TLDR: Dana Plato played Kimberly Drummond on Diff’rent Strokes from 1978 until 1984, when she was written off the show after becoming pregnant.
She died on May 8, 1999, at age 34, the day after appearing on The Howard Stern Show. Her son Tyler Lambert died by suicide eleven years later at age 25.
Before she was Kimberly Drummond, Dana Plato was a competitive figure skater with a realistic shot at the United States Olympic team. The skating required everything: early mornings, physical discipline, a long-term commitment to something that had nothing to do with cameras or audiences.
When Diff’rent Strokes came along, the production schedule made that path impossible. She chose the show. The rest of her life unfolded from that choice in ways nobody could have anticipated.
The Pregnancy That Ended Her Run
Dana Michelle Plato was born on November 7, 1964, in Maywood, California, and adopted as an infant by Dean and Florine Plato.
She was cast as Kimberly Drummond, the teenage daughter of Philip Drummond, and appeared across the show’s first six seasons. In 1984, during the filming of Season 6, she became pregnant by her fiancé, guitarist Lanny Lambert.
The producers’ concern was the character’s image. Kimberly Drummond was written as wholesome and innocent. A pregnancy did not fit that image, from their perspective, and so Plato was written off the series.
She made occasional guest appearances in the final seasons but her regular role was effectively over. She was 20 years old.
The Accountant Who Left Her With Almost Nothing
The years after the show were difficult in ways that compounded quickly. In the late 1980s, her mother died and her husband left her within the same week. In her grief she signed power of attorney over to an accountant she trusted.
He absconded with the majority of her remaining earnings, leaving her with less than $150,000 of what had been a substantial childhood income.
She posed for Playboy in 1989. She accepted roles in low-budget films, including one in 1998 whose title was specifically constructed to reference her past. The work was not what she wanted. It was what was available to her.
In February 1991, living in Las Vegas and facing near-total financial collapse, she robbed a video store at gunpoint and recovered less than $200. She was placed on probation.
In 1992 she was arrested again for forging a prescription for Valium. The arrests generated significant media coverage and reinforced a public narrative about her life that she spent years trying to push back against.
The Howard Stern Show and What Happened the Next Day
On May 7, 1999, Plato appeared on The Howard Stern Show alongside her fiancé and manager Robert Menchaca. She was living in a Winnebago motor home. The purpose of the appearance was to ask for acting work and to assert that she had achieved ten years of sobriety.
The interview became adversarial. Call-in listeners subjected her to sustained hostility. She was emotional and defensive.
She offered to take an on-air drug test in response to skepticism about her sobriety claims. Some callers were supportive. The broadcast as a whole has been widely criticized in retrospect as a public spectacle involving a vulnerable person.
The following day, May 8, 1999, while traveling back to California, Plato and Menchaca stopped at his mother’s home in Moore, Oklahoma, for Mother’s Day.
Plato went to lie down in the Winnebago. She was found there having overdosed on Soma, a muscle relaxant, and Vicodin. She was 34 years old. The medical examiner ruled her death a suicide.
Tyler Lambert
Dana Plato’s son Tyler Lambert was 14 years old when his mother died.
He struggled with depression, grief, and substance dependency for the years that followed.
On May 6, 2010, one day before the eleventh anniversary of his mother’s death, Tyler Lambert died by suicide in Kellyville, Oklahoma. He was 25.
For the full story of the show and the cast members who shared it with her, see the Diff’rent Strokes cast hub.
If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day by calling or texting 988.
Why did Dana Plato leave Diff’rent Strokes?
Dana Plato was written off Diff’rent Strokes in 1984 during the show’s sixth season after becoming pregnant by her fiancé, guitarist Lanny Lambert. The producers were concerned that a pregnancy would damage the wholesome image associated with her character Kimberly Drummond. She made occasional guest appearances in the final seasons but her regular role effectively ended when she was 20 years old.
How did Dana Plato die?
Dana Plato died on May 8, 1999, at age 34, of an overdose of the muscle relaxant Soma and the painkiller Vicodin. She was found in a Winnebago motor home in Moore, Oklahoma, the day after appearing on The Howard Stern Show. The medical examiner ruled her death a suicide. She had appeared on the Stern show the previous day to plead for acting work and assert her sobriety.
What happened to Dana Plato’s son Tyler Lambert?
Dana Plato’s son Tyler Lambert was 14 years old when his mother died in 1999. He struggled with depression, grief, and substance dependency for the years that followed. On May 6, 2010, one day before the eleventh anniversary of his mother’s death, Tyler Lambert died by suicide in Kellyville, Oklahoma. He was 25 years old.
Did Dana Plato have a criminal record?
Yes. In February 1991, facing severe financial difficulties in Las Vegas, Dana Plato robbed a video store at gunpoint and recovered less than $200. She was placed on probation. In 1992 she was arrested again for forging a prescription for Valium. Both incidents generated significant media coverage during a period when she was struggling financially after most of her childhood earnings had been misappropriated by a trusted accountant.
