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Donna Marie Meagle was a main character in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh seasons after appearing as a recurring character in the first and second seasons in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. In season three, Donna becomes one of the main characters; however, she doesn't appear in the opening titles until the middle of season six. She is portrayed by Retta.

Background[]

Donna is the office manager for the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department. She is confident and worldly. She is often selfish, but she is also often kind. Donna loves her Mercedes-Benz ML350 SUV more than anything else. Donna only thinks some people are cool, such as Tom Haverford. She clicks more with Tom and is more similar to him than anyone else in the office. She is shown to be very mysterious and have almost a secret second life:

In Season 6 Galentine's Day, we learn that she has had two annulments.

In Animal Control, Ben, Andy and Tom see her smoking at her own booth in a rich club, surrounded by men.

In Are You Better Off? she says she has a condo in Seattle; in Prom she speaks fluent French.

In One Last Ride she says, "I've had a lot of adventures. I single-handedly started that doorknockers earring trend. I came in ninth in Italy's Got Talent. I served on a NASCAR pit crew."

Storyline[]

Season 2[]

It's revealed in "Practice Date" that, ironically, despite her opposition of the group, she once donated money to David Duke, a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, because she received a phone call back in 1988 promising he would lower taxes. She is also sought after sexually by South American men, especially in "Sister City", which didn't surprise her, saying she "did very well" in South America when she visited. In the episode "Hunting Trip", she didn't care about her boss Ron Swanson getting shot in the head but became distraught upon discovering that Tom Haverford had inadvertently fired a shotgun at one of the windows of her Mercedes. In "Telethon", Donna uses one of the telethon's phones to call her brother George who is visiting their uncle in Liberia.

Season 3[]

In "Go Big or Go Home", Donna is revealed to have been working at Kernston's Rubber Nipples selling rubber nipples via telephone since the government shutdown. Much to her relief, Leslie shows up at her cubicle and tells her the Parks Department is back. In "Ron & Tammy: Part 2", Donna claims to hate her brother Lavondrius.

Season 4[]

In the fourth season, it is revealed that her family owns a lake house in the foothills that they keep very quiet because they're not big on hospitality. While they are there for Jerry's birthday party, Tom discovers that the singer Ginuwine is Donna's cousin. When Leslie Knope announces she's running for city council, Donna insists she lower taxes or she won't vote for Leslie, referencing Donna's donation mentioned in Season 2 to the KKK member who promised to lower taxes.

Season 6[]

In season six, Donna accidentally tweets something inappropriate using the Parks and Rec twitter page and not her personal page. During the investigation, it is found that Donna has posted very many bad things about Leslie using the hashtag #BitchBoss. However, later it is found out she also posts many admiring tweets about Leslie, using the hashtag #BossBitch. In "One in 8,000", when Ron asks Donna to volunteer at the elementary school with her, she tells him that she will go as long as he keeps her away form her ex-boyfriend Joe, who she says is "her Tammy." While volunteering, Ron discovers that Joe is an extremely likable and selfless person, and that Donna simply broke up with him because he was "boring." Ron tells her not to "confuse drama with happiness", persuading Donna to give Joe a second chance. She asks Joe out, promising that she will not cheat on him as long as he doesn't try to pin her down.

Season 7[]

In season seven, Donna reveals that she and Joe are engaged. In "Save JJ's", Tom takes Donna to Beverly Hills for a pre-wedding "Treat Yo Self" day. She and Joe marry in the episode "Donna & Joe". During the wedding reception, April and Andy run herd on the contentious and easily offended Meagle family members at Donna’s request to keep drama to a minimum. However, realizing Donna would like some drama, April brings in Donna’s estranged and uninvited brother, Levondrius, played by Quest Love, who returns and destroys the ancient microwave that was the source of their acrimony. Other family members include Donna’s parents, who are divorced. Donna and Joe eventually move to Seattle, where Joe continues to work as a teacher and Donna starts a non-profit to help his school.

Trivia[]

  • Donna said in "End of the World" that Tom's End of the World Entertainment 720 Party was the best party she'd ever been to.
  • She often takes 2 shots at a time, as shown in "Andy and April's  Fancy Party" and "The Master Plan".
  • In "Ron and Tammy", Donna reveals she's been at the Parks and Recreation Department longer than Leslie has.
  • When asked what her favourite television show was she responded that her favourite television show for live tweeting is "Scandal", for fashion it is also Scandal, for binge watching it is Scandal. Her favourite show is Scandal.
  • She enjoys reading supernatural books, such as Twilight, and time traveling romances.
  • Grammy Meagle's dating advice to her was "use him, abuse him, lose him". Grammy died at the age of 84, sandwiched between two 30-year-olds.
  • Is the cousin of R&B singer Ginuwine.
  • All of her past boyfriends have tried to hack into her e-mail.
  • Many of her past boyfriends have threatened to commit arson for her.
  • Her family's lake house was revealed in the episode "Sweet Sixteen".
  • She reveals in "Doppelgangers" that she has a condo in Seattle and a fiancee in Denver.
  • She owns three shares of the Snakehole Lounge. 
  • She has real estate agent's license, and her realtor firm is called Regal Meagle Realty, with the slogan "Find Your Castle."
  • When hit on by NFL player Robert Mathis of the Indianapolis Colts, immediately turns him down because he is a linebacker, and she is interested in "skill positions only."
  • Legally, only 3 members of Donna's family can be on an international flight together at a time.
  • The album Vitalogy by Pearl Jam was written about her, much to the surprise of Andy, or at least supposedly, as it may have just been one of April's jokes.
  • She has gotten two annulments, one for pleasure, and one to cap off a long con she was running against Keith Sweat.
  • Donna has Elite GryzzlGold Status on Gryzzl as of A Parks and Recreation Special.

Photos[]

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