Lindsay Lohan is following in the footsteps of the most famous blond bombshell of them all—Marilyn Monroe.

In the issue of New York magazine on sale Monday, the 21-year-old star of "Mean Girls" and "Freaky Friday" poses nude for photographer Bert Stern in a recreation of one of Monroe's most famous photo shoots, done shortly before she died.

Stern photographed Monroe in 1962 at the Hotel Bel-Air in California, six weeks before she was found dead from an overdose of barbiturates. Those images for Vogue magazine feature Monroe in next to nothing, posing nude with some scarves and jewelry as her accessories and sipping champagne.

Stern recreated those images with Lohan this month, at the same hotel, with Lohan wearing a blond wig and not much else.

In the essay accompanying the photos, Lohan, who admitted to a serious interest in Monroe, said deciding to do the photo shoot was easy.

"I didn't have to put much thought into it. I mean, Bert Stern? Doing a Marilyn shoot? When is that ever going to come up? It's really an honor," she told the magazine.

Lohan described Monroe's suicide as "tragic" and said it, along with the Jan. 22 death of actor Heath Ledger from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, "are both prime examples of what this industry can do to someone."

 

This photo provided by New York magazine features Lindsay Lohan posing as Marilyn Monroe on the cover of the magazine's Feb. 25, 2008 issue. (photo: agencies via China Daily)

The actress, who has been in and out of rehab after two arrests last year on drunken driving and cocaine charges, said she didn't know why the industry wreaked such havoc on some stars, adding, "I sure as hell wouldn't let it happen to me."

Stern told The Associated Press that he found women like Lohan and her tabloid companions Paris Hilton and Britney Spears "interesting."

"They're girls that draw attention to their notoriety and their celebrity through their behavior," he said Monday.

He noted that Monroe and Lohan had similar problems with alcohol but added that—in contrast to the sessions with Monroe—there was no alcohol on the set when he photographed Lohan.

He said he thought the photo shoot would be good for the young actress, giving her the chance to portray herself as a grown-up. He also lauded her for her willingness to do it in the nude.

"I thought she was a natural, not at all squeamish," he said.

A phone message left for Lohan's publicist Leslie Sloane-Zelnik seeking comment Monday was not immediately returned.

(Agencies via China Daily February 19, 2008)