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{{Person
 
{{Person
|name=Donna Moss
+
|name =
|image=[[Image:Donna.jpg|240px]]
+
|image = Donna.jpg
  +
|birthname = Donnatella Moss
|positions=
 
 
|nickname = Donna
|seasons=[[Season 1|1]], [[Season 2|2]], [[Season 3|3]], [[Season 4|4]], [[Season 5|5]], [[Season 6|6]], [[Season 7|7]]
 
  +
|profession = Politics
|jobs=Senior Assistant to the Deputy White House Chief of Staff (formerly)<br>[[Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States|Chief of Staff to the First Lady]]
 
  +
|affiliation = Democratic Party
|mentioned=
 
 
|seasons = [[Season 1|1]], [[Season 2|2]], [[Season 3|3]], [[Season 4|4]], [[Season 5|5]], [[Season 6|6]], [[Season 7|7]]
|first=''[[Pilot]]''
 
  +
|jobs = [[Senior Assistant to the Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Strategic Planning|Senior Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff]] ([[1999]]&ndash;[[2005]])<br>[[Press Secretary]] for the [[Bob Russell for America|Russell Campaign]] ([[2005]]&ndash;[[2006]])<br>[[Press Secretary]] for the [[Santos/McGarry for a Brighter America|Santos Campaign]] ([[2006]])<br>[[Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States|Chief of Staff to the First Lady]] ([[2007]])
|last=''[[Tomorrow]]''
 
 
|first = "[[Pilot]]"
|episode=
 
 
|last = "[[Tomorrow]]"
|actor=[[Janel Moloney]]
+
|actor = [[Janel Moloney]]
|plays=
 
  +
|gender = Female
|nickname=
 
 
|dob = Fall [[1974]]
|gender=
 
  +
|hometown = Warroad, MN (Place of Birth)
|dob=[[1974]]
 
  +
Manitoba, Canada<br>
|dod=
 
  +
Madison, WI
|height=
 
  +
|romances = [[Josh Lyman]]<br>[[Jack Reese]] (dated)<br>[[Cliff Calley]] (dated)
|weight=
 
|haircolor=
+
|haircolor = Blonde
  +
}}'''Donnatella Diane Moss''' is the [[Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States|Chief of Staff]] to [[First Lady]], [[Helen Santos]], and previously served as Senior Assistant to White House Deputy Chief of Staff [[Josh Lyman|Joshua Lyman]]. She is portrayed by [[Janel Moloney]].
|eyecolor=
 
  +
|hometown=[[Warroad]]
 
  +
== Character ==
|homestate=[[Minnesota]]
 
 
Donna previously held the position of [[Senior Assistant to the Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Strategic Planning|Senior Assistant]] to [[Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Strategic Planning|Deputy White House Chief of Staff]] [[Josh Lyman]] and worked on both the [[Bob Russell for America|Russell]] and [[Santos/McGarry for a Brighter America|Santos]] presidential campaigns in [[2006]], as well as Bartlet’s election campaigns in 1998 and 2002.
}}
 
'''Donatella Moss''' was the [[Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States|Chief of Staff]] to [[First Lady]], [[Helen Santos]]. She previously held the position of [[Senior Assistant to the Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Strategic Planning|Senior Assistant]] to [[Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Strategic Planning|Deputy White House Chief of Staff]] [[Josh Lyman]] and worked on both the [[Bob Russell for America|Russell]] and [[Santos/McGarry for a Brighter America|Santos]] presidential campaigns in [[2006]].
 
   
 
==Biography==
 
==Biography==
  +
Donna was born in [[Minnesota|Warroad, Minnesota]] to an Italian mother and an Irish father, only to find out toward the end of President Bartlet’s first term that her hometown had retroactively been repositioned into Canada, stripping her of her United States citizenship (her status was restored thanks to a “grandfather clause” in the law). Her family later moved to [[Wisconsin]], where Donna was raised. In the episode “[[And It's Surely to Their Credit]]” [[Josh Lyman]] has Donna’s birthday on his blackboard, placing her birthday sometime in the fall (going by the date the episode aired, sometime around the beginning of November). She joined the Bartlet campaign after breaking up with her boyfriend, only to leave to rekindle their relationship; it didn’t last, and Donna returned to work for Josh.
Donna was [[Josh Lyman]]'s assistant until she quit her job. (''[[Impact Winter]]'') The new position she had taken was that of senior aide to [[Will Bailey]] - Vice President [[Bob Russell]]'s presidential campaign manager. Her new position placed her in direct conflict with [[Josh Lyman|Josh]], who resigned to run the campaign of retiring US Congressman [[Matt Santos]], whom he had convinced to run for President. (''[[Faith Based Initiative]]'') After Matt 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.
 
   
  +
==Bartlet Administration==
Donna was born in northern [[Minnesota]]. She found out in the third season that she is a no longer a [[United States]] [[citizen]], after the [[Minnesota]] town in which she was born ended up in [[Canada]] due to border changes. However, her citizenship was granted to her again after the discovery of a [[grandfather clause]] in the law. She later moved to [[Wisconsin]] where she came from when she joined the Bartlet administration.
 
   
  +
Donna spent nearly six years as Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman’s primary assistant. She was among several White House staffers subpoenaed during the [[House of Representatives]]’ investigation into the concealment of President Bartlet’s multiple sclerosis. Around that time she met and dated Republican House Minority Counsel [[Cliff Calley]]; later while testifying, she stated not to keep a diary, which he knew to be false, having seen it in her bedroom the previous night. Josh worked with Cliff to ensure Donna’s lapse, which she said was an honest mistake, wouldn’t lead to a perjury case.
Donna was a [[recurring]] character during the first season, although she appeared in every episode, and has been a regular since the second. She was seriously injured as a result of a [[terrorist attack]] on the American convoy carrying her and others in [[Gaza]]. At the end of the fifth season, it was revealed that Donna suffered from a [[pulmonary embolism]] and had to undergo life-threatening surgery, which she survived.
 
   
  +
As the second Bartlet inauguration drew near, Donna told [[C.J. Cregg]] she had given a researcher with ''The Washington Post'' an inflammatory quote about tensions between civilian and military staffers at the White House. This angered Josh, [[Leo McGarry]] and other senior staffers, but Josh then realized Donna couldn’t have known the quoted information and that she was covering for [[Jack Reese]], a Navy lieutenant commander she was dating.
Later, on the Santos campaign trail, Donna was hired (unbeknownst to Josh) by Communications Director Louise "Lou" Thornton as a campaign spokesperson. She is currently employed by the first lady, Helen Santos, as chief of staff.
 
  +
  +
As the second Bartlet term progressed, Donna became restless with her position and asked Josh to expand her role. He sent her on a congressional delegation to the Gaza Strip with Congresswoman [[Andrea Wyatt]] and retired Admiral [[Percy Fitzwallace]]. She’d send frequent emails to Josh during the trip and had a flirtation with an Irish photojournalist. A roadside bomb hit the vehicles carrying the American delegation, killing Fitzwallace and several others, and critically wounding Donna, who was flown to Germany for emergency surgery on a collapsed lung, a broken leg and other injuries. Josh flew there to be by her side.
  +
  +
==Campaigns==
  +
  +
After returning to work at the White House, Donna again felt her job limited and finally resigned to work as senior aide to [[Will Bailey]], Vice President [[Bob Russell]]’s campaign manager for the 2006 presidential election, placing her in direct conflict with Josh—who had resigned his own White House position to run [[Matt Santos]]’s campaign. After Santos won the Democratic nomination, Donna applied to work for Josh at his campaign; he refused due to her months of personal attacks on Santos while working for the Russell campaign, but Communications Director [[Louise Thornton|Louise “Lou” Thornton]] then hired her as a campaign spokesperson, forcing them to reconcile. In the last days of the general election they finally gave in to years of unrequited mutual romantic feelings. When the stress of the transition overwhelmed Josh, [[Sam Seaborn]] gave him an ultimatum to take a vacation or he wouldn’t join as Deputy Chief of Staff, and Josh took Donna with him.
  +
  +
==Santos Administration==
  +
  +
Donna took an interest to [[Helen Santos]]’s initial troubles with her husband’s advancing campaign, offering her support and experience, and eventually became the First Lady’s Chief of Staff.
  +
  +
==Personality==
  +
Donna, like [[Margaret Hooper]], is often presented as naïve,<span id="selectionBoundary_1564867284215_657944997611378" class="rangySelectionBoundary" style="line-height:0;display:none;"></span><span id="selectionBoundary_1564867283261_8893581291726789" class="rangySelectionBoundary" style="line-height:0;display:none;"></span><span id="selectionBoundary_1564867283346_6209347233711091" class="rangySelectionBoundary" style="line-height:0;display:none;"></span> but the efficiency with which they kept their respective bosses on schedule belies that image. She usually took the ‘common man’ position as opposed to Josh’s ‘Ivy League’ governmental perspective, paid attention to the vast flo<span id="selectionBoundary_1564867286238_8517579329563223" class="rangySelectionBoundary" style="line-height:0;display:none;"></span><span id="selectionBoundary_1564867286600_974970822053034" class="rangySelectionBoundary" style="line-height:0;display:none;"></span><span id="selectionBoundary_1564867287469_7739561905510295" class="rangySelectionBoundary" style="line-height:0;display:none;"></span>w of information around her and frequently changed her stance based on solid evidence and strong arguments presented. She was intuitive not just about Josh and his needs (as seen, for example, in ''“[[Noël]]”'') but also many people she encountered, relating to the folks of ''“[[Hartsfield's Landing]]”'' in a way no one else in the White House had, and being the one to spot Senator [[Howard Stackhouse]]’s missing grandson and guess the underlying issue (''“[[The Stackhouse Filibuster]]”''). Donna’s composed demeanor and ability to retain information made her an invaluable asset to the Bartlet Administration, and later in the administration was courted to work in the private sector. When she argued to feel unqualified due to her never finishing undergraduate education, she was told that ''“working for Josh Lyman is better than a Master’s degree”''.
   
 
==Resume==
 
==Resume==
===Education===
+
'''Education'''
* [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]] (dropped out after two years to work full-time and support her boyfriend who was a med-student)
+
* [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]] (dropped out after two years to work full-time and support her boyfrienda med-student)
 
'''Political History'''
 
* [[1998]]: Campaign Aide to [[Political Director]] [[Josh Lyman]] for the [[Bartlet for America (1998)|Bartlet for America]] presidential campaign
 
* [[1999]]-[[2005]]: [[Senior Assistant to the Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Strategic Planning]]
 
* [[2005]]-[[2006]]: Campaign Aide to [[Campaign Manager]] [[Will Bailey]] for the [[Bob Russell for America]] presidential campaign
 
* [[2006]]: [[Press Secretary]] for the [[Bob Russell for America]] presidential campaign
 
* [[2006]]: [[Press Secretary]] for the [[Santos/McGarry for a Brighter America]] presidential campaign
 
* [[2007]]-''present'': [[Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States]]
   
  +
== Behind the scenes ==
===Political History===
 
  +
* Donna was often the PoV character for the audience, the one posing questions to, or listening to explanations from, Josh as regarded the issues of the episode.
* [[1998]] : Campaign Aide to [[Political Director]] [[Josh Lyman]] for the "[[Bartlet for America (1998)|Bartlet for America]]" presidential campaign
 
* [[1999]]-[[2005]] : [[Senior Assistant to the Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Strategic Planning]]
 
* [[2005]]-[[2006]] : Campaign Aide to [[Campaign Manager]] [[Will Bailey]] for the "[[Bob Russell for America]]" presidential campaign
 
* [[2006]] : [[Press Secretary]] for the "[[Bob Russell for America]]" presidential campaign
 
* [[2006]] : [[Press Secretary]] for the "[[Santos/McGarry for a Brighter America]]" presidential campaign
 
* [[2007]]-''present'' : [[Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States]]
 
   
 
==See Also==
 
==See Also==
*[[Josh and Donna|Josh and Donna's Relationship]]
+
*[[Josh and Donna|Josh and Donna’s Relationship]]
  +
   
   
 
{{succession box|before=[[Jeff Johnson]]|title=[[Senior Assistant to the Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Strategic Planning]]|current=1999-2005|after=[[Marla Whorisky]] (temp)|}}
 
{{succession box|before=[[Jeff Johnson]]|title=[[Senior Assistant to the Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Strategic Planning]]|current=1999-2005|after=[[Marla Whorisky]] (temp)|}}
 
{{succession box|before=[[Amy Gardner]]|title=[[Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States]]|current=2007-''present''|after=Incumbent|}}
 
{{succession box|before=[[Amy Gardner]]|title=[[Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States]]|current=2007-''present''|after=Incumbent|}}
[[Category:Democrats|Moss, Donna]]
+
[[Category:Main Characters]]
[[Category:White House staff|Moss, Donna]]
+
[[Category:White House Staff]]
[[Category:Assistants|Moss, Donna]]
+
[[Category:Santos Campaign Staff]]
[[Category:Season 2 Main Character]]
+
[[Category:Amazons]]
[[Category:Season 3 Main Character]]
 
[[Category:Season 4 Main Character]]
 
[[Category:Season 5 Main Character]]
 
[[Category:Season 6 Main Character]]
 
[[Category:Season 7 Main Character]]
 
[[Category:Season 1 Guest Cast]]
 

Revision as of 02:56, 6 June 2020

Donnatella Diane Moss is the Chief of Staff to First Lady, Helen Santos, and previously served as Senior Assistant to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joshua Lyman. She is portrayed by Janel Moloney.

Character

Donna previously held the position of Senior Assistant to Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman and worked on both the Russell and Santos presidential campaigns in 2006, as well as Bartlet’s election campaigns in 1998 and 2002.

Biography

Donna was born in Warroad, Minnesota to an Italian mother and an Irish father, only to find out toward the end of President Bartlet’s first term that her hometown had retroactively been repositioned into Canada, stripping her of her United States citizenship (her status was restored thanks to a “grandfather clause” in the law). Her family later moved to Wisconsin, where Donna was raised. In the episode “And It's Surely to Their Credit” Josh Lyman has Donna’s birthday on his blackboard, placing her birthday sometime in the fall (going by the date the episode aired, sometime around the beginning of November). She joined the Bartlet campaign after breaking up with her boyfriend, only to leave to rekindle their relationship; it didn’t last, and Donna returned to work for Josh.

Bartlet Administration

Donna spent nearly six years as Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman’s primary assistant. She was among several White House staffers subpoenaed during the House of Representatives’ investigation into the concealment of President Bartlet’s multiple sclerosis. Around that time she met and dated Republican House Minority Counsel Cliff Calley; later while testifying, she stated not to keep a diary, which he knew to be false, having seen it in her bedroom the previous night. Josh worked with Cliff to ensure Donna’s lapse, which she said was an honest mistake, wouldn’t lead to a perjury case.

As the second Bartlet inauguration drew near, Donna told C.J. Cregg she had given a researcher with The Washington Post an inflammatory quote about tensions between civilian and military staffers at the White House. This angered Josh, Leo McGarry and other senior staffers, but Josh then realized Donna couldn’t have known the quoted information and that she was covering for Jack Reese, a Navy lieutenant commander she was dating.

As the second Bartlet term progressed, Donna became restless with her position and asked Josh to expand her role. He sent her on a congressional delegation to the Gaza Strip with Congresswoman Andrea Wyatt and retired Admiral Percy Fitzwallace. She’d send frequent emails to Josh during the trip and had a flirtation with an Irish photojournalist. A roadside bomb hit the vehicles carrying the American delegation, killing Fitzwallace and several others, and critically wounding Donna, who was flown to Germany for emergency surgery on a collapsed lung, a broken leg and other injuries. Josh flew there to be by her side.

Campaigns

After returning to work at the White House, Donna again felt her job limited and finally resigned to work as senior aide to Will Bailey, Vice President Bob Russell’s campaign manager for the 2006 presidential election, placing her in direct conflict with Josh—who had resigned his own White House position to run Matt Santos’s campaign. After Santos won the Democratic nomination, Donna applied to work for Josh at his campaign; he refused due to her months of personal attacks on Santos while working for the Russell campaign, but Communications Director Louise “Lou” Thornton then hired her as a campaign spokesperson, forcing them to reconcile. In the last days of the general election they finally gave in to years of unrequited mutual romantic feelings. When the stress of the transition overwhelmed Josh, Sam Seaborn gave him an ultimatum to take a vacation or he wouldn’t join as Deputy Chief of Staff, and Josh took Donna with him.

Santos Administration

Donna took an interest to Helen Santos’s initial troubles with her husband’s advancing campaign, offering her support and experience, and eventually became the First Lady’s Chief of Staff.

Personality

Donna, like Margaret Hooper, is often presented as naïve, but the efficiency with which they kept their respective bosses on schedule belies that image. She usually took the ‘common man’ position as opposed to Josh’s ‘Ivy League’ governmental perspective, paid attention to the vast flow of information around her and frequently changed her stance based on solid evidence and strong arguments presented. She was intuitive not just about Josh and his needs (as seen, for example, in Noël) but also many people she encountered, relating to the folks of Hartsfield's Landing in a way no one else in the White House had, and being the one to spot Senator Howard Stackhouse’s missing grandson and guess the underlying issue (The Stackhouse Filibuster). Donna’s composed demeanor and ability to retain information made her an invaluable asset to the Bartlet Administration, and later in the administration was courted to work in the private sector. When she argued to feel unqualified due to her never finishing undergraduate education, she was told that “working for Josh Lyman is better than a Master’s degree”.

Resume

Education

Political History

Behind the scenes

  • Donna was often the PoV character for the audience, the one posing questions to, or listening to explanations from, Josh as regarded the issues of the episode.

See Also


PREDECESSOR
Jeff Johnson
Senior Assistant to the Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Strategic Planning
1999-2005
SUCCESSOR
Marla Whorisky (temp)
PREDECESSOR
Amy Gardner
Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States
2007-present
SUCCESSOR
Incumbent