Donna Hayward
Making her debut as a main character in the original series, Donna is introduced as the best friend and classmate of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), who tries to solve the mystery of her murder.Donna has a supporting role in the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, which depicts the final week of Laura's life.She then goes to class and sees a deputy enter the classroom as the teacher is taking attendance, asking if Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) is present.Donna calls Norma Jennings (Peggy Lipton) and expresses interest in taking over Laura's volunteer route for Meals on Wheels.Starting on the route, Donna goes to the home of an elderly woman named Mrs. Tremond (Frances Bay), who tells her about her agoraphobic neighbor, Harold Smith (Lenny Von Dohlen), and reveals that he and Laura were friends.At the diner, Donna hear Sheriff’s Deputy Andy Brennan (Harry Goaz) saying, "J'ai une âme solitaire," and she questions him about Mrs. Tremond, but he says that this line was actually in Harold’s suicide note and that it means, "I am a lonely soul."She gives Donna an envelope from Harold, containing a page from Laura's diary, where she described a dream of being in a red room, the mysterious "BOB" (Frank Silva), and her premonition of her own death the following night.There, Donna refuses an offer of cocaine, but nevertheless joins the party, and eventually takes her shirt off and begins making out with several strange men.Donna becomes a prominent name in the tabloids, which run sensationalized stories about her love life that eventually overshadow her career.[2] Mädchen Amick, who portrays Shelly Johnson, originally auditioned for the role of Donna but the part ultimately went to Lara Flynn Boyle.Boyle was unable to reprise her role as Donna in the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by Moira Kelly.[5] In Return to Twin Peaks: New Approaches to Materiality, Theory, and Genre on Television,[6] Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock and Catherine Spooner state: Sean T. Collins of Rolling Stone[7] included Donna on his list of the 30 Best 'Twin Peaks' Characters stating, "Other images took a tighter hold on audience imaginations, but nothing conveyed the tragedy of Laura Palmer's death like her best friend Donna looking at her empty desk, realizing what it meant, and starting to sob uncontrollably right there in homeroom.