Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten (February 28, 1960 â€" August 14, 1980),
known professionally as Dorothy Stratten, was a Canadian Playboy
Playmate, model, and actress. Stratten was the Playboy Playmate of the
Month for August 1979 and Playmate of the Year in 1980. Stratten
appeared in three comedy films and in at least two episodes of shows
broadcast on US network television. She was murdered at the age of 20
by her estranged husband and manager Paul Snider, who died by suicide
on the same day. Her death inspired two motion pictures, the 1981 TV
movie Death of a Centerfold and the 1983 theatrical release Star 80,
as well as the book The Killing of the Unicorn and the songs
"Californication" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, "The Best Was Yet to
Come" by Bryan Adams and "Cover Girl" by the Canadian rock band
Prism.Stratten was born in Grace Maternity Hospital in Vancouver,
British Columbia, on February 28, 1960, to Simon and Nelly
Hoogstraten, who had emigrated from the Netherlands. In 1961, her
brother John Arthur was born and, in May 1968, her sister Louise
Stratten.In 1977, Stratten was attending Centennial High School in
Coquitlam, British Columbia. Concurrently, she was working part-time
at a local Dairy Queen, where she met 26-year-old Vancouver-area club
promoter and pimp Paul Snider, who began dating her. Snider later had
a photographer take professional nude photos of her which were sent to
Playboy magazine in the summer of 1978. She was under the age of 19
(the legal age of majority in British Columbia), so she had to
persuade her mother to sign the model release form.In August 1978, she
moved to Los Angeles, where she was chosen as a finalist for the 25th
Anniversary Great Playmate Hunt. Snider joined her in October, and in
June the following year, they married. With her surname shortened to
Stratten, she became Playboy's Miss August 1979, and began working as
a bunny at the Playboy Club in Century City, Los Angeles. Hugh Hefner
had high hopes Stratten could have meaningful crossover success as an
actress. She featured in episodes of the television series Buck Rogers
and Fantasy Island. She also had small roles in 1979 in Americathon
and the roller disco comedy Skatetown, U.S.A., and a lead role in the
exploitation film Autumn Born.
known professionally as Dorothy Stratten, was a Canadian Playboy
Playmate, model, and actress. Stratten was the Playboy Playmate of the
Month for August 1979 and Playmate of the Year in 1980. Stratten
appeared in three comedy films and in at least two episodes of shows
broadcast on US network television. She was murdered at the age of 20
by her estranged husband and manager Paul Snider, who died by suicide
on the same day. Her death inspired two motion pictures, the 1981 TV
movie Death of a Centerfold and the 1983 theatrical release Star 80,
as well as the book The Killing of the Unicorn and the songs
"Californication" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, "The Best Was Yet to
Come" by Bryan Adams and "Cover Girl" by the Canadian rock band
Prism.Stratten was born in Grace Maternity Hospital in Vancouver,
British Columbia, on February 28, 1960, to Simon and Nelly
Hoogstraten, who had emigrated from the Netherlands. In 1961, her
brother John Arthur was born and, in May 1968, her sister Louise
Stratten.In 1977, Stratten was attending Centennial High School in
Coquitlam, British Columbia. Concurrently, she was working part-time
at a local Dairy Queen, where she met 26-year-old Vancouver-area club
promoter and pimp Paul Snider, who began dating her. Snider later had
a photographer take professional nude photos of her which were sent to
Playboy magazine in the summer of 1978. She was under the age of 19
(the legal age of majority in British Columbia), so she had to
persuade her mother to sign the model release form.In August 1978, she
moved to Los Angeles, where she was chosen as a finalist for the 25th
Anniversary Great Playmate Hunt. Snider joined her in October, and in
June the following year, they married. With her surname shortened to
Stratten, she became Playboy's Miss August 1979, and began working as
a bunny at the Playboy Club in Century City, Los Angeles. Hugh Hefner
had high hopes Stratten could have meaningful crossover success as an
actress. She featured in episodes of the television series Buck Rogers
and Fantasy Island. She also had small roles in 1979 in Americathon
and the roller disco comedy Skatetown, U.S.A., and a lead role in the
exploitation film Autumn Born.
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