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Donna Tubbs-Brown
Cleveland DonnaDance v3F
Vital statistics
Age 42
Relatives :
Dee Dee Tubbs (Mother)
Father (Unknown)
Evelyn Brown (mother-in-law)
LeVar Brown (father-in-law)
Cleveland Brown Jr. (step-son)
Cecilia (step daughter-in-law)
Auntie Momma (maternal Uncle)
Leonard (uncle)
Ernestine (cousin)
Cleveland Brown (husband)
Roberta Tubbs (daughter)
Rallo Tubbs (son)
Robert Tubbs (ex-husband)
Janet (Sister)
Brian & DeBrian (Nephews)
Jobs Executive Assistant at Stoolbend High School
Voiced by Sanaa Lathan



Donna Lou Retten Tubbs-Brown is the wife of Cleveland Brown and works as the principal's assistant at Stoolbend High School. She has two biological children from her previous relationship with Robert Tubbs, Roberta and Rallo. As a result of her marriage to Cleveland, she has also gained a third child, Cleveland Brown Jr..

Donna and Cleveland were initially best friends in high school, although Cleveland clearly had romantic feelings towards her. Donna unfortunately was for the most part oblivious to his feelings, and instead dated Cleveland's unofficial rival Robert. In "Hot Cocoa Bang Bang", a flashback shows Donna was 'saved' by Robert after she fell in a fountain at the Stoolbend Galleria, Cleveland was going to save her but he was too concerned about his socks and shoes getting wet and failed to impress Donna. Despite Cleveland's attempts to get Donna to see Robert for what he truly was; a self-centered, irresponsible jerk, Donna ended up marrying Robert shortly after graduation. Seeing no reason to remain, Cleveland left Stoolbend and Donna behind.

Despite many attempts at making their marriage work, Donna and Robert ended up separating due to Robert's heavy drinking and drug abuse, not to mention repeatedly losing the Dancing with the Stools contest, leaving Donna to raise their children alone in 2002. Robert would visit occasionally, but more out of selfish desire such as collecting his alimony from Donna in "Back To Cool", rather than any familiar reasons. After years apart, Donna was of course over-joyed to see her best friend, Cleveland again. Cleveland and his son, who were passing through Stoolbend while driving to California, had stopped by the high school to retrace Cleveland's old stomping grounds. Donna offers that the Browns stay at her house, which resulted in a rekindling of their friendship that soon blossomed into a full-blown romance. The two married at the end of the "Pilot", and honeymooned in New York City a few months later in "Once Upon a Tyne in New York".

Having been friends for years prior to getting married, Cleveland and Donna have a close relationship both sexually and platonically. Donna comes off much more patient and understanding than Cleveland's first wife, and is more attentive to him as well. She does slap Cleveland occasionally, but it's only to toughen him up or to get him to stand up for himself. Her relationship with her children meanwhile is somewhat more shaky, as both her children are the result of a broken home and neglectful father. Donna does her best to keep her children under-control, but is aware that they need a father figure at times. Yet despite any issues that she and her kids have, its clear that they care for one another. Donna's relationship with Cleveland Jr. is unsteady for the fact that Cleveland Jr. is quick to do what he can to follow Donna's wishes for fear of another divorce occurring in "Birth of a Salesman" and later progresses to Junior becoming determined to take Donna away from Cleveland in "Dancing with the Stools". Nevertheless, she has shown herself as willing to protect him from danger, such as when she saved him from an ax-wielding Donny in "Nightmare on Grace Street" by throwing a wine glass at his head.

Donna works as an assistant to Principal Wally at Stoolbend High School. She takes care of odd jobs, assisting Principal Wally when he is indisposed and serving as a secretary of sorts as she can type 85 words per minute according to "Once Upon a Tyne in New York". She takes on as many duties as her job allows, showing teachers how to properly put out chemical fires and aiding other kids as shown in "The Brown Knight". Despite her job, she is also shown to have an issue with children, telling Rallo about the boogyman just for her amusement in "Brown Magic and that "Kids Suck at Everything" and blaming a fire that she started at Funky Junction on kids in "Pins, Spins and Fins!". She also takes away Junior's Larry the Leopard animal and nearly saws it in half when Junior is slow to provide cash after he and Rallo break her recorder in "Hustle 'N' Bros.". Rallo goes as far as to warn their new dog Rock Hudson to keep his head down, noting that their mama is crazy.

An often used source of comedy comes from Donna's stereotypical Southern expressions, often starting with "Sweet" and ending with two rhyming phrases, such as "Sweet candy and Jessica Tandy!"

Baredonna

Donna wears a wig; her natural hair color is grey, and she does not often have time to color it. In "To Live and Die in VA", she received a style and dye from Cleveland Jr., commenting she now looks like Beyonce. She would also reveal herself to have her lips and eyebrows painted on with makeup and wear padding in her bra to give the impression of perky breasts in "Sex and the Biddy".

Notes

  • She drives a Yellow Toyota RAV4.
  • She wears a wig as originally shown in "The Brown Knight".
  • Despite claiming to be in love with Cleveland, Donna often drops hints that she's still very much in love with Robert, despite his status as a deadbeat, suggesting she is merely in lust with him.
  • Donna has shown signs of having a drinking problem and smoking problem in "Brown History Month", "Harder, Better, Faster, Browner", "It's the Great Pancake, Junior Brown", and other episodes, often relying on alcohol to become intimate. Rallo also jokes about her being better able to hit the bottle than bowling pins in "Pins, Spins and Fins!".
  • Donna reports she was on the Foxy Boxing circuit in "Murray Christmas".
  • Donna's hobby of playing the recorder was first show in "Terry Unmarried". The first song she attempts to play is "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain". Her recorder playing is a key part in "Brown Magic" when she gets to be Cleveland and Rallo's opening act and in "Hustle 'N' Bros." when the boys break it just before a big gig.
  • Also in "The Hurricane", she only buys food "one day at a time", which proved disastrous to the family when they were trapped in the house by hurricane Flozell.
  • In "BFFs", Donna claims that she has never had friends her whole life, though in "Ladies' Night", she hung out with the single mothers group and Yvette.
  • Donna enjoys "salmon-fish", notably in "March Dadness" when she posed as Freight Train's young wife in exchange for salmon. Nor is her taste for higher-priced cuts of meat limited to salmon, as she plots a way to get some free pastrami by flirting with a lonely clerk at Woolworth's in "American Prankster".
  • Donna claims she became a good dancer after being kidnapped by Rick James for three months in "Dancing with the Stools".
  • In "Frapp Attack!", it's revealed that Donna has contact with at least two drug dealers in Stoolbend. She is also given the middle names of Lou Retten.
  • Donna claims to have been pregnant five times in "A Vas Deferens Between Men & Women", resulting in three children.
  • It's revealed in "Dancing with the Stools" that she spent six months on the Foxy Boxing tour, achieving a record of 22 wins against 6 losses.
  • The bartender at Sad Woody's Gentlemen's Club is familiar with Donna, believing that she came crawling back after her job in "Pins, Spins and Fins!".
  • Donna hints that she may have been married to Dennis Rodman when she nearly says his name instead of Robert's in "Wheel! Of! Family!".

For post-cancellation information see:

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