LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Lindsay Lohan was released from home detention on Wednesday after spending 35 days at her Los Angeles apartment for stealing a gold necklace, authorities said.

A private company that handles monitoring equipment for home detention inmates removed the electronic ankle bracelet from the "Mean Girls" star on Wednesday morning, said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department.

Lohan was sentenced in May to 120 days in jail, but the 24 year-old actress qualified for a shorter period of house arrest under programs for nonviolent offenders and to reduce overcrowding in Los Angeles jails.

Lohan, a former child star, pleaded no contest in May to the theft of a $2,500 gold necklace from a Los Angeles boutique. She had walked out of the store wearing the jewelry.

Her once promising Hollywood career has been derailed because of repeated run-ins with the law and trips to rehabilitation to deal with drug and alcohol problems.

Nevertheless, she is due to start filming a movie about New York crime boss John Gotti later this year with co-stars John Travolta and Al Pacino.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Jill Serjeant)