Dominique Dunne Biography

Dominique Ellen Dunne was born on November 23, 1959 in Santa Monica, California to Dominick and Ellen Dunne. She was the youngest of three children. Dunne's family was very prominent in the area where her father was a film producer and in later years, he would become a journalist and author, while her mother a ranching heiress, was an actress. Dunne attended schools in Los Angeles, Connecticut and Colorado. She briefly attended school in Florence, Italy where she studied art. She returned to Los Angeles where she worked as a translator and receptionist. It was then that Dunne set her sights on acting. Her first role in1979 was a made for television movie called "Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker" with Katherine Helmond and Craig T. Nelson. A few minor television roles followed, including "Hart to Hart", "Fame", "Family", and "Breaking Away". She then starred in some TV movies, such as "Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker" with Christopher Knight, "Valentine Magic on Love Island" with Adrienne Barbeau, and "The Day the Loving Stopped" with Valerie Harper and Ally Sheedy. She finally received her big break when she was cast as "Dana Freeling" in "Poltergeist" which was written by Steven Spielberg.