| Donna Freedman | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Neighbours character | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Margot Robbie | ||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2008–2011, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 2 June 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 28 July 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Ric Pellizzeri and Susan Bower (2008) Jason Herbison (2022) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Donna Freedman (also Brown) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Margot Robbie. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 2 June 2008. Donna was initially introduced as a guest character, but Robbie was promoted to the regular cast shortly after she made her debut. Donna was originally portrayed as an obsessive fan of musician Ty Harper (Dean Geyer) and someone who had a desire for friends and acceptance. After befriending the teens of Ramsay Street, Donna changes her ways and matures into a warm, loveable girl. She has been described as being fiery, beautiful, kooky and confident.
The character's storylines included a relationship with Ringo Brown (Sam Clark) whom she later married, a same-sex kiss with Sunny Lee (Hany Lee), the introduction of her family, and an affair with Andrew Robinson (Jordan Patrick Smith). The character became popular with viewers and Robbie earned various award nominations for her portrayal of Donna, including two Logie Award nominations. In April 2010, it was revealed that Robbie had told producers she would like to leave when her contract expired at the end of the year. Five months later, it was announced that Robbie had quit Neighbours and she departed on 26 January 2011. Robbie made a guest appearance in the show's finale episode on 28 July 2022.