Dominique Dunne

Dominique Ellen Dunne (November 23, 1959 – November 4, 1982) was an American actress.

Her parents divorced in 1965.

Dunne attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, and Fountain Valley School in Fountain, Colorado.

After graduation, she spent a year in Florence, Italy, where she studied art and learned Italian.

She studied acting at Milton Katselas' Workshop and appeared in various stage productions, including West Side Story, The Mousetrap, and My Three Angels.

Dunne's first role was in the 1979 television film, Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker.

Born and raised in Santa Monica, California, she 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 (1980), and Paulina Bornstein on the comedy series Breaking Away (1980–1981).

She then got supporting roles in episodes of popular 1980s television series, such as Lou Grant, Family, Hart to Hart, and Fame.

Dunne also had a recurring role on the comedy-drama television series, Breaking Away, and she also appeared in several other television films.

After her television appearances, in 1981, Dunne was cast in the supernatural horror film Poltergeist in the main role of Dana Freeling, the teenaged daughter of a couple whose family is terrorized by malevolent ghosts.

The film was produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper, and served as her feature film debut.

Dunne met John Thomas Sweeney, a sous-chef at the restaurant Ma Maison, at a party in 1981.

After a few weeks of dating, they moved into a one-bedroom house together on Rangely Avenue in West Hollywood.

Due to Sweeney's jealousy and possessiveness, however, the relationship quickly deteriorated.

The couple frequently fought, and Sweeney began to physically abuse Dunne.

Dunne's breakthrough came with the starring role of Dana Freeling in the horror film Poltergeist (1982).

She went on to headline the western film The Shadow Riders (1982), and portray Amy Kent on the crime series CHiPs (1982).

On October 30, 1982, Dunne was strangled by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, during an argument on the driveway of her West Hollywood home.

She fell into a coma and died five days later on November 4, 1982.

In a court case that gained significant media coverage, Sweeney was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Dunne's death, and served three and a half years in prison.

Dunne was born in Santa Monica, California, the youngest child of Ellen Beatriz "Lenny" (née Griffin), a ranching heiress, and Dominick Dunne, a writer, producer, and actor.

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.

Dunne had two older brothers, Alexander "Alex" and Griffin Dunne, who is an actor and director.

She was also the niece of married novelists John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion.

Her godparents were Maria Cooper-Janis, daughter of actors Gary Cooper and Veronica "Rocky" Cooper, and producer Martin Manulis.

Poltergeist was theatrically released in 1982, which marks both her first starring role and her only appearance in a theatrical feature.

It went on to become a critical and commercial success, becoming the eighth-highest-grossing film of 1982, and since its release it has acquired a cult following.

Dunne appeared posthumously in the Hill Street Blues episode "Requiem For a Hairbag" (S03 E08), which aired on November 18, 1982, only two weeks after her death.

In the episode, she played a teenage mother who was a victim of parental abuse and chose to give her baby up for adoption, out of fear of repeating the cycle of abuse that she endured with her parents; due to an altercation with John Sweeney, her abusive partner, her bruises on screen were natural.

The episode aired on November 18, 1982, 12 days after her funeral, and it was dedicated to her memory.

Dunne was cast in the miniseries V in 1982; she died during filming, so her role was portrayed by actress Blair Tefkin.

According to series creator Kenneth Johnson, recovered footage of Dunne was used in a cameo appearance.

According to one account, during an argument on August 27, 1982, he yanked handfuls of her hair out by the roots.

Frightened, 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.

Dunne's mother told him to leave and threatened to call the police.

A few days later, Dunne returned to the home which she shared with Sweeney, and the two resumed their relationship.

During another argument at their home on September 26, 1982, Sweeney grabbed Dunne by the throat, threw her on the floor, and began to strangle her.

Before her murder, Dunne was cast in the miniseries V (1983); however, she died as filming began, and was replaced by Blair Tefkin.

The series was released in 1983, and is dedicated to her memory.

She 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, explains her character's absence by stating that she has gone off to attend college.