After Playboy headlines, good news for Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan AFP PHOTO

LOS ANGELES—A judge showered rare praise Wednesday on troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan, saying she had surpassed the terms of her probation and could go on vacation over the coming festive period.

The encouragement from Judge Stephanie Sautner came days after Lohan made headlines when a nude Playboy photo shoot of the actress leaked online, triggering the magazine to bring forward the release of the print issue.

The terms of Lohan’s probation have restricted her travel but not her right to work, as long as she fulfills community service and other commitments.

“Miss Lohan, you have actually done the work, and done it not only on time, but early,” said Sautner, who has seen the 25-year-old regularly over the last year or so, during which the star has faced repeated brief terms in jail.

Specifically she told Lohan that, as long as she fulfills her probation requirement of 12 days of community service and four therapy sessions between monthly court appearances, she has the right to leave California on vacations.

Based on her good behavior, Lohan’s probation officer recently allowed her to take a weekend trip to Hawaii — which nearly turned disastrous when she had her purse stolen and missed her flight back to Los Angeles, TMZ reported.

But she was now doing well, said the judge. “You’re doing well, and I’d like to see you continue,” said Sautner, setting a next court date of January 17 to assess Lohan’s progress.

Lohan — once the promising child star of hit Disney movies “The Parent Trap” and “Freaky Friday” — has a reputation for hard partying and has faced a series of legal tangles over the years.

She was sentenced to 35 days of house detention in May as part of a plea bargain over the alleged theft of a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry shop near her home in Venice Beach.

Last month Lohan spent five hours in prison after being sentenced to a 30-day stretch, for breaching probation on previous offences including a 2007 drug and drunk driving misdemeanor.

Lohan’s Playboy photo spread — for which she was reportedly paid nearly $1 million — is expected to hit newsstands this week in the January/February issue, after the pictures leaked online last week.

The leaked pictures show the curvy actress channeling Marilyn Monroe, flirting with the camera in a series of soft porn-style poses lying, kneeling or stretching herself voluptuously against red velvet drapery.