Acting credits
30
Active
Consistent number of acting credits.
Actor
Dana Plato
Acting
Career Snapshot
ExplainedThese indicators come from TMDB. They are relative signals, not review ratings.
TMDB popularity
1.3
Low visibility
TMDB internal trend index. Higher usually means more searches and page activity now.
Movies: 22Series: 8
TMDB ID: 105027
IMDb ID: nm0686818
Known for: Acting
Born: November 7, 1964
Died: May 8, 1999
Age: 34
Place of birth: Maywood, California, USA
Gender: Female
Adult content flag: No
Career span: 1974 - 2024
Years active: 51
Average TMDB rating: 6.51
Wikidata: Q264199
Biography
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.
Photos
Movies
Movies
Movie credits linked with Dana Plato.
6.3
Gary
as Archive footage
2024 Movie
2.0
Pacino is Missing
as Prosecuting Attorney
2002 Movie
2.0
Insatiable Coeds
as Piano Teacher's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited)
2000 Movie
3.8
Different Strokes
as Jill Martin
1998 Movie
4.0
Desperation Boulevard
as Herself
1998 Movie
2.0
The Hostage
as Leslie
1998 Movie
Tiger
as Andrea Baker
1997 Movie
4.5
Lethal Cowboy
as Elizabeth
1995 Movie
4.1
Compelling Evidence
as Dana Fields
1995 Movie
Millenium Day
as Pacifica
1995 Movie
6.0
Silent Fury
1994 Movie
5.0
Night Trap
as Kelly
1992 Movie
1.8
Bikini Beach Race
as J.D.
1992 Movie
3.5
Distortions
as Deborah Nichols
1992 Movie
3.2
Prime Suspect
as Diana Masters
1989 Movie
5.4
High School U.S.A.
as Cara Ames
1983 Movie
Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary
as Daughter
1982 Movie
2.0
Schoolboy Father
as Daisy Dallenger
1980 Movie
5.8
California Suite
as Jenny
1978 Movie
4.0
Return to Boggy Creek
as Evie Jo
1977 Movie
4.5
Exorcist II: The Heretic
as Sandra Phalor (uncredited)
1977 Movie
4.7
Beyond the Bermuda Triangle
as Wendy
1975 Movie
Series
Series
Series credits linked with Dana Plato.
8.1
E! True Hollywood Story
2 eps
1996 Series
6.5
Growing Pains
as Lisa • 1 eps
1985 Series
7.1
The Facts of Life
as Kimberly Drummond • 1 eps
1979 Series
5.0
Hello, Larry
as Kimberly Drummond • 3 eps
1979 Series
7.1
Diff'rent Strokes
as Kimberly Drummond • 151 eps
1978 Series
6.8
CHiPs
as Dana Plato • 2 eps
1977 Series
7.2
Family
as Debbie • 1 eps
1976 Series
7.3
The Six Million Dollar Man
as Girl on the Tennis Court • 1 eps
1974 Series