Lindsay Lohan in hospital after asthma attack

Lindsay Lohan

LOS ANGELES - Teen actress Lindsay Lohan has been hospitalised in Miami for treatment of a severe asthma attack, but she is expected to be released soon, her publicist said today.

Lohan, 19, was admitted to the hospital Monday night after experiencing breathing difficulties in her hotel room in Miami, where she was spending the New Year's holiday with her family, spokeswoman Leslie Sloane said.

Sloane said the actress was "resting comfortably" while she remained under observation and hopefully would be discharged on Wednesday.

"She's OK. She starts work in about two weeks," the publicist said. Sloane added that Lohan has suffered from asthma since childhood, and she believed the actress was last hospitalised from the condition "when she was little."

Sloane said Lohan herself suggested in an email that Florida's high humidity may have contributed to her asthma attack, which was first reported by People magazine on its website.

The star of such films as "Mean Girls," "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" and "Herbie: Fully Loaded," had hosted a New Year's Eve party at a Miami club on Saturday night, but she stayed indoors on Sunday and Monday, Sloane said.

Lohan is due to begin shooting her latest film, "Chapter 27," about the man who murdered former Beatle John Lennon, later this month in New York City. Lohan will play a fictional character who befriends Lennon's killer (portrayed by Jared Leto) days before the rock star was gunned down in 1980.

- REUTERS