Dana Plato

Dana Michelle Plato (née Strain; November 7, 1964 – May 8, 1999) was an American actress. She rose to fame for playing Kimberly Drummond on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986), which established her as a teen idol of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Plato was born to a teen mother and was adopted as an infant. She was raised in the San Fernando Valley and trained in figure skating before acting. Her acting career began with numerous commercial appearances, and her television debut came at the age of ten with a brief appearance on the television series The Six Million Dollar Man (1975). She then appeared in the horror film Return to Boggy Creek (1977) and the Oscar–winning film California Suite (1978). In recognition for her tenure on Diff'rent Strokes, she received nominations for a Young Artist Award and two TV Land Awards. Following the show, she worked sporadically in independent films and B movies, and appeared in the video game Night Trap (1992).

Plato was married twice; she had a child in 1984 during her marriage to guitarist Lanny Lambert. She struggled with substance abuse for most of her life. She was arrested in 1991 for robbing a video store, and again the following year for forging a drug prescription. On May 8, 1999, at age 34, Plato was found dead in her motor home from an overdose of prescription drugs. Her death, initially considered accidental, was ruled a suicide.

Early life

Plato was born in Huntington Park, California, at Mission Hospital (since closed). Her birth mother was Linda Strain, a teenager who was already caring for an 18-month-old child. In June 1965, at seven-months-old she 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.

In 1995, during an appearance on the psychological issues 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.

Career

At a young age, Plato began attending auditions with her mother, and by the age of seven had appeared in over 100 television commercials. She was also an accomplished figure skater who initially trained for a potential spot on the Olympic team.

Plato made her acting debut at the age of 10, making a brief appearance on the ABC television show The Six Million Dollar Man. She then starred in the 1975 made-for-television film Beyond the Bermuda Triangle. 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. 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 at 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/ABC 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 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 that 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".

In 1981, Plato appeared in the television special A Step in Time, which earned her a second Young Artist Award nomination. In 1983, she starred in the television film High School U.S.A. as Cara Ames, alongside Diff'rent Strokes co-star Todd Bridges, who played Otto Lipton. In spite of the film being met with a mixed response from critics and viewers alike, it gained popularity at the time of its premiere, particularly for its cast. Plato attempted to establish herself as a serious actress, but found it difficult to achieve success. She had breast implants and modeled for a June 1989 Playboy pictorial. She also started taking roles in such B movies as Bikini Beach Race (1992) and Lethal Cowboy (1995). In 1990 she made a brief attempt at a musical career, sponsored by producer Howie Rice. She recorded six tracks with songwriter/producer Daniel Liston Keller at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California, but the recordings were shelved and not released.

Plato starred in the video game Night Trap (1992), becoming one of the first celebrities to appear in a video game. Though the game was released in 1992, all of its footage was captured in 1987. She was eager to work on the project, and Rob Fulop, one of the designers of Night Trap, said that he and Plato had enjoyed working together. She made little effort to hide the fact that the project was a step-down compared to her previous career ventures. The game was a moderate success, and is considered a pioneering title because it was the first to use live actors. Night Trap received mixed to negative reviews upon release, and in retrospect has continued to polarize critics and audiences. It is best remembered for the controversy it created over the violence and sexuality that, along with that surrounding Mortal Kombat, eventually led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

Toward the end of her career, Plato chose roles that were erotic; she appeared nude in Prime Suspect (1989) and Compelling Evidence (1995), and in the softcore erotic drama Different Strokes: The Story of Jack and Jill...and Jill (1998), the title of which was changed after filming in order to tie it to Plato's past. In the same year, following her appearance in the film, Plato appeared in a cover story of the lesbian lifestyle-magazine Girlfriends.

Plato's last works include Desperation Boulevard (1998), in which she appears as herself and that appears to be based on her life; Silent Scream (1999), in which she appears as Emma Jones; and Pacino Is Missing (2002), which was released after her death, in which she appears as an attorney.

Personal life

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.

In December 1983, Plato moved in with her boyfriend, rock guitarist Lanny Lambert. The couple married on April 24, 1984, and their only child, a son, was born on July 2, 1984. When it was revealed that she was pregnant, she was written out of Diff'rent Strokes. Her co-star Conrad Bain revealed that she was happy about her baby, stating in an interview with People magazine: "She deliberately got pregnant while doing the series, when I spoke to her about it, she was enthusiastic about having done that... [saying that] 'When I get the baby, I will never be alone again.'" Plato separated from Lambert in January 1988, the same week her mother died of scleroderma. In desperation, she signed over power of attorney to an accountant who disappeared with the majority of her money, leaving her with less than $150,000 ($410,232 in 2025). She claimed the accountant was never found nor prosecuted despite an exhaustive search, and that he had also stolen more than $11 million from other clients. In her March 1990 divorce, Plato lost custody of her son to Lambert and was given visitation rights.

Plato then became engaged to Fred Potts, a filmmaker, but the romance ended. She was later married to actor and producer Scott Atkins (Scotty Gelt) in Vancouver for one month, but the marriage was annulled. Plato got engaged to her manager Robert Menchaca, six years her junior, with whom she lived in a Winnebago motor home in Navarre, Florida. She later moved back to Las Vegas, where she struggled with poverty and unemployment. At one point she worked as a cashier at a dry-cleaning store, where customers reported being impressed by her friendly lack of airs.