Name
Dana Plato
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1964-11-07
Deathday
1999-05-08 (35 years old)
Place of Birth
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
4.541
Bizarre nightmares plague Regan MacNeil four years after her possession and exorcism. Has ...
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The misadventures of four groups of guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel....
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Set in a senior high school class, J.J. pursues the girlfriend of a rival from a higher cl...
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Rick Stone is the world's biggest action star but unfortunately, he is also the prime susp...
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A Los Angeles fashion model falls in love with a female art director during a photo shoot ...
- 1997 Blade Boxer
- 2000 Insatiable Coeds as Piano Teacher's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1995 Compelling Evidence as Dana Fields
- 1992 Night Trap as Kelly
- 1992 Bikini Beach Race as J.D.
- 1998 Different Strokes as Jill Martin
- 1980 Schoolboy Father as Daisy Dallenger
- 1998 Tiger as Andrea Baker
- 1977 Return to Boggy Creek as Evie Jo
- 1995 Millenium Day as Pacifica
- 1978 California Suite as Jenny
- 1994 Silent Fury
- 1998 Desperation Boulevard as Herself
- 1982 Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary as Daughter
- 1989 Prime Suspect as Diana Masters
- 1983 High School U.S.A. as Cara Ames
- 1975 Beyond the Bermuda Triangle as Wendy
- 1992 Distortions as Deborah Nichols
- 1977 Exorcist II: The Heretic as Sandra Phalor (uncredited)
- 2002 Pacino is Missing as Prosecuting Attorney
- 1998 The Hostage as Leslie
- 1995 Lethal Cowboy as Elizabeth
- 2024 Gary as Archive footage
- 1985 Growing Pains ( 1 episode ) as Lisa
- 1977 CHiPs ( 2 episodes ) as Dana Plato
- 1979 The Facts of Life ( 1 episode ) as Kimberly Drummond
- 1978 Diff'rent Strokes ( 151 episodes ) as Kimberly Drummond
- 1996 E! True Hollywood Story ( 2 episodes )
- 1976 Family ( 1 episode ) as Debbie
- 1974 The Six Million Dollar Man ( 1 episode ) as Girl on the Tennis Court
- 1979 Hello, Larry ( 3 episodes ) as Kimberly Drummond
- 2025 Hollywood Demons ( 1 episode ) as Self (archive footage)
- 1990 The Word ( 1 episode )
