Michelle Rodriguez is released from jail

Former Lost star Michelle Rodriguez has been released from prison after serving 18 days of a 180-day sentence.

The actress, who played Ana-Lucia in the hit ABC drama, had been sentenced to six months behind bars after violating her probation for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Rodriguez was freed early from the jail in Lynwood, Los Angeles, due to prison overcrowding. As many as 50 women a day are released early under a programme which allows non-violent female prisoners to serve as little as 10 per cent of their sentences.

"She was treated the same way we do with all females because of the extent of overcrowding," sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore confirmed.

The news comes despite an insistence that Rodriguez would not be eligible for early release from the judge who sentenced her.