Donna Hayward

Donna Hayward is a fictional character from the television series Twin Peaks, created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. She was played by Lara Flynn Boyle in the series and by Moira Kelly in the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.

Donna is Laura Palmer's best friend, and after Laura's death Donna is obsessed with finding out who killed her and why. She has help from James Hurley, Laura's secret boyfriend and Donna's new love interest, and Madeleine Ferguson, the look-alike cousin of Laura.

Donna's father is the town doctor, Will Hayward, and her mother is Eileen Hayward, who sits in a wheelchair and tends to the house. Donna has two sisters, Harriet and Gersten, who are seen in the series only a couple of times.

After Laura's death, Donna gets involved with biker James Hurley. However, she constantly is in guilt that she is betraying Laura as James was Laura's secret boyfriend. Donna also befriends Laura's look-alike cousin Madeline Ferguson but when Maddie is murdered by Laura's killer, she and James have a bitter fight which results in James leaving Twin Peaks. She is also briefly involved with Harold Smith, but the romance ends badly when Donna tries to steal Laura's secret diary which Harold has and he commits suicide.

At the end of season two, it is strongly suggested that Will Hayward is not Donna's biological father, and that she is in fact the daughter of Benjamin Horne and half-sister to Audrey Horne. However, due to the series' cancellation, this theory has not been elaborated upon. In the final episode, Doc Hayward attacks Benjamin and although it seems that Ben has been seriously injured, Doc Hayward shows up at the end of the episode relatively back to his normal temperament.

Donna appears in all 30 Twin Peaks episodes as well as the film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.