Dorothy Stratten — Biography
Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten, professionally known as Dorothy Stratten, entered the world on February 28, 1960, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, born to Dutch-immigrant parents Simon and Nelly Hoogstraten. She spent her formative years in Coquitlam, a working-class area where she lived with her younger siblings John and Louise after her father's departure. To help her mother make ends meet, she took employment at a neighborhood Dairy Queen while attending Centennial High School, where peers remembered her as pleasant and sociable, more inclined toward social gatherings than athletics. Her sense of duty and naturally reserved demeanor characterized her youth.
Her passage into professional modeling commenced in 1978 when Paul Snider, a 26-year-old nightclub promoter with involvement in illicit activities, spotted her at the Dairy Queen and persuaded the seventeen-year-old to participate in nude photography sessions. These images were submitted to Playboy's 25th Anniversary Great Playmate Hunt competition, with her mother providing necessary consent due to her age. Relocating to Los Angeles in August 1978, she reached the competition finals but finished behind Candy Loving. Playboy magazine featured her as their August 1979 Playmate of the Month and subsequently crowned her Playmate of the Year in 1980, awarding her two hundred thousand dollars in monetary compensation and merchandise. Photographer Mario Casilli captured her pictorials, and she participated in television features including Playboy's Roller Disco and Pajama Party from 1979.
Her entertainment career broadened to include acting roles in Americathon and Skatetown U.S.A., both from 1979, and the science fiction film Galaxina released in 1980 where she played the starring android character. Television appearances followed in series such as Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Fantasy Island. Director Peter Bogdanovich cast her in They All Laughed from 1981, sharing scenes with Audrey Hepburn and John Ritter, positioning her as an emerging talent.
Standing five feet nine inches tall and weighing approximately one hundred twenty-three pounds, she possessed distinctive blonde hair and blue eyes with measurements of thirty-six, twenty-four, thirty-six inches. Her appearance was consistently praised for its natural quality by industry colleagues.
Her life concluded tragically on August 14, 1980, at age twenty, when her estranged husband Paul Snider murdered and assaulted her with a firearm before taking his own life at their former Los Angeles residence. The couple had married in June 1979 before their union deteriorated under Snider's possessive nature and her relationship with Bogdanovich. Her death subsequently became
Her passage into professional modeling commenced in 1978 when Paul Snider, a 26-year-old nightclub promoter with involvement in illicit activities, spotted her at the Dairy Queen and persuaded the seventeen-year-old to participate in nude photography sessions. These images were submitted to Playboy's 25th Anniversary Great Playmate Hunt competition, with her mother providing necessary consent due to her age. Relocating to Los Angeles in August 1978, she reached the competition finals but finished behind Candy Loving. Playboy magazine featured her as their August 1979 Playmate of the Month and subsequently crowned her Playmate of the Year in 1980, awarding her two hundred thousand dollars in monetary compensation and merchandise. Photographer Mario Casilli captured her pictorials, and she participated in television features including Playboy's Roller Disco and Pajama Party from 1979.
Her entertainment career broadened to include acting roles in Americathon and Skatetown U.S.A., both from 1979, and the science fiction film Galaxina released in 1980 where she played the starring android character. Television appearances followed in series such as Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Fantasy Island. Director Peter Bogdanovich cast her in They All Laughed from 1981, sharing scenes with Audrey Hepburn and John Ritter, positioning her as an emerging talent.
Standing five feet nine inches tall and weighing approximately one hundred twenty-three pounds, she possessed distinctive blonde hair and blue eyes with measurements of thirty-six, twenty-four, thirty-six inches. Her appearance was consistently praised for its natural quality by industry colleagues.
Her life concluded tragically on August 14, 1980, at age twenty, when her estranged husband Paul Snider murdered and assaulted her with a firearm before taking his own life at their former Los Angeles residence. The couple had married in June 1979 before their union deteriorated under Snider's possessive nature and her relationship with Bogdanovich. Her death subsequently became
