Donahue's father was a pharmaceutical salesman, and she was raised in Cleveland and Cincinnati.
Her work gained notice when her 1985 play, Home Fires, received the Los Angeles County Cultural Award after being produced locally.
[3] New long-term contracts in the fall of 2003 made Donahue and Mendelsohn "the two highest-paid female writers in television drama.
"[1] Donahue's television credits include Emmy Award-winning scripts for the popular series Picket Fences.
Other television writing credits include China Beach, 21 Jump Street, Murder One, M.Y.O.B., High Incident, and Beverly Hills, 90210.