Dorothy Stratten seemed destined for stardom.
Born Dorothy Hoogstraten in Canada, she was still a teenager when she met Paul Snider, a nightclub promoter who recognized her beauty and encouraged her to pose for Playboy. Before long, Dorothy had moved to Los Angeles, changed her name to Dorothy Stratten, and become one of the magazine’s brightest new stars.
In 1980, she was named Playboy’s Playmate of the Year and was beginning to make the transition into movies. Her career was growing, Hollywood was taking notice, and Dorothy was beginning to imagine a life independent of the man who had helped launch her career.
But Paul Snider was not ready to let her go.
As Dorothy’s success increased, their marriage deteriorated. Snider became increasingly jealous, possessive, and desperate as Dorothy separated from him and moved toward divorce. Dorothy had also begun a relationship with film director Peter Bogdanovich, making it even clearer that her life was moving in a direction that no longer included her husband.
On August 14, 1980, Dorothy agreed to meet Snider at the Los Angeles home they had once shared to discuss their separation and financial matters.
She never left.
Dorothy was sexually assaulted and murdered with a shotgun. Snider then killed himself.
Dorothy Stratten was just twenty years old.
Her death became one of Hollywood’s most notorious true crime cases, raising questions about obsession, control, exploitation, fame, and the danger women can face when they try to leave a possessive partner.
This is the murder of Dorothy Stratten—a young woman whose future was just beginning when the man who claimed to love her decided she would have no future without him.
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