Lindsay Lohan: Living Dream Life?

Lindsay Lohan is everywhere, reports Correspondent Maureen Maher for 48 Hours.

Lohan just hosted "Saturday Night Live." She's all over the newsstands. And she's the new favorite of the Hollywood paparazzi.

It's not a bad life for a 17-year-old. She shops on Rodeo Drive. She drives a Mercedes ("I'll probably get a truck soon, just to feel safer"), and she can buy pretty much whatever she wants, including a $40,000 watch.

Just who is this lucky teenager?

She's one of Hollywood's hottest young stars – now pulling in more than a million dollars a film. And if you're not familiar with her, ask the next kid you bump into. They'll know.

Lindsay has won over fans of all ages, because her movies deal with the real-life problems teenagers are facing.

Says the actress, "I want to be able to play someone on screen that people can relate to and say, 'Oh, I like this character, because I've done that, too.'"

Until recently, Lindsay was best known for her role in Disney's smash hit "Freaky Friday," in which she played a misunderstood teenaged daughter opposite Jamie Lee Curtis, her stressed-out mother. Mother and daughter are forced to understand each other's day-to-day problems, when they wake up one morning in each other's bodies.

And in her latest film, "Mean Girls," which opened a month ago and is a major box office hit, she plays the new girl at school, struggling to fit in. Her character tries to become friends with the prettiest girls at school, the so-called mean girls, and she ends up discovering who her real friends are.

"My character is so different in this, in the sense that -- I mean, she is a little bit older," says Lindsay. "And it's…kind of more realistic, where it shows what really goes on in high school. And it's good to see that."

As for her own real-life problems, Lindsay says she relies on her own close-knit family. And that's why family vacations are still important to her.

Says the actress, "I was raised by an amazing family. We've had our ups and downs, gone through a lot. They've kept me grounded my whole life."

She's the oldest of four kids. The others are Michael, 16; Ally, 10; and 7-year-old Dakota. Her dad, Michael, is an investment banker, and her mother, a former Radio City Rockette, is also her manager.

Says her mother, "The first thing Lindsay tells other little children: 'You know, this is a job. You have to show up. You have to know, it's very stressful.'"

Sometimes, does Lindsay think, "Man, I just, like, need a break"?

"Yeah," Lindsay replied. "I mean, I'm going through that now, on and off: 'Oh, my God, I need to rest and just be normal and I can't deal with it.' But then I won't have work for 2-1/2 weeks, and I'll be like, 'Oh, my God, I need to work. I need to do something.'"

Not only is Lindsay working like an adult, she's living like one. At just 17, she's living on her own in Los Angeles.

Says her father, "There's always good and evil out there. And you have to make your own decisions."

Adds her mother, "Or she'll make a couple of mistakes and learn from them like we all did."

"Isn't that what life is about?' concludes her father.

The tabloid press seems to be waiting for one of those mistakes. They're keeping a close eye on her every move, her late nights out, and even her famous feud with Hilary Duff, another teen star.

Says Lindsay, "Anything you do, good or bad, people are going to thrive on that and try to take you down. And it's scary, at 17, to have so many responsibilities that you have to watch everything you do."

But Lindsay is used to the attention – she's been working since she was just 4 years old. At the age of 11, she hit it big when she beat out 4,000 other girls for the role of both twins in the remake of "The Parent Trap."

Today, Lindsay Lohan is part of a band of screen idols under 20 – playing to Hollywood's hottest new demographic: fans under 20.

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen were the first to figure out that they can attract fans at a very young age who will stick with them as they grow up.

According to Jane Buckingham, president of the trend forecasting company Youth Intelligence, fans also want their stars to be a little flawed, just like them. She explains, "They don't want them to be the prettiest girl out there. They want them to be someone they can sort of feel a little bit closer to."

But no matter how "real" these stars seem, the outcome of their movies is pure fairy tale.

As far as Lindsay is concerned, the main messages center around: "Follow your dreams, which is what every girl and people need to know to do. I think they're good messages to send out in movies," says the young star.

As for her own dreams, she's starting a second career in music.

"I think she's a star. I think Lindsay's a star," says Diane Warren, one of the most successful music producers around, who has discovered Lindsay's musical talent and written a song for her.

Says Warren, "There's a little bit of rebel spirit in Lindsay. The song's all about you know, 'I decide how I live, who I love ...I'm taking control of my life.' I think that's really perfect for her."

Make no mistake about it. At just 17, Lindsay Lohan is making her own decisions.