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• American actress Dana Plato played the role of Kimberly Drummond on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes with co-stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges. After the show ended, she struggled to be cast in popular roles and made the move to soft pornographic films.

• Fast Facts

  1. Full Name: Dana Michelle Plato
  2. Birth Name: Dana Michelle Strain
  3. Born: November 7, 1964
  4. Birthplace: Maywood, California
  5. Died: May 8, 1999
  6. Place of death: Moore, Oklahoma
  7. Adopted as an infant
  8. Marital Status: Divorced
  9. Children: 1 son

• Death

  She died of a prescription drug overdose on May 4, 1999. Her death was officially ruled a suicide, though some believe it was an accidental overdose. She struggled with addiction since her teen years, using alcohol, illegal and prescriptions drugs on an almost daily basis. She claimed the day before her death in an interview with Howard Stern that she was now sober, and engaged to her manager Robert Menchaca. After the interview she and her manager began a cross country trip, stopping at his mothers home in Moore, Oklahoma. She was found dead in their recreational vehicle after overdosing on vanadom and vicodin.

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Diff'rent Strokes | Gary Coleman | Tara Correa McMullen | The Facts of Life | Kimberly Drummond

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