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Lindsay Lohan Poses Nude – as Marilyn Monroe

In what is likely her greatest role to date, Lindsay Lohan plays Marilyn Monroe between the sheets – literally – in the new spring fashion issue of New York magazine.

Recreating Monroe's legendary 1962 final photo shoot for Bert Stern with the veteran lensman himself, Lohan posed for the spread on Feb. 5 at the Hotel Bel-Air.

When it came to being nude before the camera, "I was comfortable with it," says Lohan, 21 (Monroe was 36 in 1962, the year she died) – though Lindsay does admit to having done "250 crunches" the night before the shoot.

There was also no avoiding the parallels between Monroe's tragic fate – dead from an accidental overdose of prescription medicines – and that, recently, of Heath Ledger's.

"They are both prime examples of what this industry can do to someone," says Lohan.

When it is pointed out to Lohan, who has been in rehab three times, that the possibility may exist of a similar fate for her, the young actress replies with a tinge of annoyance: "I don't know. I'm not them. But I sure as hell wouldn't let it happen to me."

Lindsay Lohan 'Very Happy' with Nude Photos

Just days after Lindsay Lohan's mother praised her daughter's nude pictorial in New York magazine as "very tastefully done," comes word that Lindsay herself is just as pleased with the photo shoot, a recreation of Marilyn Monroe's legendary 1962 shoot by Bert Stern.

"She is very happy with the photos...because they are art," the 21-year-old star's rep, Leslie Sloane Zelnik tells PEOPLE.

Mom Dina told PEOPLE Tuesday, "I respect the photographer as an artist, so I look at them artistically. For him to call Lindsay 46 years later and to say, 'Can you recreate these photos' is an honor.”

While Lindsay has tongues wagging in the states, she’s thousands of miles away in Italy, attending shows at the Fall 2008 Milan Fashion Week.

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For most of her life, Ali Lohan has looked up to her older sister Lindsay Lohan because of her career, the fans, the fame. Now Ali wants all of those things for her herself.

“I grew up watching Lindsay," Ali tells Teen Vogue in its April issue. "It made me want to do what she does. Just the whole vibe. Being there, being on camera, or onstage, with everybody listening to you ... it's so cool when people look up to you. I've already been asked for my autograph and it's just a really good feeling to have."

The 14-year-old has her sights set on Hollywood, paving her way toward a singing and acting career and may even try her hand at fashion designing, saying she wants to accomplish these things "really bad, so bad. So bad you don't even know."

Ali will soon get some face time on the small screen. The younger Lohan has been filming a new reality series for E!, which documents her fledgling acting career (the magazine reports she may audition for High School Musical 3) and upcoming album. The show will also feature her mother, Dina, and 11-year-old brother, Dakota.

"It's not all that fake stuff," says Ali. "It's just what we do in our everyday life."