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Fiery, dark-haired, and exotic-looking Donna Martell was born Irene Palma de Maria, of Italian descent, the daughter of a master tailor for a major clothing manufacturer. She attended L.A. City College, excelling in athletics, particularly baseball. During this time, a classmate encouraged her to audition for a theatrical agent from the Donaldson-Middleton Agency. At just 17, she was signed immediately by Republic Studios to star as an ingénue alongside Roy Rogers and Dale Evans in the western Apache Rose (1947).
Initially credited as Donna DeMario, she received steady offers to appear in westerns, largely due to her equestrian skills—she owned a Palomino named Pal, stabled at the San Bernardino Orange Ranch. Although courted by MGM, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Brothers, Donna chose to sign with Universal-International. After two years, dissatisfied with the limited roles, she went freelance and established herself as a prolific and capable television actress. Frequently cast as south-of-the-border señoritas, she played leads opposite many famous western stars of the time, including Gene Autry, Randolph Scott, Dale Robertson (Tales of Wells Fargo, 1957), Gene Barry (Bat Masterson, 1958), and Clint Walker (Cheyenne, 1955). In 2002, Donna received the Golden Boot Award for her contributions to the western genre.
Besides her roles as sagebrush heroines, Donna portrayed an Indian princess in Last Train from Bombay (1952) and Jennifer Jones's sister in the lavish romantic drama Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955). She might prefer to forget her role as the commander of a spacecraft in the low-budget sci-fi film Project Moon Base (1953), which was shot in ten days at the old Hal Roach studio in Culver City. Her character, Colonel Briteis (pronounced 'Bright Eyes'), appeared in this brief (63-minute), poorly regarded, and somewhat misogynistic film.
In a later interview, Donna stated she never socialized with her male co-stars outside of publicity events. From 1953, she was married to baseball player Gene Corso of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who passed away in 1996.
Donna's acting career ended in 1963, though she continued appearing in some TV commercials. For several years, she ran a floor covering business and later became a regular attendee at film festivals and conventions.
