Donna Martell, a fiery and exotic-looking individual with dark hair, was born to Irene Palma de Maria, the daughter of a master tailor for a major clothing manufacturing company. Her Italian ancestry played a significant role in shaping her unique appearance.
Donna attended L.A. City College, where she excelled in athletics, particularly baseball. It was during this time that she was persuaded by a classmate to audition for a theatrical agent from the Donaldson-Middleton Agency. At just 17 years old, she was "signed on the spot" by Republic Studios to appear in the western Apache Rose (1947) alongside Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
Initially billed as Donna DeMario, she went on to receive steady offers to work in westerns, thanks to her equestrian skills. She owned a Palomino named Pal, stabled at the San Bernardino Orange Ranch. Though wooed by three major studios, Donna opted to sign with Universal-International. However, after two years, she became dissatisfied with the meager roles offered and decided to go freelance.
In due course, she established herself as a prolific and capable television actress, often cast as south-of-the-border senoritas. She played leads opposite most of the famous western leading men of the era, including Gene Autry, Randolph Scott, Dale Robertson, Gene Barry, and Clint Walker. In 2002, Donna won the Golden Boot Award for her contribution to the western genre.
In addition to her sagebrush heroines, Donna also played an Indian princess in Last Train from Bombay (1952) and Jennifer Jones's sister in the lavishly produced romantic A-grader Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955). She may wish to forget her role as the commander of a spacecraft in the rare sci-fi feature Project Moon Base (1953),filmed in ten days on a shoestring budget at the old Hal Roach studio in Culver City.
In a later interview, Donna asserted that she had never socialized with her male co-stars, "unless it was for publicity". From 1953, she was married to the baseball player Gene Corso (of the Pittsburgh Pirates) who died in 1996.
Donna's acting career came to an end in 1963, though she continued to appear in some TV commercials. For several years, she ran her own business, selling floor coverings. Later still, she became a frequent attendee at film festivals and conventions.
Note: The biography is continued on the next page.
