
Maywood, California, USA
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.

as Debbie

as Girl on the Tennis Court
1974

as Kimberly Drummond
1979

as Debbie
1976

as Dana Plato
1977

as Lisa
1985

as Self (archive footage)
2025

as Kimberly Drummond
1979

as Sandra Phalor (uncredited)
1977

as Kimberly Drummond
1978

1996

as Jenny
1978

as Diana Masters
1989
as Piano Teacher's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited)
2000

as Archive footage
2024

as Prosecuting Attorney
2002

as Piano Teacher's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited)
2000

as Andrea Baker
1998

as Jill Martin
1998

as Herself
1998

as Leslie
1998
1997

as Elizabeth
1995

as Dana Fields
1995

as Pacifica
1995

1994

as Kelly
1992

as J.D.
1992

as Deborah Nichols
1992

as Diana Masters
1989

as Cara Ames
1983

as Daughter
1982

as Daisy Dallenger
1980

as Jenny
1978

as Evie Jo
1977

as Sandra Phalor (uncredited)
1977

as Wendy
1975
as Debbie
1 ep.

as Girl on the Tennis Court
1 episodes

as Kimberly Drummond
1 episodes

as Debbie
1 episodes

as Dana Plato
2 episodes

as Lisa
1 episodes

as Self (archive footage)
1 episodes

as Kimberly Drummond
3 episodes

as Kimberly Drummond
151 episodes

2 episodes