Lindsay Lohan makes good progress on probation

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Lindsay Lohan, who is on probation for drunk driving and theft convictions, pleased a judge for a change on Wednesday by completing her court-ordered community service and therapy sessions on time.

"Miss Lohan, you have actually done your work, and not only done it, but done it early," Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner told the actress in court.

Lohan, 25, dressed conservatively in a cream-colored cardigan and trousers, and she smiled and joked with the judge after her progress report came back positive.

The "Mean Girls" actress was in court to review the first month of a court-ordered, five-month community service sentence at the Los Angeles County morgue, where she is required to work at least 12 days a month. She also must complete four therapy sessions. She adequately completed both for Wednesday's progress hearing.

Lohan rose to fame as a likable child star of Disney movies such as "The Parent Trap," but has been in and out of trouble -- spending time in rehab and in jail -- since 2007 when she was convicted on drunk driving and drug possession charges.

Earlier this year, the actress pleaded no contest, which is the equivalent of guilty, to stealing a gold necklace from a jewelry story and was sentenced to 480 hours community service at a L.A. women's detention center and the county morgue.

But Lohan failed to adequately perform that sentence, and in October, Sautner angrily revoked her probation and sent her to jail. At the time, the judge called Lohan's previous sentence a "gift" and said, "there's something called looking a gift horse in the mouth."

Lohan served just over four hours in an LA county jail in November due to overcrowding and for the rest of her sentence was assigned to community service at the county morgue and psychological counseling.

Sautner on Wednesday also addressed confusion over Lohan's permission leave California, clarifying that the actress could leave only for work purposes, unless she had completed her assigned 12 days of service and four therapy sessions a month. If finished, she is free to travel at will, the judge said.

Sautner's clarification on vacation came after Lohan took a trip to Hawaii this week to celebrate her sister's birthday, then missed her return flight to Los Angeles on Tuesday for her scheduled interview with chat show host Ellen DeGeneres to promote her upcoming Playboy magazine feature spread.

The missed flight caused numerous celebrity media to speculate that Lohan might again have made a misstep, but she made it to Sautner's court on time. Her next progress hearing is scheduled for January 17, 2012.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)