Dominique Dunne Wiki, Biography, Age, Spouse, Height, Net Worth, Fast Facts

Dunne’s breakthrough came with the starring role of Dana Freeling in the horror film Poltergeist (1982), establishing her as a horror icon.^[2][3] She went on to headline the western film The Shadow Riders (1982), and portray Amy Kent on the crime series CHiPs (1982). Before her murder, Dunne was cast in the miniseries V (1983); however, she died midway through filming, and was replaced by Blair Tefkin.

On October 30, 1982, Dunne was strangled by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, during an argument on the driveway of her West Hollywood home and fell into a coma, dying five days later on November 4, 1982. In a court case which gained significant media coverage, Sweeney was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Dunne’s death, and served three and a half years in prison.

Dominique Dunne Wiki – Biography

Family, childhood and education

Dunne was born in Santa Monica, California, the youngest child of Ellen Beatriz “Lenny” (née Griffin), a ranching heiress, and Dominick Dunne, a writer, producer, and actor.^[1] Dunne had Irish and Mexican ancestry, her father was born and raised in an Irish Catholic family with her maternal grandfather an Irish-American and her maternal grandmother a Mexican-American who was from Sonora, Mexico.^[4][5] Dunne had two older brothers, Alexander “Alex” and Griffin Dunne, who is an actor and director. She was also the niece of married novelists John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion.^[6] Her godparents were Maria Cooper-Janis, daughter of actors Gary Cooper and Veronica “Rocky” Cooper, and producer Martin Manulis.^[7] Her parents divorced in 1967.^[8]

Dunne attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, and Fountain Valley School in Fountain, Colorado. After graduation, she spent a year in Florence, Italy, where she learned Italian.^[9] She studied acting at Milton Katselas’ Workshop and appeared in various stage productions, including West Side Story, The Mousetrap, and My Three Angels.^[6]

Acting career

Early roles and Poltergeist

Dunne’s first role was in the 1979 television film, Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker. She then got supporting roles in episodes of popular 1980s television series, such as Lou Grant, Family, Hart to Hart, and Fame. Dunne also had a recurring role on the comedy-drama television series, Breaking Away, and she also appeared in several other television films.

After her television appearances, in 1981, Dunne was cast in the supernatural horror film Poltergeist in the main role of Dana Freeling,^[10] the teenaged daughter of a couple whose family is terrorized by malevolent ghosts. The film was produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper,^[11][12] and served as her feature film debut. Poltergeist was theatrically released in 1982, which marks both her first starring role, and her only appearance in a theatrical feature.^[13] It went on to become a critical and commercial success.^[14] It was the eighth-highest-grossing film of 1982,^[15] and since its release, it has acquired a cult following.^[16]

Posthumous releases and unfinished projects

Dunne appeared posthumously in the Hill Street Blues episode, “Requiem For a Hairbag,” which aired on November 18, 1982, only two weeks after her death. In the episode, she played a teenage mother who was a victim of parental abuse and chose to give her baby up for adoption, out of fear of repeating the cycle of abuse that she endured with her parents; due to an altercation with John Sweeney, her abusive partner, her bruises on screen were natural. The episode aired on November 18, 1982, 12 days after her funeral, and it was dedicated to her memory.^[17]

Dunne was cast in the miniseries V in 1982; she died during filming, so her role was portrayed by actress Blair Tefkin. According to series creator Kenneth Johnson, recovered footage of Dunne was used in a cameo appearance.^[18] The series was released in 1983,^[19] and is dedicated to her memory.^[20] She was also set to reprise the role of Freeling in the following installments of the franchise, but she died before production began on the sequels; Poltergeist II: The Other Side,^[21] filmed in 1985 and released in 1986,^[21] it explains her character’s absence by stating that she has gone off to attend college.^[22]

Dominique Dunne Personal life and death

Relationship with John Sweeney

Dunne met John Thomas Sweeney, a sous-chef at the restaurant Ma Maison, at a party in 1981. After a few weeks of dating, they moved into a one-bedroom house together on Rangely Avenue in West Hollywood.^[23] Due to Sweeney’s jealousy and possessiveness, however, the relationship quickly deteriorated. The couple frequently fought, and Sweeney began to physically abuse Dunne. According to one account, during an argument on August 27, 1982, he yanked handfuls of her hair out by the roots. Frightened, Dunne fled to her mother’s house, where Sweeney showed up and began to bang on the door and windows, demanding to be let in. Dunne’s mother told him to leave and threatened to call the police. A few days later, Dunne returned to the home which she shared with Sweeney, and the two resumed their relationship.^[24]

During another argument at their home on September 26, 1982, Sweeney grabbed Dunne by the throat, threw her on the floor, and began to strangle her. A friend who was staying with the couple at the time heard “loud gagging sounds” and ran into the room where Dunne was being physically attacked. Dunne told the friend that Sweeney had tried to kill her, but Sweeney denied the claim and asked Dunne to come back to bed. She pretended that she was going to comply with his request but she snuck out of the bathroom window. When Sweeney heard Dunne start the engine of her car, he ran out and jumped on the hood of the car. Dunne stopped the car long enough for Sweeney to jump off the hood and then she drove away. For the next few days, she stayed with her mother and she also stayed at the homes of her friends. She later called Sweeney and ended the relationship. After he moved out, she had the locks changed and moved back into the Rangely Avenue home.^[24]

Death

On October 30, 1982, a few weeks after Sweeney and Dunne broke up, Dunne was at her West Hollywood home rehearsing for the miniseries V with actor David Packer.^[25] While she was speaking to a female friend on the phone, Sweeney had the operator break into the conversation. Dunne told her friend, “Oh God, it’s Sweeney. Let me get him off the phone.” Ten minutes later, however, Sweeney showed up at Dunne’s home. After speaking to him through the locked door, Dunne agreed to speak to him on the porch, while Packer remained inside. Outside, the two began to argue. Later, Packer said that he heard smacking sounds, two screams, and a thud. Concerned, he called police, but he was informed that Dunne’s home was out of their jurisdiction. Packer then phoned a friend and told him that if he was found dead, John Sweeney was his killer.

Packer left the home through the back entrance, approached the driveway, and saw Sweeney in some nearby bushes, kneeling over Dunne. Sweeney told Packer to call the police. When police arrived, Sweeney met them in the driveway, with his hands in the air and stated, “I killed my girlfriend, and I tried to kill myself.” Sweeney later testified that he and Dunne had argued, but he could not remember what happened after their exchange. He claimed that he could only recall being on top of her, with his hands around her neck.^[24]

Dunne was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she was placed on life support.^[26] She never regained consciousness. Over the following days, doctors performed brain scans, which revealed that due to oxygen deprivation, she had no brain activity. On November 4, her parents consented to have her removed from life support.^[24] At the request of her mother, Dunne’s kidneys and heart were donated to transplant recipients.^[27] Her funeral was held on November 6 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. Her godfather, Martin Manulis, delivered the eulogy.^[28] She was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.^[29]

Arrest of Sweeney

On the night of Dunne’s attack, responding officers found Sweeney standing by Dunne’s unconscious body in her driveway. A spokesman for the West Hollywood sheriff later told reporters that Sweeney told officers, “I killed my girlfriend.” He was immediately arrested and charged with attempted murder.^[30] Those charges were dropped after Dunne’s death, however, and subsequently, Sweeney was charged with first-degree murder, to which he pleaded not guilty.^[31] Sweeney was later charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm when, during a preliminary trial hearing, he admitted that he and Dunne had a physical altercation on September 26, 1982, the day before she filmed the Hill Street Blues episode, in which she appeared with visible bruises on her face and body. He denied assaulting Dunne, however, claiming that she accidentally incurred the bruises when he tried to prevent her from leaving their home.^[32]

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Net Worth

The Estimated Net worth is $80K – USD $85k.