46 Facts About Dana Plato

Dana Michelle Plato was an American actress and influential teen idol of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Dana Plato was best known for playing Kimberly Drummond in the television sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.

Dana Plato was raised in the San Fernando Valley and was an accomplished figure skater before acting, having trained for the Olympic Games.

Dana Plato's acting career began with numerous commercial appearances, and her television debut came at the age of 10 with a brief appearance on the television series The Six Million Dollar Man.

Dana Plato subsequently appeared in the horror films Exorcist II: The Heretic and Return to Boggy Creek.

Dana Plato was married twice; she had a child in 1984 during her first marriage to guitarist Lanny Lambert.

Dana Plato struggled with substance abuse for most of her life.

On May 8,1999, Dana Plato was found dead in her motor home from an overdose of prescription drugs at the age of 34.

Dana Plato's death was initially considered accidental, but was later ruled a suicide.

Dana Plato was born Dana Michelle Strain on November 7,1964, in Maywood, California, to Linda Strain, a teenager who was already caring for an 18-month-old child.

In June 1965, the seven-month-old Dana was adopted by Dean Plato, who owned a trucking company, and his wife Florine "Kay" Plato.

At a very young age, Dana Plato began attending auditions with her mother, and at seven years old had appeared in over 100 television commercials.

Dana Plato was an accomplished figure skater, and at one point trained for a possible Olympic team spot.

Dana Plato made her television acting debut at the age of 10, making a brief appearance on the NBC television show The Six Million Dollar Man.

Dana Plato then starred in the 1975 made for television film Beyond the Bermuda Triangle.

Dana Plato made her film debut at the age of 13, appearing as Sandra Phalor in the horror film Exorcist II: The Heretic, for which she was uncredited, and starred as Evie Joe in the horror film Return to Boggy Creek in the same year; both films were received negatively by critics.

Better received was the family-comedy film California Suite, in which Dana Plato played Jenny Warren; the film was a commercial success, and earned accolades from the Academy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards.

Dana Plato appeared regularly on the show throughout its run, notably top-billed for four years.

Dana Plato was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her work on the program, and was part of two TV Land Award nominations given to its cast.

In 1984, following the birth of her son Tyler, Dana Plato was dismissed from her starring role due to both that and struggles in her personal life, which producers felt would negatively impact their "wholesome family comedy".

Dana Plato made a one episode appearance on season 8 episode 12 of "The Love Boat".

Thereafter, Dana Plato appeared recurringly on Diff'rent Strokes from 1985 to 1986, the show's end; in season 8, the episode which aired on January 17,1986, was Dana Plato's final appearance on the show, which showed her character suffering from bulimia.

In 1981, Dana Plato appeared in the television special A Step in Time, which earned her a second Young Artist Award nomination.

Dana Plato attempted to establish herself as a serious actress, but found it difficult to achieve success.

Dana Plato had breast implants and modeled for a June 1989 Playboy pictorial.

Dana Plato started taking roles in such B-movies as Bikini Beach Race and Lethal Cowboy.

In 1992, Dana Plato starred in the video game Night Trap, becoming one of the first celebrities to appear in a video game.

Dana Plato made little effort to hide the fact that the project was a step-down compared to her previous career ventures.

Toward the end of her career, Dana Plato chose roles that were erotic; she appeared nude in Prime Suspect and Compelling Evidence, and in the softcore erotic drama Different Strokes: The Story of Jack and Jill.

In December 1983, Dana Plato moved in with her boyfriend, rock guitarist Lanny Lambert.

Dana Plato separated from Lambert in January 1988, the same week her mother died of scleroderma.

Dana Plato claimed the accountant was never found nor prosecuted despite an exhaustive search, and that he had stolen more than $11 million of other people's money.

Dana Plato thereafter became engaged to Fred Potts, a filmmaker, but the romance ended.

Dana Plato was later married to actor and producer Scott Atkins in Vancouver for one month before the marriage was annulled.

On February 28,1991, Dana Plato entered a video store, produced a pellet gun, and demanded the money in the cash register.

Entertainer Wayne Newton posted her $13,000 bail, and Dana Plato was given five years' probation.

Dana Plato subsequently became a subject of the national debate surrounding troubled child stars, particularly given the difficulties of her Diff'rent Strokes co-stars Todd Bridges and Gary Coleman.

In January 1992, Dana Plato was arrested a second time, for forging a prescription for diazepam.

Dana Plato served thirty days in jail for violating the terms of her probation and immediately entered a drug rehabilitation program.

Dana Plato later moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she struggled with poverty and unemployment.

On May 7,1999, the day before she died, Dana Plato appeared on The Howard Stern Show.

Dana Plato spoke about her life, discussing her financial problems and past run-ins with the law.

Dana Plato admitted to being a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, but claimed she had been sober for more than ten years by that point and was not using any drugs, with the exception of prescribed painkillers due to the recent extraction of her wisdom teeth.

Many callers to the show insulted Dana Plato and questioned her sobriety, which angered and provoked her, and she defiantly offered to take a drug test on the air.

Dana Plato's body was cremated and her ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

In 2000, Fox broadcast a television movie based on Dana Plato, titled After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped.