Dana Plato
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- November 7, 1964
- Died
- May 8, 1999 (aged 34)
- Birthplace
- Maywood, California, USA
Biography
Dana Michelle Plato (November 7, 1964 — May 8, 1999) was born in Maywood, California. 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
Photos
Filmography
Hollywood Demons
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
Gary
Movie · as Archive footage
Pacino is Missing
Movie · as Prosecuting Attorney
Insatiable Coeds
Movie · as Piano Teacher's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited)
Different Strokes
Movie · as Jill Martin
Tiger
Movie · as Andrea Baker
Desperation Boulevard
Movie · as Herself
The Hostage
Movie · as Leslie
Blade Boxer
Movie
E! True Hollywood Story
TV · 2 eps
Compelling Evidence
Movie · as Dana Fields
Millenium Day
Movie · as Pacifica
Lethal Cowboy
Movie · as Elizabeth
Silent Fury
Movie
Night Trap
Movie · as Kelly
Bikini Beach Race
Movie · as J.D.
Distortions
Movie · as Deborah Nichols
The Word
TV · 1 ep
Prime Suspect
Movie · as Diana Masters
Growing Pains
TV · as Lisa · 1 ep
High School U.S.A.
Movie · as Cara Ames
Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary
Movie · as Daughter
Schoolboy Father
Movie · as Daisy Dallenger
The Facts of Life
TV · as Kimberly Drummond · 1 ep
Hello, Larry
TV · as Kimberly Drummond · 3 eps
California Suite
Movie · as Jenny
Diff'rent Strokes
TV · as Kimberly Drummond · 151 eps
Return to Boggy Creek
Movie · as Evie Jo
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Movie · as Sandra Phalor (uncredited)
CHiPs
TV · as Dana Plato (uncredited) · 2 eps
Family
TV · as Debbie · 1 ep
Beyond the Bermuda Triangle
Movie · as Wendy
The Six Million Dollar Man
TV · as Girl on the Tennis Court · 1 ep