Dana Plato
Known For
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
Nov 7, 1964 (61 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
| 2024 | GaryArchive footage | |
| 2002 | Pacino is MissingProsecuting Attorney | |
| 2000 | Insatiable CoedsPiano Teacher's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| 1998 | Different StrokesJill Martin | |
| 1998 | Desperation BoulevardHerself | |
| 1998 | The HostageLeslie | |
| 1997 | Blade Boxer | |
| 1997 | TigerAndrea Baker | |
| 1996 | E! True Hollywood Story | |
| 1995 | Compelling EvidenceDana Fields | |
| 1995 | Millenium DayPacifica | |
| 1995 | Lethal CowboyElizabeth | |
| 1994 | Silent Fury | |
| 1992 | Night TrapKelly | |
| 1992 | Bikini Beach RaceJ.D. | |
| 1992 | DistortionsDeborah Nichols | |
| 1989 | Prime SuspectDiana Masters | |
| 1985 | Growing PainsLisa | |
| 1983 | High School U.S.A.Cara Ames | |
| 1982 | Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th AnniversaryDaughter | |
| 1980 | Schoolboy FatherDaisy Dallenger | |
| 1979 | The Facts of LifeKimberly Drummond | |
| 1979 | Hello, LarryKimberly Drummond | |
| 1978 | California SuiteJenny | |
| 1978 | Diff'rent StrokesKimberly Drummond | |
| 1977 | Return to Boggy CreekEvie Jo | |
| 1977 | Exorcist II: The HereticSandra Phalor (uncredited) | |
| 1977 | CHiPsDana Plato | |
| 1976 | FamilyDebbie | |
| 1975 | Beyond the Bermuda TriangleWendy | |
| 1974 | The Six Million Dollar ManGirl on the Tennis Court |













