Known For
Acting
Born
Nov 07, 1964
Died
May 08, 1999
Place of Birth
Maywood, California, USA
Credits
33 titles
Dana Plato
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
Filmography
Hollywood Demons
Self (archive footage)
Gary
Archive footage
Pacino is Missing
Prosecuting Attorney
Insatiable Coeds
Piano Teacher's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tiger
Andrea Baker
Different Strokes
Jill Martin
Desperation Boulevard
Herself
The Hostage
Leslie
Blade Boxer
E! True Hollywood Story
Lethal Cowboy
Elizabeth
Millenium Day
Pacifica
Compelling Evidence
Dana Fields
Silent Fury
Night Trap
Kelly
Bikini Beach Race
J.D.
Distortions
Deborah Nichols
The Word
Prime Suspect
Diana Masters
Growing Pains
Lisa
High School U.S.A.
Cara Ames
Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary
Daughter
Schoolboy Father
Daisy Dallenger
The Facts of Life
Kimberly Drummond
Hello, Larry
Kimberly Drummond
Diff'rent Strokes
Kimberly Drummond
California Suite
Jenny
CHiPs
Dana Plato
Return to Boggy Creek
Evie Jo
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Sandra Phalor (uncredited)
Family
Debbie
Beyond the Bermuda Triangle
Wendy
The Six Million Dollar Man
Girl on the Tennis Court