Dana Plato
Dana Michelle Plato was born in Maywood, California, on Saturday, November 7, 1964. Dana made an impact on the TV screen when she landed the role of Kimberly Drummond in the TV hit sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1978) from 1978-1986. After the series ended, Dana had difficulty finding more acting work. Sometimes she would act in a made-for-TV movie or a low- budget silver-screen film. She was married for Lanny Lambert for seven years and they had a son. Plato was arrested in 1991 for robbing a Las Vegas video store and placed on probation; the next year she was arrested again, this time for forging a Valium prescription. She had just finished an interview with Howard Stern in the spring of 1999 when she and her fiancé, Robert Menchaca, were headed back to California. She hoped the interview would revive her stalled career. They stopped at his parents' house in Moore, Oklahoma for a Mother's-Day-weekend visit; on Saturday, May 8, 1999, Dana died of what appeared to be an accidental overdose of the painkiller "Loritab". On May 21, a coroner's inquest ruled her death a suicide because of the large amount of drugs in her body and her history of past suicide attempts. She was 34 years old.
Known For
Credits
- 2024 · Gary as Archive footage
- 2020 · Showbiz Kids as Self (archive footage)
- 2018 · Night Trap as Kelly
- 2002 · Pacino is Missing as Prosecuting Attorney
- 2000 · Insatiable Coeds as Piano Teacher's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1998 · Different Strokes as Jill Martin
- 1998 · Desperation Boulevard as Dana Plato
- 1998 · Desperation Boulevard as Herself
- 1998 · The Hostage as Leslie
- 1997 · Blade Boxer as
- 1997 · Tiger as Andrea Baker
- 1996 · E! True Hollywood Story as
- 1995 · Lethal Cowboy as Elizabeth
- 1995 · Compelling Evidence as Dana Fields
- 1995 · Millenium Day as Pacifica
- 1994 · Silent Fury as
- 1992 · Bikini Beach Race as J.D.
- 1992 · Distortions as Deborah Nichols
- 1989 · Prime Suspect as Diana Masters
- 1985 · Growing Pains as Lisa
- 1983 · High School U.S.A. as Cara Ames
- 1982 · Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary as Daughter
- 1980 · Schoolboy Father as Daisy Dallenger
- 1979 · The Facts of Life as
- 1979 · Hello, Larry as Kimberly Drummond
- 1978 · California Suite as Jenny
- 1978 · Diff'rent Strokes as Kimberly Drummond
- 1977 · CHiPs as Dana Plato
- 1977 · Return to Boggy Creek as Evie Jo
- 1977 · Exorcist II: The Heretic as Sandra Phalor (uncredited)
- 1976 · Family as Debbie
- 1975 · Beyond the Bermuda Triangle as Wendy
- 1974 · The Six Million Dollar Man as Girl on the Tennis Court