Dana Plato
Known for: Acting
Born: November 6, 1964 in Maywood, California, USA - Died: May 7, 1999
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
Showing 24 of 31 titles
Blade Boxer
Insatiable Coeds
Piano Teacher's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited)
Compelling Evidence
Dana Fields
Night Trap
Kelly
Bikini Beach Race
J.D.
Different Strokes
Jill Martin
Schoolboy Father
Daisy Dallenger
Tiger
Andrea Baker
Return to Boggy Creek
Evie Jo
Millenium Day
Pacifica
California Suite
Jenny
Silent Fury
Desperation Boulevard
Herself
Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary
Daughter
Prime Suspect
Diana Masters
High School U.S.A.
Cara Ames
Beyond the Bermuda Triangle
Wendy
Distortions
Deborah Nichols
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Sandra Phalor (uncredited)
Pacino is Missing
Prosecuting Attorney
The Hostage
Leslie
Lethal Cowboy
Elizabeth
Gary
Archive footage
Growing Pains
Lisa