Donna Martin Silver is a fictional character from the ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' franchise, portrayed by

Tori Spelling Victoria Davey Spelling (born May 16, 1973) is an American actress and author. Her first major role was Donna Martin on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', beginning in 1990. She has appeared in made for television films, including ''A Friend to Die For' ...

from 1990 to 2000. Donna reprised her role in '' 90210'' for a multi-episode arc in 2009.

Casting

When Tori Spelling auditioned for the role, she auditioned with a different last name, to avoid nepotism since her father was the series producer.

Background

Donna was introduced in the first season as

Kelly Taylor Kelly Marlene Taylor, portrayed by Jennie Garth, is the lead female character of ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' for the majority of the show's duration. Initially presented as a "spoiled teen vixen", the role was gradually expanded by producers. Subse ...

's best friend. For the early part of the first season, the Donna character was a supporting role, but gradually became a main character with her own storylines. Donna grew up in a very wealthy Beverly Hills household, the only child of Dr. John Martin, a successful physician and her mother Felice Martin, a

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

. Donna grew up as a strict Catholic, and her mother's strict rules on morality would be a running storyline for much of the show. Because of this, Donna by choice remained a virgin for much of the show's run, until she was well into college. In high school, Donna discovered she had

dyslexia Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...

and struggled at exams. She also almost failed to graduate after she was caught drinking alcohol at the senior prom. This led to a student demonstration to support her, and the slogan of her classmates "Donna Martin graduates!" would go on to become a pop culture

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

. Donna graduated from the show's fictional California University with a degree in Fashion & Marketing and would later go on to run her own fashion boutique. In the final season, Donna discovered that her cousin

Gina Kincaid The following is a list of characters from ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', an American drama series which aired from October 4, 1990, to May 17, 2000, on the Fox television network, before entering syndication. It is the first show of the ''Beverly H ...

, with whom she had a troubled relationship, was actually her half-sister. Then, when Donna's father died, she blamed Gina for his death, but they eventually made up at the funeral. During the late 1990s, she and long time friend

opened a clothing store called "Now Wear This".

Relationships

Donna first became romantically involved with

David Silver David Silver may refer to: * David Silver (Beverly Hills, 90210), a character on the TV series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' * David Silver (drummer), American musician, drummer of Season to Risk and Offworld * David Silver (programmer) (born 1976), re ...

in high school, after going to a dance together. After they had been dating for a couple of months, David tried to get Donna to have sex with him, at which point Donna admitted to being a

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

and revealed that she wanted to wait until marriage. David agreed to respect Donna's wishes, and they continued dating. David cheated on Donna the next summer, but he apologized. Finally, at the senior prom, Donna agreed to have sex with David, but was then caught drinking and her punishment disrupted their plans. The next year, David's pressures on Donna finally led her to agree to have sex with him, but she changed her mind at the last minute, and David got upset and broke up with her. David then started doing drugs, including

crystal meth Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamphe ...

. and when Donna found out, she tried to help him. Because of this, Donna and David got back together. However, a few months later, Donna found David in the back of a limo, having sex with someone else and they split up once again. The following year after entering college, Donna met Griffin Stone (

Casper Van Dien Casper Robert Van Dien Jr. (born December 18, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his lead role as Johnny Rico in the 1997 science-fiction action film ''Starship Troopers''. He has also appeared in a large number of television and ...

), and they began dating. Donna became romantically involved with Ray Pruit, a

construction worker A construction worker is a worker employed in the physical construction of the built environment and its infrastructure. Definition By some definitions, workers may be engaged in manual labour as unskilled or semi-skilled workers; they may be sk ...

and budding singer. Donna was dating Griffin Stone while talking to Ray Pruit. Donna was then stuck with both guys but did not know whom to choose. She then dumped Griffin Stone for trying to sleep with her. Ray agreed to respect Donna's

virginity Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

, and wrote a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

for her. Ray told Donna that he was not going to pressure her into doing anything she was uncomfortable doing. A few months later, a man named Garret Slan tried to rape her at knifepoint. She was rescued by David, but she and Ray continued dating. Donna and Ray celebrated the holidays together and their relationship got more intimate. Donna dated Ray for a year, but he eventually became

abusive Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

. He knocked her down a flight of

stairs Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

but she lied about what happened and stayed with him. It was only when she learned that Ray had cheated on her with

Valerie Malone The following is a list of characters from ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', an American drama series which aired from October 4, 1990, to May 17, 2000, on the Fox television network, before entering syndication. It is the first show of the ''Beverly H ...

that she broke up with him. She then got involved with Joe Bradley (

Cameron Bancroft Cameron Timothy Bancroft (born 19 November 1992) is an Australian cricketer contracted to Western Australia in Australian first class cricket, Durham in English first class cricket, and the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League. He made his Te ...

). A jealous Ray then started to harass the newly formed couple, but decided to drop the charges against Joe then he left town. Joe proposed to Donna, but she tearfully refused and they broke up. Finally, on their college

graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

night, Donna and David had sex and decided to move in together, causing a rift with her mother over this decision. But when David forged a check using Donna's name, Donna broke up with him once again. She then had a serious romance with

Noah Hunter The following is a list of characters from ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', an American drama series which aired from October 4, 1990, to May 17, 2000, on the Fox television network, before entering syndication. It is the first show of the ''Beverly H ...

, but that eventually ended and in the final season, she got back together with David again. Donna and David got married in the show's series finale in 2000.

''90210''

In episode 4 of the spin-off '' 90210'', Kelly and Brenda crack a joke about being back at West Beverly and still hearing "Donna Martin Graduates." Also, in conversation Kelly and Brenda mention that Donna has a baby and that it is "so cute." It is revealed that Donna has returned to Beverly Hills after experiencing a rough patch in her relationship with David. Later on, Donna finds herself in a dilemma when she must decide between returning to Japan and being with David or moving back to Beverly Hills and bringing their daughter, Ruby, with her.

Recurring themes

One of the recurring themes of the show was Donna's many attempts to lose her

. Some TV and social critics have criticised the character for further stigmatising virginity.

Reception

Tori Spelling was often accused of getting the role of Donna Martin due to her father

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), ''The Love Boat'' (1977–1986 ...

, the creator and executive producer of ''Beverly Hills 90210''. The character has become part of a popular

meme A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...

called "Donna Martin graduates".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Donna Television characters introduced in 1990 Beverly Hills, 90210 characters Dyslexia in fiction 90210 (TV series) characters Fictional characters from California Teenage characters in television Fictional fashion designers Fictional characters with dyslexia Fictional college students Virginity in television American female characters in television Female characters in television fr:Donna Martin