Happy Birthday, Donna Martin!
Today may be Christmas, but around here, we celebrate another holiday.
Donna Martin’s birthday!
It’s believed Donna, portrayed on “Beverly Hills, 90210” by Tori Spelling, was born in 1974, which would make her 48 years old today.
In honor of this special day, I’ve compiled my all-time favorite Donna moments from the series, listed below in chronological order.
Episode 2.21, “Everybody’s Talkin’ ‘Bout It”
We first meet Donna’s mom in season 1, but in this season 2 episode, she has a new portrayer, Katherine Cannon, and a new name. Here Felice is on a crusade against sex education in school and a student movement for condom distribution. During a parental meeting at the Walsh house, Felice makes her case — only to be rebutted by her daughter in a powerful speech.
Episode 7.21, “Straight Shooter”
Donna and David officially get back together on Thanksgiving in season 7, but by Valentine’s Day, they’re on the rocks while Donna is pursued by another suitor, Cliff. Donna is torn between the two men, and not helping matters is that Felice obviously prefers Cliff over David. It all culminates in one of the series’ best kisses — a moment I named one of the teen drama genre’s most romantic scenes back in 2009.
Episode 10.17, “Doc Martin”
In one of the series’ saddest episodes, Donna is grieving the sudden passing of her father. She’s doing her best to hold it all together, but when she delivers her eulogy at the funeral, she becomes too overcome with emotion to continue. Gina, earlier revealed to not only be Donna’s cousin but half-sister, steps in in a gesture of support and love. The scene also made my 2009 list of the saddest moments in teen drama history.
Episode 10.27, “Ode to Joy”
After years of ups and downs, Donna and David are finally getting married! In the show’s series finale, Nat walks Donna down the aisle, Dylan and Kelly deliver poignant readings, and then it’s time for the vows. It’s hard not to get emotional with Donna saying lines like, “Without you, my soul would be empty, my heart broken, my being incomplete.”
Notably, Spelling has claimed multiples times on “9021OMG” that she and Brian Austin Green were unhappy with the scripted dialogue and rewrote the vows themselves, something I’ve never seen confirmed anywhere. And certainly, David’s line about David and Donna possibly falling in love when they were 10 years old makes no sense because they didn’t meet until high school. In any case, it’s still an extraordinary Donna scene.
There are plenty of other Donna moments I love — including when Donna announces that she likes David in season 2, her Tournament of Roses speech in season 6, some scenes when she rightfully goes off on David, Ray, and Valerie, and many more — but these are the four I always come back to in my mind.
Share your favorite Donna moment in the comments below!