Following early jobs as a secretary and short story writer, Donoghue's first writing credit was the 1984 film The Buddy System.
Donoghue co-wrote and co-produced Deceived (1991) and two years later, her first play, Me and Mamie O'Rourke, made its debut at the Strand Theatre in London.
[4] Donoghue's first writing credit was the 1984 romantic comedy drama The Buddy System, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Susan Sarandon.
[5] During filming, the director Garry Marshall asked Donoghue to add "a couple more sugars" to the script.
The play was staged at the Strand Theatre and starred British comedians Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.
Producer John Wells enlisted Donoghue to adapt White Oleander from the novel of the same name by Janet Fitch.
[13] Production wrapped in November 2013, but a crowd funding campaign was launched in February 2014 to help raise post-production finishing money.