Donna Moss

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Donnatella Moss

Janel Moloney as Donna Moss
First appearance Pilot
Last appearance Tomorrow
spoilers below
Statistics
Occupation Senior Assistant to the Deputy White House Chief of Staff (Seasons 1-6), Russell Campaign Senior Aide (Season 6), Santos Campaign Spokeswoman (Season 7), Chief of Staff to the First Lady (end of Season 7)
Portrayed by Janel Moloney
Created by Aaron Sorkin

Donnatella 'Donna' Moss is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama The West Wing. Donna is a recurring character during the first season, although she appears in every episode. She officially becomes part of the regular cast starting with the second season.

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.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Donna was born in 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 both Protestant and Catholic at different times, although given Josh's constant sarcasm she may very well have been neither one. 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, with the understanding that he would help her return to college studies upon reaching professional success. However, shortly after his graduation, he ended the relationship. Donna attempted to give her life a fresh start by moving to New Hampshire to work for the "Bartlet for President" campaign, even going so far as to pretend she'd already been hired as Josh Lyman's assistant. Despite his discovery of her deception, Josh hired her for the job.

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, she instead chose to become Chief of Staff to First Lady Helen Santos. 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.

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.

[edit] Donna and Josh's relationship

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Donna Moss and deputy White House chief of staff Josh Lyman had not only a close working relationship, but a close personal friendship as well.

Since the first episode of the show up until the middle of Season 6, when Donna quit her assistant's job, the pair constantly flirted and bantered with one another:

  • Donna encouraged Josh to date pollster Joey Lucas in the second season, which led to two revelations: Josh intentionally sabotages Donna's dating life and Joey thought Donna was encouraging Josh to pursue her as a misdirection ploy because Donna was in love with Josh, the first overt mention of a possible romance.
  • Donna had a brief affair with Republican House attorney, Cliff Calley, while he was involved in the investigation of misconduct relating to the concealment of President Bartlet's multiple sclerosis. Calley, due to his personal relationship with Moss, discovered that she lied under oath about keeping a diary, forcing Josh to cut a secret deal with Calley.
  • Things slowly picked up through Season 4 as Donna went through a brief fling with White House military advisor Jack Reese, another Republican, a fact which did not escape Josh's notice. Meanwhile, Josh's relationship with feminist Amy Gardner ended (although the two very briefly got back together at the beginning of Season 5). Donna recruited Josh to help her land a date with Jack, and although Josh attempted to help her it did more to reveal Josh's feelings for Donna than anything else. In the Season 4 finale, Amy called Donna on her feelings for Josh.
  • In the fifth season, on the advice of C.J. Cregg, Donna tried to broaden her horizons past Josh and pursue her own social life outside of the White House. This prompted Donna to sleep with journalist Colin Ayres while she was on a Congressional delegation to the Gaza Strip. Donna was badly injured in a terrorist attack shortly after her encounter with Colin, and both Josh and Colin rushed to her bedside at a military hospital in Germany. Colin found it strange that her boss flew across an ocean to be with her, but Josh unconvincingly claimed that he was just Donna's friend. Later, in the sixth season premiere NSF Thurmont, Colin called Josh out on his feelings for Donna while she was still in surgery and then left to go back to Gaza.
  • At the end of the fifth season finale Memorial Day, Josh was bringing a dozen red roses, a traditional sign of love, to Donna in her hospital room only to find that she'd been rushed into surgery for a pulmonary embolism, the same thing that had killed his father. Donna, however, came out of the surgery fine.
  • When Donna attempted to gain a job with the Santos campaign, Josh refused, saying "If you think that I don't miss you (Donna) every day..."
  • On the episode "The Al Smith Dinner", Donna has been hired on as a spokesperson for the Santos campaign by Lou. Josh is startled to discover that it is Donna whom Lou hired. Lou forces them "to work whatever it is between them out".
  • In the 7th season episode "The Cold", Josh and Donna kiss passionately after Donna informs Josh that Congressman Santos pulled even and ahead of Vinick in several key states. Later in the episode, Donna discreetly leaves the key to her hotel room on the table for Josh, but an assistant notices the key before Josh can retrieve it and returns the key to Donna.
  • In the seventh season episode "Election Day I", Josh and Donna have sex twice in Josh's hotel room. They are very apprehensive and unsure about what they are doing after they do it each time, but when Ronna and Edie Ortega finally bust them, they laugh and seem a little more jovial about it. Josh seems hesitant to push Donna about what happened, but shows urges to connect with her, especially after they have sex the first time and in the morning when he thinks she is sneaking out, he comes to the bathroom and leans in on her when she is looking at AP news, and he comes close to her very gently and softly, as if to hold her.
  • In the seventh season episode "Transition", Donna gave Josh four weeks to figure out what they want from each other; if they could not by that time, they probably were not meant to be together. At the end of the episode, Josh and Donna go on vacation together.
  • In the series finale, "Tomorrow," Josh and Donna are shown waking up in bed together.
The Bartlet Administration
The President: Josiah Bartlet
First Lady: Abigail Bartlet
The Vice President
John Hoynes (Seasons 1–4)
Bob Russell (Seasons 5–7)
Chief of Staff to the Vice President
Will Bailey (Seasons 5–7)
National Security Advisor
Nancy McNally (Seasons 2–7)
Deputy National Security Advisor
Kate Harper (Seasons 5–7)
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Admiral Percy Fitzwallace (Seasons 1–5)
General Nicholas Alexander (Seasons 6–7)		 White House Chief of Staff
Leo McGarry (Seasons 1–5)
C.J. Cregg (Seasons 6–7)
Assistant to the Chief of Staff
Margaret Hooper (Seasons 1–7)
Deputy Chief of Staff
Josh Lyman (Seasons 1–6)
Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff
Donna Moss (Seasons 1–6)
Presidential Secretary
Delores Landingham (Seasons 1–2)
Deborah Fiderer (Seasons 4–7)
Personal Aide to the President
Charlie Young (Seasons 1–6)
Chief of Staff to the First Lady
Amy Gardner (Seasons 4–5)		 White House Communications Director
Toby Ziegler (Seasons 1–7)
Will Bailey (Season 7)
Deputy Communications Director
Sam Seaborn (Seasons 1–4)
Will Bailey (Seasons 4–5)
White House Press Secretary
C.J. Cregg (Seasons 1–5)
Deputy Press Secretary
Annabeth Schott (Season 6)
Media Director
Mandy Hampton (Season 1)
These are the main characters on The West Wing.
For a longer and more complete list of characters, see List of characters on The West Wing.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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