NEW YORK — Lindsay Lohan wants your respect.

In the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair, the 24-year-old actress acknowledges making mistakes in the past and “dabbling in certain things.”

Additional Photos

Lindsay Lohan, 24, seen on the cover of the October issue of Vanity Fair, defends her actions, saying she was associating with the wrong people. The Associated Press

Paul Hogan AP

J.K. Rowling The Associated Press

But in a July interview with the magazine before she served 14 days in jail followed by 23 days of inpatient rehab, she defended her actions, saying she was young and curious and was associating with the wrong people.

“So many people around me would say they cared for the wrong reasons,” Lohan said. “A lot of people were pulling from me, taking from me and not giving. I had a lot of people that were there for me for, you know, the party.”

Despite it all, Lohan is confident in her acting abilities and future: “I don’t care what anyone says. I know that I’m a damn good actress.”

She says she’ll do whatever it takes to fix her party-girl image.

“I want my career back,” she said. “I want the respect that I had when I was doing great movies. And if that takes not going out to a club at night, then so be it. It’s not fun anyway.”

She also addresses issues with her father, Michael Lohan, saying, “My biggest focus is learning how to continue to get through the trauma that my father has caused in my life.”

 ‘Crocodile’ star feels bite of Australian Tax Office

ADELAIDE, Australia — The star of the “Crocodile Dundee” movie trilogy said Tuesday he cannot afford to pay even 10 percent of what the Australian Tax Office says he owes in back taxes.

Paul Hogan’s interview with the television program “A Current Affair” was his first public comment since he was barred earlier this month from leaving Australia until he settles a multimillion-dollar tax bill.

Hogan said the tax office was on a witch hunt for a high-profile case, and he should not be classed a flight risk.

“I actually came out here at the request of the Australian Crime Commission at my own time and expense to assist them with their inquiries,” he said.

‘Potter’ author funds center to research MS

LONDON — Author J.K. Rowling has given $15.4 million to set up a center to research multiple sclerosis, the disease that killed her mother.

The creator of boy wizard Harry Potter said Tuesday that the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic, named after her mother, will be based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. It will also study other degenerative neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Rowling said she hopes the clinic will become “a world center for excellence in the field of regenerative neurology.”

The university said Rowling’s gift is the largest single donation it has received.

The seven Harry Potter books have sold more than 400 million copies. Forbes magazine has ranked Rowling as one of the richest women in Britain, with an estimated wealth of $1 billion.

Scarlett O’Hara’s gowns to be restored

AUSTIN, Texas — Legions of “Gone With the Wind” fans have together donated tens of thousands of dollars to prove they, frankly, do give a you-know-what.

The University of Texas Harry Ransom Center says it has met its $30,000 fundraising goal to pay for restoring five of Scarlett O’Hara’s gowns from the multiple Oscar-winning Civil War drama.

Ransom Center officials announced Tuesday that contributions came from more than 600 people.

The Ransom Center is planning an exhibit to mark the 1939 movie’s 75th anniversary in 2014. Once restored, the dresses may be loaned to other museums.

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