Claim to fame: actress (Shoot the Moon, European Vacation)
DOB: May 6, 1964
Date of death: July 15, 1996
Diabetes Type: 1
Dana Hill was born in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as Dana Lynne Goetz. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was ten years old, which hindered her growth and ended a promising future in athletics. Before she adapted to her sugar-free diet and daily insulin shots, she fell ill, and was hospitalized numerous times.
Hill’s father directed commercials, and helped her landed her first job. She later took her mother’s maiden name, Hill, as her professional name in an effort to score roles on her own. She then threw herself into acting and starred in many TV shows and movies, including a guest appearance on the popular TV show Family and a regular role on CBS’ The Two of Us.
Hill’s impeded growth and childlike appearance allowed her to convincingly play roles younger than her years. Her first bit of stardom was in the role of a child targeted by a pornographer in the highly-rated, made-for-TV movie Fallen Angel, which earned her a Best Actress win at the Youth in Film Awards. Hill’s role in Shoot The Moon in 1982 is often called the best performance of her career, and she continued to be nominated for numerous young actress awards. That same year, she starred on stage in the live NBC theater presentation of The Member of the Wedding, and won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for her performance in Picnic.
Hill continued acting until her health increasingly deteriorated, forcing her to move on to voiceover work; she was a regular voice in the series Duckman. Well-known for her raspy voice, Hill voiced many animated characters, and was in high demand for her vocal abilities. In May of 1996, Hill fell into a diabetic coma. On June 5, she suffered a paralytic stroke, and passed away on July 15, 1996 at the age of 32.