Donnatella 'Donna' Moss is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama The West Wing. Donna is officially a recurring character during the first season, although she appears in every episode, making her a de facto regular. She officially becomes part of the regular cast starting with the second season. This article is about a TV show. ... Actress Janel Moloney as Senior Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff Donna Moss on NBCs The West Wing. Photo by NBC. This is a copyrighted image that has been released by a company or organisation to promote their works in the media. ... Pilot is the first episode of the American serial drama, The West Wing. ... Tomorrow is episode 154 of The West Wing. ... Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter, producer and playwright. ... Janel Moloney at a rally for John Kerry in October 2004 in Fort Collins, Colorado Janel Moloney (born October 3, 1969) is an American actor, best known for her role as Donna Moss on The West Wing. ... A fictional character is any person, persona, identity, or entity that is created from ones imagination or from an adaption of an existing entity. ... Janel Moloney at a rally for John Kerry in October 2004 in Fort Collins, Colorado Janel Moloney (born October 3, 1969) is an American actor, best known for her role as Donna Moss on The West Wing. ... For other uses of Serial, see Serial (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Drama (disambiguation). ... The West Wing is a popular and widely acclaimed American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin and produced and co-written by John Wells. ... A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who is not a main character, but appears from time to time during the series run. ...

For most of the series, Donna is Senior Assistant to Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (or, as she jokingly calls herself in one episode, the "Deputy Deputy Chief of Staff"). Although all of the senior staff's assistants are continuing characters with personal backgrounds, Donna is the most well-defined and frequently featured staff member on the assistant level. The Deputy White House Chief of Staff is the top aide to the White House Chief of Staff, who is the senior aide to the President of the United States. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Character biography

Donna was born outside of Warroad, Minnesota, to an Irish-American father and an Italian-American mother. Donna's United States citizenship was briefly revoked after the Minnesota town in which she was born ended up in Canada due to border changes. However, her citizenship was quickly restored after the discovery of a grandfather clause in the law. Donna has been identified by Josh as Protestant. He also made a remark about her Catholic school uniform, although it could have been his sarcasm. She later moved to Wisconsin where she attended University of Wisconsin-Madison and dropped out half-way through to support her older boyfriend as he went through med school. After breaking up with her boyfriend, Donna left Madison and drove to New Hampshire to work for the "Bartlet for America" campaign, even going so far as to pretend she'd already been hired as Josh Lyman's assistant. Josh discovered the deception but was somewhat amused by it, and impressed by her gumption, so he gave her the job in reality. It is mentioned that she briefly left the campaign to return to her boyfriend, but returned following an incident when, after Donna broke her foot in a car accident, her boyfriend chose to meet his friends for a drink rather than immediately pick her up from the hospital. Warroad is a city located in Roseau County, Minnesota, at the southwest corner of Lake of the Woods. ... Irish Americans (Irish: Gael-Mheiriceánach) are citizens of the United States who can claim ancestry originating in the west European island of Ireland. ... An Italian American is an American of Italian descent and/or dual citizenship. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... University of Wisconsin redirects here. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Donna remained Josh's assistant during Josiah Bartlet's first presidential term and the beginning of his second. Her job during this time usually took the form of little more than a secretary (albeit in an unusually challenging and glorified environment) until Josh sent her as an observer for an American diplomatic mission to Gaza, in response to her request for opportunities for job growth. While in Gaza, Donna was seriously injured as a result of a terrorist attack on the American convoy. She gradually recovered from these injuries and returned to her duties at the White House, but eventually quit her job (as depicted in the season 6 episode Impact Winter) to become senior aide to Will Bailey - Vice President Bob Russell's presidential campaign manager (as revealed in the episode Faith-Based Initiative). Her new position placed her in direct conflict with Josh, who had convinced US Congressman Matt Santos to also run for the Democratic nomination, with himself as campaign manager. After Santos won the nomination, Donna applied to work for Josh at the Santos campaign. However, all of the personal attacks on Santos that Donna made as Russell's press secretary forced Josh to refuse her application. Later, on the Santos campaign trail, Donna was hired (unbeknownst to Josh) by Communications Director Louise "Lou" Thornton as a campaign spokesperson. After Santos's victory, Donna was offered a position in the new administration as Deputy White House Press Secretary. However, having become close with Helen Santos during the campaign, she was also offered the position as Chief of Staff to the First Lady. She chose to accept this offer, as she felt she could not work for Josh while something was also happening between them personally. Her large White House office, which she was shocked to see, symbolizes her growth since the beginning of the series, when her place of work was a cubicle in Josh's bullpen. For the signatory of the Declaration of Independence, see Josiah Bartlett. ... Not to be confused with the Spanish name Garza or the Egyptian town of Giza. ... The following is a timeline of acts and failed attempts that can be considered terrorism. ... For other uses, see Convoy (disambiguation). ... William Will Bailey, is a fictional character played by Joshua Malina on the television serial drama The West Wing, holding various posts in the White House Department of Communications. ... This article is about the fictional character. ... Matthew Vincente Matt Santos is a fictional character on the American television show The West Wing, played by Jimmy Smits. ... The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official with a rank one step below Presidential Cabinet level. ... First Lady Laura Bush and former first ladies (from left to right) Rosalynn Carter, Sen. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... For other uses, see White House (disambiguation). ...

Donna is a Democrat, but is sometimes critical of the logic behind various Democratic Party policies. Her political debates with Josh, which are often left unresolved, are one of the show's trademark methods of exploring multiple sides of an issue. Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      Further information: Politics of the United States#Organization of American political parties The Democratic...

Relationship with Josh Lyman

The chemistry between Janel Moloney and Bradley Whitford, who portrayed Josh Lyman, caught producers' attention early on. After seeing Moloney and Whitford perform together in the pilot, Aaron Sorkin added a scene in which Donna argues with Josh to change his shirt before attending a meeting, eventually convincing him by saying that "All the girls think you look really hot in this shirt." Although Mandy Hampton was originally intended to be Josh's romantic interest, by the end of the show's first season the character has been written out and the role taken over by Donna. Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an Emmy Award-winning American actor. ... Dr. Madeline Mandy Hampton is a fictional character played by Moira Kelly on the television serial drama The West Wing. ...

During the first four seasons, the relationship remains in stasis, with neither daring to make any real romantic move on the other. Sorkin admits that he was more inclined to move the relationship forward, but every time he discussed the possibility fellow executive producer Thomas Schlamme would shout, "No! Wait another year!" Besides, adds Sorkin, "Sexual and romantic tension is, to me, much more fun than taking the tension away by having the sex and romance."^[1] Thomas Schlamme (born May 22, 1950) is one of the leading directors of television. ...

Other characters occasionally speculate on the pair's relationship. When Donna encourages Josh to ask Joey Lucas on a date, Joey guesses that Donna is attempting to cover her own feelings for Josh through misdirection.^[2] During her first meeting with Josh, Amy Gardner asks him if he is dating his assistant,^[3] and later asks Donna directly, "Are you in love with Josh?", although the show cuts to another scene before we can see the answer.^[4] When Donna recruits Josh to help her get a date with Jack Reese, Josh's behavior leads Jack to wonder whether he is getting "in between anything".^[5] Josephine Joey Lucas, is a fictional character played by Marlee Matlin on the television serial drama The West Wing. ... Amelia Amy Gardner is the fictional Director of Legislative Affairs in the Matt Santos administration and a womens rights activist on The West Wing. ... Jack Reese is a character on the popular TV drama, The West Wing. ...

Following Sorkin and Schlamme's departure from the series at the end of the fourth season, the relationship takes some new turns, with Donna attempting to broaden her horizons past Josh and pursue her own social life outside of the White House. When Donna is badly injured in a terrorist attack in Gaza, Josh rushes overseas to keep vigil at her bedside at a military hospital in Germany. In the sixth season episode "Impact Winter," Donna finally breaks loose and quits her job as assistant to Josh, seeing no chance of career advancement. She joins the Russell campaign, which later puts her in direct confrontation with her former boss. After Santos beats Russell for the Democratic nomination, Donna wants to return as Josh's deputy in season 7 premiere "The Ticket," but he finds himself forced to reject her as she is on record trashing his candidate while she was still working for the other team. During their conversation he reveals that he misses her "every day." Donna is eventually hired anyway. Impact Winter is episode 119 of The West Wing. ... This article is about the fictional character. ... Matthew Vincente Matt Santos is a fictional character on the American television show The West Wing, played by Jimmy Smits. ... The Ticket is episode 133 of The West Wing. ...

In the season seven episode "The Cold," Josh and Donna kiss passionately as she brings him the good news that Congressman Santos has caught up to Vinick and that they are tied in the national tracking polls. Josh apologizes, saying the kiss was "inappropriate", but Donna says "it was bound to happen sometime." Donna talks to Will, who says pursuing a relationship with Josh wouldn't be inappropriate, and to C.J. about the matter. Later in the episode, Donna discreetly leaves the key to her hotel room on the table for Josh, but Edith Ortega notices the key before Josh can retrieve it and returns the key to Donna. In "Election Day," Josh and Donna consummate their relationship, sleeping together twice, both times on her initiative. Donna gives Josh four weeks to figure out "what they want from each other." She insists that if this cannot happen within four weeks, their relationship will remain in a constant state of ambiguity, which is not what Donna wants. After talking to Lou as well as his deputy-of-choice Sam Seaborn, Josh realizes that he desperately needs to take a break from work. At the end of the episode, Josh and Donna go on vacation together. In the series finale "Tomorrow," Josh and Donna wake up in bed together on the morning of Inauguration Day. The Cold is episode 145 of The West Wing. ... Arnold Vinick was a fictional character on the television series The West Wing played by Alan Alda. ... Election Day Part I is episode 148 of The West Wing. ... Samuel Norman Sam Seaborn is a fictional character played by Rob Lowe on the television serial drama The West Wing. ... Tomorrow is episode 154 of The West Wing. ...

See also

• The West Wing
• List of characters on The West Wing
• List of politicians on The West Wing
• List of The West Wing episodes

The West Wing is a popular and widely acclaimed American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin and produced and co-written by John Wells. ... The television series The West Wing is a political drama series which was originally broadcast on NBC. In addition to the main (regular) cast, there are numerous secondary characters who only appear periodically, and some characters who are mentioned but never appeared. ... The following is a list of fictional political figures that have appeared or been mentioned in the television program The West Wing. ... The following is an episode list for the NBC serial drama television series The West Wing. ...

References