Ali Lohan: On a 'Train Wreck' to Fame?

It's a formula that's worked before: Jessica Simpson's little sister, Ashlee, broke out by starring in her own MTV reality show, which followed her as she began her music career. But Ashlee was 20 at the time: Constant camera presence can damage a younger, more impressionable star.

"When you grow up in front of the camera and you're young, you just want to please the adults around you. That trumps all the natural developmental stages a child should go through," said psychoanalyst Bethany Marshall. "Your sense of self gets fused with the fact that you're playing a role. When there's no more role, there's no sense of self. That can leave you empty, unable to self-regulate and vulnerable to substance abuse."

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Substance abuse is a problem that runs in the Lohan family. Dad Michael has one DUI, and Lindsay's racked up two. It may be enough to make a kid think that drinking is part of the fast track to fame.

"Lindsay's gotten so much attention for the negative that it makes sense that Ali might try to do the negative things as well," said Us Weekly's Aimee Agresti.

But Lindsay's got something Ali doesn't: Street cred. Despite her mess-ups, she's widely regarded as good at her craft. Meryl Streep, who worked with Lindsay on "A Prairie Home Companion," told Fox News her co-star is "a fantastic actress." Jane Fonda, who starred with Lindsay in "Georgia Rule," gushed that she's "so talented" to Access Hollywood.

Unless industry bigwigs start showering Ali with similar praise, she may self-destruct to get attention, resign herself to reality TV fame, or both, insiders say.

"Eventually, Lindsay will probably get her stuff together and won't fall off the deep end. Friends of mine who cast movies, if they weren't so worried about insuring her, they'd be all over her," said the PR exec. "But the question with Ali is, Does she have real talent like her sister? Plenty of people can leverage a family relationship, the question is, Can you deliver? And then, what does she deliver on? Does she deliver on true talent or just being a reality TV freak show?"