Donna Hayward

Donna Hayward
Lara Flynn Boyle as Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks
First appearance	"Pilot"
Last appearance	Fire Walk with Me
Portrayed by	Lara Flynn Boyle Moira Kelly
Information
Occupation	Student

Donna Hayward is a fictional character in the Twin Peaks franchise, created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. She was portrayed by Lara Flynn Boyle in television series and by Moira Kelly in the prequel films Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces.

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 Laura's cousin Madeleine Ferguson. Donna's father is the town doctor, Will Hayward, and her mother is Eileen Hayward, who uses a wheelchair and tends to the house. Donna has two sisters, Harriet and Gersten, who are rarely seen in the series.

After Laura's death, Donna gets involved with biker James Hurley. However, she is wracked with guilt over the relationship, believing that she is betraying Laura. Donna also befriends Laura's cousin Madeline Ferguson - who looks just like Laura - 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 from him 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.