to land the most memorable role of her career.<\/p>\n