3. Dana Plato
An interesting comparison point and stern warning for Lohan is Dana Plato, who rose to fame playing Kimberly Drummond on the classic TV show Diff'rent Strokes, and was the crush of just about every young lad who ever watched the show. Plato would later amid that, despite her wholesome image on the show, she would frequently abuse drugs and alcohol during filming, and was released from her contract near the end of the show's run for getting pregnant by her boyfriend (though did appear in a few post-pregnancy episodes). Plato then struggled to find work, and wound up starring in lousy B-movies and eventually soft-core porn. In 1991, Plato was arrested for robbing a video store, as the clerk she accosted immediately recognised her as Kimberly Drummond. She was later arrested for forging a Valium prescription, and it all ended tragically when, the day after a disastrous interview on Howard Stern, she died of a drug overdose, and though disputed by some, it was ruled a suicide. A few short years ago, Plato's son also committed suicide by gunshot.