Dana Plato

Dana Michelle Plato (née Strain; November 7, 1964 – May 8, 1999) was an American actress.

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.

She was raised in the San Fernando Valley.

When she was three, her adoptive parents divorced and she lived with her mother.

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

Plato was also an accomplished figure skater.

During her years on Diff'rent Strokes, Plato struggled with drug and alcohol problems; she admitted to drinking alcohol, using cannabis and cocaine, and suffering an overdose of diazepam when she was aged 14.

An influential teen idol of the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was best known for playing the role of Kimberly Drummond on the NBC/ABC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986).

Plato was born to a teen mother and was adopted as an infant.

She was raised in the San Fernando Valley and was an accomplished figure skater before acting.

Her 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 (1975).

She then starred in the 1975 made-for-television film Beyond the Bermuda Triangle.

Plato subsequently appeared in the horror films Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) and Return to Boggy Creek (1977).

Plato made her film debut at the age of 13 in the uncredited role of Sandra Phalor in the horror film Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977).

She starred as Evie Joe in the horror film Return to Boggy Creek in the same year.

both films were received negatively by critics.

Plato's breakthrough feature was the Academy Award–winning film California Suite (1978), in which she played Jenny Warren.

She earned widespread recognition and acclaim for playing Kimberly Drummond on Diff'rent Strokes.

The role also earned Plato nominations for a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series and two TV Land Awards for Best Quintessential Non-Traditional Family.

Following Diff'rent Strokes, she worked sporadically in independent films and B movies.

Better received was the family-comedy film California Suite (1978), in which Plato played Jenny Warren; the film was also a commercial success, and earned accolades from the Academy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards.

When Plato made a brief appearance on The Gong Show, she was spotted by a producer who helped cast her as Kimberly Drummond, the older sister of adopted brothers Arnold and Willis Jackson, on the NBC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.

The series debuted in 1978 and became an immediate hit.

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

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

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

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

Plato struggled with substance abuse for most of her life.

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

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

Thereafter, 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 Plato's final appearance on the show, which showed her character suffering from bulimia.

CBC News described her performance in the episode as a "series highpoint".

She was arrested in 1991 for robbing a video store, and again the following year for forging a drug prescription.

In 1995, during an appearance on The Marilyn Kagen Show alongside co-star Todd Bridges, she spoke of her childhood with her mother, stating: "My mother made sure that I was normal. The only thing that she did, the mistake she made, was that she kept me in a plastic bubble. So, I didn't learn about reality and life skills."

Kagen suggested that Plato may have been used for a free meal ticket, which Plato denied, explaining that her mother's ways were so that she would not become a prima donna.

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

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

Her death was initially considered accidental, but later ruled a suicide.

Her personal life, in retrospect, has been described as a "tragedy".