Lindsay Lohan has starred in one of the best high school movies of all time in Mean Girls and, over the past couple of years, become one of the most beloved rom-com actors on the Netflix schedule, but it all started with The Parent Trap back in 1998. Over two decades later, Lohan still has a lot of love for that movie and the filmmakers who helped to launch her career, and following writer Charles Shyer’s death, she paid tribute to her “dear friend.”
Charles Shyer co-wrote the screenplay for The Parent Trap — considered among the best family movies of the ‘90s — with David Swift and his then-wife Nancy Meyers, who was making her directorial debut. Shyer passed away on December 27, 2024, at the age of 83 after a brief illness, per THR, and Lindsay Lohan shared a behind-the-scenes photo of the two of them to her Instagram Stories in his memory.
The Parent Trap, which was a remake of the 1961 classic starring Hayley Mills, was not only Nancy Meyers’ first go at directing, it was also the film debut of a 12-year-old Lindsay Lohan, who portrayed both of the troublesome twins Hallie Parker and Annie James.
Despite the fact that the plot sounds absolutely ridiculous if you say it out loud, it has become a much-beloved film over the past quarter-century, and Lindsay Lohan's performance — including the ability to bounce back and forth between a British and American accent — launched her to stardom.
Nancy Meyers also paid tribute to her ex-husband — with whom she shared four children, including daughters named Annie and Hallie — on Instagram with two throwback images of her own. Lindsay Lohan commented a single heart on the post, and fellow The Parent Trap star Lisa Ann Walter, who played the beloved Chessy, added her own condolences, commenting:
So sorry for your family’s loss. Please give my condolences to the girls.
Charles Shyer started out writing for TV on shows including The Odd Couple and The Partridge Family. He broke into the movie business in 1977 with Smokey and the Bandit and was nominated for an Academy Award for his writing on the 1980 movie Private Benjamin.
Other notable collaborations between him and Nancy Meyers include Steve Martin’s Father of the Bride and its sequel, as well as 1994’s I Love Trouble, starring Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte.
His final projects had him — like Lindsay Lohan — joining the Netflix Christmas movie family, as he wrote and directed 2022’s The Noel Diary and co-wrote and produced Best. Christmas. Ever! in 2023.
If you want to honor Charles Shyer’s memory by rewatching The Parent Trap and seeing Lindsay Lohan in her debut role, the movie is available to stream with a Disney+ subscription.
Our condolences go out to Charles Shyer’s family and loved ones at this time.
