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Dana Michelle Plato (née Strain; November 7, 1964 – May 8, 1999) was an American actress. An influential "teen idol" of the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was recognized for her television work, for which she was included on VH1's list of "100 Greatest Kid Stars". She was raised in San Fernando Valley and was an accomplished figure skater before acting, having trained for the Olympic Games. Her acting career began with numerous commercial appearances, and her television debut came at the age of 10 with a brief appearance on the television series The Six Million Dollar Man (1975). Plato subsequently appeared in the horror films Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) and Return to Boggy Creek (1977), playing Sandra Phalor and Evie Jo, respectively. Plato's breakthrough feature was the Academy Award-winning film California Suite (1978), in which she played Jenny Warren. She earned widespread recognition for playing the leading role of Kimberly Drummond, the daughter to investor Phillip and elder sister to adopted brothers Arnold and Willis Jackson, on the NBC/ABC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986). The role earned Plato acclaim, and nominations for a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series and two TV Land Awards for Best Quintessential Non-Traditional Family. Dana 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, and started taking roles in such B-movies as Bikini Beach Race (1989) and Lethal Cowboy (1992). 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. Following her appearance in the film, in the same year, Plato appeared in a cover story of the lesbian lifestyle-magazine Girlfriends. On May 8, 1999, Plato was found dead from an overdose of prescription drugs at the age of 34, which was later ruled a suicide.
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