Dominique Dunne made her on-screen debut with the television film Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker, and thereafter played the recurring roles of Erica on the drama series Family, and Paulina Bornstein on the comedy series Breaking Away.
43 Facts About Dominique Dunne
2.
Dominique Dunne's breakthrough came with the starring role of Dana Freeling in the horror film Poltergeist, establishing her as a horror icon.
3.
Dominique Dunne went on to headline the western film The Shadow Riders, and portray Amy Kent on the crime series CHiPs.
4.
On October 30,1982, Dominique Dunne was strangled by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, during an argument on the driveway of her West Hollywood home.
5.
Dominique Dunne fell into a coma and died five days later on November 4,1982.
6.
Dominique Dunne was born in Santa Monica, California, the youngest child of Ellen Beatriz "Lenny", a ranching heiress, and Dominick Dominique Dunne, a writer, producer, and actor.
7.
Dominique Dunne had Irish and Mexican ancestry, her father was born and raised in an Irish Catholic family with her maternal grandfather an Irish-American and her maternal grandmother a Mexican who was from Sonora, Mexico.
8.
Dominique Dunne had two older brothers, Alexander "Alex" and Griffin Dominique Dunne, who is an actor and director.
9.
Dominique Dunne was the niece of married novelists John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion.
10.
Dominique Dunne's godparents were Maria Cooper-Janis, daughter of actors Gary Cooper and Veronica "Rocky" Cooper, and producer Martin Manulis.
11.
Dominique Dunne attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, and Fountain Valley School in Fountain, Colorado.
12.
Dominique Dunne studied acting at Milton Katselas' Workshop and appeared in various stage productions, including West Side Story, The Mousetrap, and My Three Angels.
13.
Dominique Dunne then got supporting roles in episodes of popular 1980s television series, such as Lou Grant, Family, Hart to Hart, and Fame.
14.
Dominique Dunne had a recurring role on the comedy-drama television series, Breaking Away, and she appeared in several other television films.
15.
Dominique Dunne was set to reprise the role in the following installments of the franchise, but she died before production began on the sequels; Poltergeist II: The Other Side, filmed in 1985 and released in 1986, it explains her character's absence by stating that she has gone off to attend college.
16.
Dominique Dunne was cast in the miniseries V in 1982; she died during filming, so her role was portrayed by actress Blair Tefkin.
17.
Dominique Dunne met John Thomas Sweeney, a sous-chef at the restaurant Ma Maison, at a party in 1981.
18.
Frightened, Dominique Dunne fled to her mother's house, where Sweeney showed up and began to bang on the door and windows, demanding to be let in.
19.
Dominique Dunne's mother told him to leave and threatened to call the police.
20.
Dominique Dunne told the friend that Sweeney had tried to kill her, but Sweeney denied the claim and asked Dominique Dunne to come back to bed.
21.
Dominique Dunne pretended that she was going to comply with his request but she snuck out of the bathroom window.
22.
When Sweeney heard Dominique Dunne start the engine of her car, he ran out and jumped on the hood of the car.
23.
Dominique Dunne stopped the car long enough for Sweeney to jump off the hood and then she drove away.
24.
On October 30,1982, a few weeks after Sweeney and Dominique Dunne broke up, Dominique Dunne was at her West Hollywood home rehearsing for the miniseries V with actor David Packer.
25.
Concerned, he called police, but he was informed that Dominique Dunne's home was out of their jurisdiction.
26.
Dominique Dunne claimed that he could only recall being on top of her, with his hands around her neck.
27.
Dominique Dunne was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she was placed on life support.
28.
Dominique Dunne was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.
29.
Sweeney was later charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm when, during a preliminary trial hearing, he admitted that he and Dominique Dunne had a physical altercation on September 26,1982, the day before she filmed the Hill Street Blues episode, in which she appeared with visible bruises on her face and body.
30.
Dominique Dunne denied assaulting Dunne claiming that she accidentally incurred the bruises when he tried to prevent her from leaving their home.
31.
Dominique Dunne testified that he had not intended to harm Dunne the night he arrived at her home.
32.
Dominique Dunne claimed that they had reconciled, that they were planning to move back in together, and that the two had daily discussions about getting married and having children.
33.
Dominique Dunne then attempted to give her CPR, which caused Dunne to vomit.
34.
Dominique Dunne then returned to the driveway, where he laid down beside Dunne, waiting for the pills to take effect.
35.
Dominique Dunne's family disputed Sweeney's claim that she had reconciled with him, however.
36.
Dominique Dunne was subdued by two bailiffs and four armed guards.
37.
Dominique Dunne apologized to the court for the outburst, which Judge Katz accepted.
38.
Dominique Dunne was convicted of misdemeanor assault for the altercation with Dunne that occurred on September 26,1982.
39.
Dominique Dunne's family was outraged by the verdict, calling it an "injustice".
40.
Dominique Dunne later admitted that some of his controversial rulings in Dunne's case "pained" him, but he reiterated his thought that Sweeney should have been convicted of murder and given a lengthier sentence.
41.
Dominique Dunne was released on parole in September 1986, after serving only three years, seven months and 27 days of his six-and-a-half-year sentence.
42.
In later interviews in which Dominick Dominique Dunne discussed his daughter's murder, the writer shared that, for a time, he employed the services of private investigator Anthony Pellicano and asked him to follow Sweeney and report on his actions and whereabouts.
43.
Later, Dominique Dunne's father said that he decided that he no longer wished to squander his life by following Sweeney, and as a result of his decision, he discontinued all of his attempts to maintain his knowledge of Sweeney's whereabouts.