‘The Parent Trap’ turns 20
It’s been 20 years since the remake of “The Parent Trap” was released, but fans still can’t get over when its glam villain, Meredith Blake, almost swallows a lizard.
Elaine Hendrix, who starred as the gold-digging blond bombshell at odds with her would-be twin stepdaughters — both played by a frecklefaced, 12-year-old Lindsay Lohan — tells The Post that “not a day goes by” that she’s not asked in person or on social media about the iconicyet-horrifying scene.
“I can’t believe the legs this movie has had,” Hendrix, 47, says of the 1998 film that grossed $100 million worldwide. “I’ve gotten fan mail that literally makes me cry . . . I really feel honored because I had no idea that any of this would happen.” Hendrix’s Twitter feed is packed with fan-made photo collages captioned with her character’s sassiest lines about being young and beautiful, and threatening to ship Lohan’s character off to boarding school in Switzerland. “People are like, ‘You’re a meme, you’ve made it,’” she jokes, adding that the snarky-yetsexy Meredith was also made into a Happy Meal toy.
This month marks the 20th anniversary of the film’s release, and Hendrix — who splits her time between New York and LA — says she was lucky to be a part of it.
The Tennessee native had just played a popular girl turned Vogue fashion editor in “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion,” and was the 433rd woman who auditioned for the part of the gorgeous but evil Meredith, a publicist who charms Lohan’s character’s father, winemaker Nick Parker (Dennis Quaid).
“I went in last minute, and next thing I know I’m in the room with [director] Nancy Meyers, [co-writer and producer] Charles Shyer, Quaid and Lohan, reading with them and meeting with them on the Disney lot on a Saturday,” she says. “Then next thing I know, I booked it.”
She remembers fondly that she and Lohan “would dance together” during breaks in filming in Napa, Calif. “Lindsay was a hard worker, and we had a lot of fun,” says Hendrix. She hasn’t stayed in touch with Lohan, now 32, who since hitting it big after “Parent Trap” has had a tumultuous life and career.
“I will say that it’s not uncommon for child actors to have troubles,” Hendrix says. “She was a freaking teenager finding her way; she just happened to be in the spotlight. But she’s done great, and I think she’s a huge talent.”
Hendrix has actually kept up with one of her foes from the film, Lisa Ann Walter, who played the nanny, Chessy. “We have absolutely become family off-screen,” she says. “We’re best friends.”
And in real life, Hendrix isn’t the ice queen she is on-screen. She’s set to star with Denis Leary in a dark comedy thriller TV pilot for USA called “Erase.” She’s also an animal-rights activist with three rescue cats and a dog. The longtime vegan says, “I live a cruelty-free life as much as I possibly can.”
If her cruel Meredith were to come on the scene in 2018, Hendrix says — with her stellar wardrobe, cool catchphrases and cutthroat entrepreneurial spirit — she might be considered a badass boss rather than a gold-digger.
“Today, Meredith Blake would be on her own reality show,” she says. “‘Keeping up With Meredith!’ ”