Dana Michelle Plato was born on November 7, 1964 in Maywood, California. Best known as Kimberley in 80’s American sitcom ‘Diff’rent Strokes’, Dana was raised by adoptive parents Dean and Kay Plato soon after she was born. Her birth mother was Linda Strain, a 16 year old single mother who was already having trouble raising an 18 month old child. Kay Plato guided her daughter into acting, landing her roles in over a hundred TV commercials as a young child. Dana’s first experience with fame was when she was offered the lead role in the Exorcist movie, but her mother turned it down because she believed it was too graphic. However, a few years later, Dana was offered a small, un-credited role in the sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic. Unfortunately, this film was a flop.

In the 1970’s, Dana appeared on the hugely successful TV program, ‘The Gong Show’, where contestants performed in front of a panel of judges in a type of contest to see who would get to the finals. Dana was spotted on ‘The Gong Show’ by an NBC producer and was approached about the role of the elder sister, ‘Kimberley’ in the new NBC sitcom ‘Diff’rent Strokes’. Plato got the part in the series, which aired from 1978-1986. A regular cast member up until 1984 when she fell pregnant at the age of 20. Producers didn’t like the idea of ‘Kimberley’ being portrayed as a young mother (the Kimberley character was younger than Dana) and dismissed Dana from the show. After giving birth to her son, Tyler Edward Lambert, Dana returned to ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ for many guest appearances up until the show’s cancellation in 1986. The difference in Dana’s appearance from her departure to her guest appearances were noticeable, she was more of a grown woman now.

During this time, Dana moved in with future husband and rock guitarist Lanny Lambert (December 1983). They married in April 1984 and Dana gave birth to her son on July 2nd that year. Kay Plato, Dana’s mother, passed away due to a blood disease in January 1988. That same week, Dana’s husband left her, leading up to their divorce in March 1990. Custody of Tyler was awarded to Lanny, with Dana having visitation rights.

In an attempt to revive her now failing acting career, Dana posed for Playboy in the June 1989 edition. Unfortunately, this did nothing to help.

In January 1992, Dana made news around the globe when she was arrested for the armed robbery of a Las Vegas video store using a toy gun. She only got $164. Charged and sentenced to 5 years probation and a short stay in jail, many saw this desperate “grab” for rent money as a cry for help. Dana was bailed from prison by Las Vegas singer, Wayne Newton, who posted the $13,000 bill. Also in that month, Dana was arrested for forging Valium prescriptions. This earned her 30 days in jail. January 20, 1992 marked the first time Dana entered drug and alcohol rehab. Unfortunately, in 1993, she entered again.

Since her time in jail, Dana has appeared in a handful of low budget, straight to video movies and an old unpopular video game on the Sega. Details can be found on the IMDB via the links page.

In a 1998 issue of “Girlfriends” magazine, Dana made the confession that she was a lesbian. However, in later months, she shot down these claims, saying she was only experimenting. Her 1997 role in the movie “Different Strokes” (not to be confused with ‘Diff’rent Strokes’, the TV show) was that of a bisexual, which could support either claim.

Dana’s final media appearance was on the Howard Stern radio show just a couple of days before she died. She had said that she had been sober for ten years and was on the straight and narrow and was even preparing for her career comeback!

Unfortunately, Dana passed away on May 8, 1999 in Moore, Oklahoma. The official cause of death was suicide caused by a drug overdose. There are many who believe that then fiancé, Robert Menchaca, murdered her.

RIP Dana, you are missed.

Did u know?

-Dana's first major tv appearance was a part on a "Six-Million-Dollar Man" show which was the pilot episode for the tv series 'The Bionic Woman' which starred Lindsay Wagner.

-She listed her interests as ice skating, skiing, and horseback riding in the 1984 TV Superstars Book.

-Other interests listed included ballet dancing and sky diving.

-Dana appeared in over 100 TV commercials starting age 7 including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Arco, Hallmark, and Dole. In one Dole commercial, she had to eat 82 bananas and got terribly sick.

-Dana was training in ice skating for the Olympics when she got the role of Kimberly on "Diff'rent Strokes." She had to give up hope for the Olympics, but she still skated for fun.

-A 1984 NBC Biography sheet listed her height as 5'2" and weight as 100 lbs with blonde hair and blue-green eyes.

-Dana was adopted and her mother's name was Florine 'Kay' Plato (she died in the January of 1998 of a blood disease). Her father Dean was divorced from Kay when Dana was 4 years old (from a 1981 TV Guide article). Dana met her biological mother (Linda Strain) in the early 1990's.

-Dana won the role of the daughter in the first Exorcist movie, but her mother wouldn't let her take it. She did have a small part in Exorcist II: The Heretic.

-Dana got the role of Kimberly on Diff'rent Strokes after a producer spotted her on The Gong Show.

-Dana was reportedly paid as high as $22,000 per episode of Diff'rent Strokes.

-Dana broke her ankle skydiving during one of her landings for the 1980 Celebrity Daredvils special