18 Child Stars Gone (Very) Bad

17. Dana Plato

Dana Plato
Frank Carroll/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank / Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage.com

Another star of Diff’rent Strokes, this gorgeous young woman went off the deep end, her life ending in tragedy. After trying to establish herself as a serious actress and failing Plato moved to Vegas and started using drugs at the age of 14. In 1991 she robbed a video store at gunpoint and was given jail time and five years probation, along with help for her drug addiction. A year later, she was arrested for forging a Valium prescription. In 1999, at age 34, she died after overdosing on Vanadom and Vicodin in what was ruled a suicide.