Trivia

She was the mother of Tyler Lambert. Lambert committed suicide via a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on May 6, 2010, two days before the 11th anniversary of his mother's death.

Was fired from Diff'rent Strokes (1978) at the end of the 1983-1984 season due to her pregnancy. The producers were unwilling to write the pregnancy into the show, but she was able to return for guest appearances after her son was born.

Arrested for armed robbery in 1991.

Childhood dream was to be an Olympic figure skater.

She played the same character (Kimberly Drummond) in three different series: Diff'rent Strokes (1978), Hello, Larry (1979) and The Facts of Life (1979).

Danny Cooksey, who played Sam on Diff'rent Strokes, was a pallbearer at Dana's funeral.

Was adopted.

Appeared in a softcore erotica movie titled Different Strokes, which is intentionally linked to her famous series that was spelled Diff'rent Strokes.

Arrested for forging a valium prescription in 1992.

• Won the part of Violet in the movie Pretty Baby (1978), but turned it down so she

wouldn't be typecast in this type of role. Brooke Shields ended up playing the part. The same thing happened again in The Blue Lagoon (1980). She was offered the role of Emmeline Lestrange

• Auditioned for the role of Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist (1973)
• Tested for the role of Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).

Had breast implants done in 1994 in hopes of landing better film roles.

Although she didn't get the part of Regan in The Exorcist that famously went to Linda Blair, she did appear alongside Blair in a scene from The Exorcist 2.

Dana had a uncredited bit in Burt Reynolds The End (1978) with Kristy McNichol. Dana later appeared as a guest star (twice) on McNichol's TV series Family (1976).

Was #91 on VH-1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars (2005).

Has a younger sister, Heidi Plato.

Attended Sutter Jr. High in Winnetka, CA (1978).

Before unexpectedly passing, she had completed an interview with Howard Stern. Despite passing away at an early age, she earned over 30 acting credits throughout her career.

By age seven, she had already appeared in over 100 commercials as a child actor.

Birth mother's name is Linda Strain.

Friends with Todd Bridges.

Passed away on May 8th, which has been unofficially dubbed "Lemmy Day" because Motörhead's "The Ace Of Spades" sounds much like "The 8th of May". Ironically, she had a gig set up before her death where she would MC for a concert featuring Motorhead. May 8th is also Deborah Harmon's & David Keith's birthday.

Auditioned for the role of Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist (1973).

Tested for the role of Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).