Joy Lauren as Danielle Van de Kamp
Danielle Van de Kamp, on the television series
Desperate Housewives, is played by Joy Lauren. Danielle is the only daughter of Bree Hodge and the late Rex Van de Kamp, and has one older brother, Andrew. When she was in her second year of high school, she led an organization known as “the abstinence club,” but later on her mother found a condom in their laundry basket. Thinking it was her son’s and being a conservative, she immediately confronted Andrew, only to find out that the condom belonged to Danielle. Danielle was planning to surrender her virginity to her ex-boyfriend, John Rowland, in order to get him to re-consider their relationship. However, not only was John secretly involved with Mrs. Gabrielle Solis, he was also told by Bree not to give in to Danielle. Thereafter, John broke up with Danielle for good, leaving Danielle crushed and hurt.
Since then, Danielle has undergone many changes, most especially with the way she handles men and deals with her mother. After the loss of her father, Rex, Danielle became involved with the son of their new African-American neighbor, Betty Applewhite. She and Matthew hid their relationship from their mothers, but were soon found out when Bree caught Matthew hiding under Danielle’s bed. Despite being met by disapproval, Danielle continued to go out with Matthew, and later told him about Andrew’s hit-and-run. Matthew and Betty used this information to make sure Bree would not tell authorities about Caleb, Betty’s mentally unstable son who was wanted for murder. When Betty punished Matthew by locking him in the basement, Danielle came to his rescue, and they subsequently ran away together, to the dismay of Bree.
Some time after, Bree discovered that Danielle had gotten involved with her married history teacher, Robert Fatali. Horrified about her daughter’s actions, Bree stepped in and threatened Robert with the possible consequences of his relationship with Danielle. Robert relented and went on to break up with Danielle, but in retaliation, Danielle ended up getting Robert in trouble with the authorities. From that relationship, Danielle moved on to Edie Britt’s nephew, Austin McCann. Despite knowing that Austin was her friend Julie’s boyfriend, Danielle still engaged in an intimate relationship with Austin. They were eventually found out by Julie, and shortly thereafter, Danielle discovered she was pregnant. Against the idea of abortion and adoption, Danielle has planned to study abroad throughout the remaining months of her pregnancy.
(Photo courtesy of ABC)