# Dorothy Stratten
**Dorothy Stratten** (born Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten; 1960 – August 14, 1980) was a Canadian model and actress who was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for August 1979 and its 1980 Playmate of the Year, and who was murdered by her estranged husband, [Paul Snider](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-snider), in West Los Angeles at the age of 20[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0833617/bio/) • [2](https://www.who2.com/bio/dorothy-stratten/). Her death, shortly after she completed filming [Peter Bogdanovich](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-bogdanovich)'s *They All Laughed*, made her the subject of a [Pulitzer Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/pulitzer-prize)-winning article, two dramatized films, and a book by Bogdanovich[3](https://www.villagevoice.com/from-the-voice-archives-death-of-a-playmate/) • [2](https://www.who2.com/bio/dorothy-stratten/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name and place | Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, born 1960[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0833617/bio/) |
| Playboy career | Playmate of the Month, August 1979 issue; Playmate of the Year, 1980[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0833617/bio/) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/08/16/death-of-a-playboy-playmate/c45b12c0-5027-46b4-9611-7c02fc916acb/) |
| Marriage | Married Paul Snider on June 1, 1979; separated in spring 1980[5](https://www.nndb.com/people/208/000022142/) • [6](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/58691/1/12pdf.pdf) |
| Death | Shot by Snider with a 12-gauge shotgun on August 14, 1980, in his West Los Angeles apartment; he then killed himself[7](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a12500777/dorothy-stratten-hugh-hefner-playboy-playmate/) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/08/16/death-of-a-playboy-playmate/c45b12c0-5027-46b4-9611-7c02fc916acb/) |
| Films | *Autumn Born* (1979), *Galaxina* (1980), *They All Laughed* (1981, released after her death)[8](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/dorothy-stratten-hollywood-horror-story) • [9](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56706-THEY-ALLLAUGHED?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=1&sid=29a49d68-62c4-4725-9cab-030d28b95c69&sr=3.019346) |
| Portrayals | *Death of a Centerfold* (1981, NBC television movie) and *Star 80* (1983, Bob Fosse's last film)[2](https://www.who2.com/bio/dorothy-stratten/) |
| Book | Peter Bogdanovich, *The Killing of the Unicorn: Dorothy Stratten 1960-1980* (William Morrow, 1984)[10](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL27518666M/The_Killing_of_the_Unicorn_Dorothy_Stratten_1960-1980) |
| Burial | Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles[5](https://www.nndb.com/people/208/000022142/) |
## Early life and discovery
Stratten grew up in [Coquitlam](https://www.edgepedia.org/coquitlam), on the outskirts of Vancouver, the daughter of Dutch immigrants[8](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/dorothy-stratten-hollywood-horror-story) • [11](https://globalnews.ca/news/7273712/dorothy-stratten-murder-40-years/). In 1978, while a high school senior working part-time at a [Dairy Queen](https://www.edgepedia.org/dairy-queen), she met Paul Snider, a club promoter and pimp who had returned to Canada after an unsuccessful stint in Los Angeles[8](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/dorothy-stratten-hollywood-horror-story) • [11](https://globalnews.ca/news/7273712/dorothy-stratten-murder-40-years/). Snider courted her, became her self-styled manager, and persuaded her to pose nude for photographs he submitted to Playboy, which had announced its Great Playmate Hunt, a contest to find a centerfold for its 25th anniversary issue[6](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/58691/1/12pdf.pdf) • [8](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/dorothy-stratten-hollywood-horror-story).
Her name was part of the packaging: Hoogstraten was shortened to the more marquee-friendly Stratten, and everything she did, by one account, had to go through Snider[8](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/dorothy-stratten-hollywood-horror-story). Although she did not win the contest, publisher [Hugh Hefner](https://www.edgepedia.org/hugh-hefner) was impressed by her test shots and flew her to Los Angeles, her first plane ride, for further photography[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/08/16/death-of-a-playboy-playmate/c45b12c0-5027-46b4-9611-7c02fc916acb/) • [8](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/dorothy-stratten-hollywood-horror-story).
## Playboy and film career
Stratten appeared as Playmate of the Month in the August 1979 issue of Playboy, and she married Snider in June 1979[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0833617/bio/) • [5](https://www.nndb.com/people/208/000022142/). In early 1980 she was named Playmate of the Year, an honor announced that April[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/08/16/death-of-a-playboy-playmate/c45b12c0-5027-46b4-9611-7c02fc916acb/). She also worked briefly at the Century City Playboy Club while auditioning for film and television roles[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/08/16/death-of-a-playboy-playmate/c45b12c0-5027-46b4-9611-7c02fc916acb/) • [12](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dorothy-stratten/).
Her screen work came quickly and in low-budget productions. She had small parts in *Americathon* and *Skatetown, U.S.A.* (both 1979), a lead role in the exploitation thriller *Autumn Born* (1979), and the title role in the science-fiction comedy *Galaxina* (1980), playing an android[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0833617/bio/) • [8](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/dorothy-stratten-hollywood-horror-story). She appeared on *The Tonight Show* and in a Playboy television special, and her public profile rose with the Playmate of the Year title[8](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/dorothy-stratten-hollywood-horror-story).
**Bogdanovich and *They All Laughed*.** Stratten met the director Peter Bogdanovich at the [Playboy Mansion](https://www.edgepedia.org/playboy-mansion), and in 1980 he cast her as Dolores Martin in his romantic comedy *They All Laughed*, alongside [Audrey Hepburn](https://www.edgepedia.org/audrey-hepburn), Ben Gazzara, and [John Ritter](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-ritter)[8](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/dorothy-stratten-hollywood-horror-story) • [9](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56706-THEY-ALLLAUGHED?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=1&sid=29a49d68-62c4-4725-9cab-030d28b95c69&sr=3.019346). The two began a love affair during filming[2](https://www.who2.com/bio/dorothy-stratten/). She separated from Snider in the spring of 1980 and moved into Bogdanovich's Bel-Air house after the film wrapped[6](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/58691/1/12pdf.pdf) • [8](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/dorothy-stratten-hollywood-horror-story). *They All Laughed* was released in November 1981, more than a year after her death, and its opening credits carry the dedication "The Company dedicates this picture to Dorothy Stratten"[9](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56706-THEY-ALLLAUGHED?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=1&sid=29a49d68-62c4-4725-9cab-030d28b95c69&sr=3.019346).
## Death
Snider reacted to the separation by hiring a private detective to follow Stratten and Bogdanovich, and on August 14, 1980, he persuaded Stratten to visit the West Los Angeles apartment they had shared, apparently to discuss the separation[8](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/dorothy-stratten-hollywood-horror-story) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/08/16/death-of-a-playboy-playmate/c45b12c0-5027-46b4-9611-7c02fc916acb/). According to police, Snider killed her with a 12-gauge shotgun and then turned the weapon on himself; the two bodies were found by friends the next morning[7](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a12500777/dorothy-stratten-hugh-hefner-playboy-playmate/) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/08/16/death-of-a-playboy-playmate/c45b12c0-5027-46b4-9611-7c02fc916acb/). The killing reportedly occurred after Snider learned of her affair with Bogdanovich[13](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-04-ca-4-story.html). Stratten was 20 years old[2](https://www.who2.com/bio/dorothy-stratten/).
## Aftermath and portrayals
The case drew immediate national attention. Teresa Carpenter's Village Voice cover story "Death of a Playmate," published in November 1980, won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing[3](https://www.villagevoice.com/from-the-voice-archives-death-of-a-playmate/). The first dramatization was the NBC television movie *Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story* (1981), with [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://www.edgepedia.org/jamie-lee-curtis) as Stratten and [Bruce Weitz](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-weitz) as Snider[2](https://www.who2.com/bio/dorothy-stratten/) • [12](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dorothy-stratten/). [Bob Fosse](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-fosse) then made *Star 80* (1983), his last theatrical film, with Mariel Hemingway as Stratten and Eric Roberts as Snider; the title came from Snider's vanity license plate[2](https://www.who2.com/bio/dorothy-stratten/) • [6](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/58691/1/12pdf.pdf). Bogdanovich refused to lend his name to *Star 80* and threatened a lawsuit over his fictionalized onscreen counterpart, "Aram Nicholas"[14](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58102-STAR-80?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=3c8e3943-d27a-4fd6-9c73-d767a6f4d243&sr=0.1596508).
**The Bogdanovich book and feud.** In 1984 Bogdanovich published *The Killing of the Unicorn: Dorothy Stratten 1960-1980*, an account that blamed Hefner's Playboy empire for playing a role in her death and claimed Hefner had demeaned her[10](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL27518666M/The_Killing_of_the_Unicorn_Dorothy_Stratten_1960-1980) • [13](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-04-ca-4-story.html). Hefner responded publicly, saying the published criticism contributed to a stroke he suffered in early 1985, and the two men remained locked in a long-running feud[15](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/03/30/The-feud-over-a-Playmates-death/6496481006800/) • [13](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-04-ca-4-story.html).
Bogdanovich's connection to the family took a further turn when he married Stratten's younger sister, Louise Hoogstraten, also known as L. B. Stratten. Sources differ on the date: the Los Angeles Times reported the wedding in a January 1989 item, while other accounts place it in 1988; the marriage ended in divorce in 2001[13](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-04-ca-4-story.html) • [2](https://www.who2.com/bio/dorothy-stratten/).
**Chippendales connection.** Snider also has a place in the history of the [Chippendales](https://www.edgepedia.org/chippendales) touring revue: he suggested to club owner Somen "Steve" Banerjee that the club become a strip show for women, and Stratten reportedly suggested that the dancers wear bow tie collars and cuffs as a nod to the Playboy bunnies, a look that became the troupe's trademark[16](https://time.com/6235751/welcome-to-chippendales-hulu-true-story/).
Stratten's story has continued to attract retellings, including documentaries, books, and art exhibitions examining how her image was constructed and circulated by Playboy and by the men who controlled her career[17](https://www.wallpaper.com/fashion-beauty/fragrance/-marissa-zappas-cristine-brache-centerfolds-exhibition).
## References
1. [Dorothy Stratten – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0833617/bio/)
2. [Dorothy Stratten Biography, Who2](https://www.who2.com/bio/dorothy-stratten/)
3. [From the Voice Archives: Death of a Playmate, The Village Voice](https://www.villagevoice.com/from-the-voice-archives-death-of-a-playmate/)
4. [Death of a Playboy Playmate, The Washington Post (August 16, 1980)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/08/16/death-of-a-playboy-playmate/c45b12c0-5027-46b4-9611-7c02fc916acb/)
5. [Dorothy Stratten, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/208/000022142/)
6. [History in the Media: Film and Television](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/58691/1/12pdf.pdf)
7. [The Story of Playboy's Most Tragic Playmate, Harper's Bazaar](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a12500777/dorothy-stratten-hugh-hefner-playboy-playmate/)
8. [Forgotten Star Dorothy Stratten Almost Lived the Hollywood Fairy Tale. It Ended as a Horror Story., Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/dorothy-stratten-hollywood-horror-story)
9. [They All Laughed (1981), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56706-THEY-ALLLAUGHED?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=1&sid=29a49d68-62c4-4725-9cab-030d28b95c69&sr=3.019346)
10. [The Killing of the Unicorn: Dorothy Stratten 1960-1980, Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL27518666M/The_Killing_of_the_Unicorn_Dorothy_Stratten_1960-1980)
11. [The grisly murder of B.C.-born Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten still resonates 40 years later, Global News](https://globalnews.ca/news/7273712/dorothy-stratten-murder-40-years/)
12. [Dorothy Stratten – Model, Actress, Playmate, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dorothy-stratten/)
13. [FIRST OFF . . ., Los Angeles Times (January 4, 1989)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-04-ca-4-story.html)
14. [Star 80, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58102-STAR-80?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=3c8e3943-d27a-4fd6-9c73-d767a6f4d243&sr=0.1596508)
15. [The feud over a Playmate's death, UPI Archives (March 30, 1985)](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/03/30/The-feud-over-a-Playmates-death/6496481006800/)
16. [The True Story Behind Hulu's Welcome to Chippendales, TIME](https://time.com/6235751/welcome-to-chippendales-hulu-true-story/)
17. [Perfumer Marissa Zappas and artist Cristine Brache create a scented exhibition inspired by a Hollywood tragedy, Wallpaper](https://www.wallpaper.com/fashion-beauty/fragrance/-marissa-zappas-cristine-brache-centerfolds-exhibition)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license