Actress Dana Plato is best known to audiences as Kimberly on the classic '80s sitcom Diff'rent Strokes. The California native began acting when she was just 11 in the movie Beyond the Bermuda Triangle, and when she joined the cast of Diff'rent Strokes in 1978, she instantly became a household name. She stayed with the show until 1984, but following its run, she ran into the same problems as many child stars and couldn't find success as an adult actress. She began to struggle with drug and alcohol addiction, facing arrest in the early '90s for robbery and for forging a prescription. In 1999, Plato suffered what the police deemed to be an accidental overdose and died while visiting her fiancé's parents' house.
Dana Plato
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Biography by AllMovie
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- Appeared in more than 100 commercials as a child actor.
- Was reported to be considered for the lead role in the 1973 classic The Exorcist, but was pulled from the project due to her mother's objections to the graphic nature of the film.
- Made her film debut at age 11 in Beyond the Bermuda Triangle (1975).
- Had her breakthrough role as Kimberly Drummond in the television series Diff'rent Strokes (1978-86).
- Appeared in the June 1989 issue of Playboy.
- Was an accomplished figure skater.