Dana Plato

Biography

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

Blade Boxer

Piano Teacher's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited)

Insatiable Coeds

Dana Fields

Compelling Evidence

Kelly

Night Trap

J.D.

Bikini Beach Race

Jill Martin

Different Strokes

Daisy Dallenger

Schoolboy Father

Andrea Baker

Tiger

Evie Jo

Return to Boggy Creek

Pacifica

Millenium Day

Jenny

California Suite

Silent Fury

Dana Plato

Desperation Boulevard

Herself

Desperation Boulevard

Daughter

Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary

Diana Masters

Prime Suspect

Cara Ames

High School U.S.A.

Wendy

Beyond the Bermuda Triangle

Deborah Nichols

Distortions

Sandra Phalor (uncredited)

Exorcist II: The Heretic

Prosecuting Attorney

Pacino is Missing

Leslie

The Hostage

Elizabeth

Lethal Cowboy

Archive footage

Gary