Parent Trap Then and Now: Lindsay Lohan’s Dubai Triumph and Cast Catch-Up
Hello, I’m Jordan Collins. Okay, I’ll explain, but try to keep up.
Nearly 27 years after The Parent Trap hit theaters, Lindsay Lohan is thriving in Dubai while the rest of the original ensemble enjoy their own happily ever afters. In a surprising twist linked to the upcoming Freaky Friday sequel Freakier Friday, director Nisha Ganatra reunited Lohan with her old rival Elaine Hendrix for a cheeky cameo. Hendrix, who first squared off against Lohan’s twin roles Annie and Hallie in 1998 as the scheming Meredith Blake, now appears as a magazine editor mentoring one of Lohan’s pop star protégés. This reunion came about when Lohan personally texted Hendrix, asking, “Wanna come play?” and Hendrix replied, “Absolutely. Where do I gotta show up and when?” (E! News)
On set at the July 22 New York City premiere, Hendrix told Entertainment Weekly that reconnecting with Lohan felt like watching a childhood friend grow up. She noted that social media and regular texts keep them in touch, and praised Lohan’s new role as a hands-on mom to son Luai, born July 2023, with husband Bader Shammas. While they reminisce on small games and old laughs, neither is trapped in the past.
Lindsay Lohan parlayed her dual performance in The Parent Trap into a streak of hits like Freaky Friday, Mean Girls and Just My Luck. After public struggles in 2007 led to rehab stints and legal issues, Lohan stepped away from Hollywood, starred as Elizabeth Taylor in Lifetime’s Liz & Dick and appeared in the 2013 thriller The Canyons. A stint living in London gave way to a permanent move to Dubai, where she launched two nightclubs in Greece and fronted MTV’s reality experiment Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club. She also judged Australia’s version of The Masked Singer.
In April 2020, Lohan surprised fans by releasing “Back to Me,” her first single in 16 years, and in 2022 she led Netflix’s holiday rom-com Falling for Christmas. A follow-up seasonal film, Irish Wish, arrived in 2024, setting the stage for her return to body-swap comedy in 2025’s Freakier Friday opposite Jamie Lee Curtis.
Dennis Quaid, who played Hallie’s father Nick, was already a top-tier leading man before The Parent Trap. He went on to anchor hits such as Frequency and The Day After Tomorrow, and most recently headlined Paramount Plus’s drama series Happy Face. Quaid continues to balance film, television and family life with enviable ease.
As for the rest of the supporting cast, many have chosen lower-key projects in television, theater and occasional fan conventions. They may not headline blockbusters, but they remain warmly remembered by fans who can’t get enough of that classic Disney charm.
There you have it: the original Parent Trap kids all grown up and moving forward with style.
Now you finally know who stayed trapped and who broke free.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! News
Entertainment Weekly
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
