American actress Janel Moloney was born on October 3, 1969 in Woodland Hills, California. She is the niece of Tony Award-winning singer and actress Christine Ebersole, has a twin sibling named Carey, and she trained at the SUNY Purchase acting conservatory. Moloney has acted in a number of television series such as The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.,
ER , Sports Night, and Murder, She Wrote. She also worked on the films Wild Bill, Desperate Measures, and 'Til There Was You. She was nominated twice for an Emmy Award for her work on the lauded NBC television drama The West Wing.
Donnatella ‘Donna' Moss is played by Janel Moloney in the Emmy Award-winning political television series The West Wing. She is the daughter of an Italian-American mother and an Irish-American father, as well as a Protestant, and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At one point, her American citizenship was revoked due to a border dispute involving her hometown, though it was eventually resolved and restored. Donna works as the senior assistant of Josh Lyman, and thus jokingly refers to herself as the “Deputy Deputy Chief of Staff.” She worked her way into Josiah Bartlet's presidential campaign by pretending that she was already working as Lyman's assistant, though when he found out, he decided to give her a chance and actually hired her.
(Photo courtesy of David Rose)