Donna Harris

Donna Harris is the long-time fiancee of widower Fred G. Sanford on the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son. Towards the beginning of the series, Fred's son Lamont was hostile, even ambivalent towards Donna, a practical nurse, whom he called "The Barracuda." He felt that way because he saw her as a threat to replace his mother, and tried to break up Fred and Donna's relationship. In time, however, Lamont grew to like Donna, even planning a surprise party for Fred's return from visiting relatives in St. Louis together along with Bubba, Aunt Esther, Grady, and Rollo in the fourth season's opening episode titled The Surprise Party (Season 4, episode #1). The role of Donna was played by actress Lynn Hamilton.

About Donna
Early in the show's run, Lamont, feeling that Donna, who had been dating Fred for some while before meeting him, later, upon their meeting, derides Donna as "the barracuda" and is openly hostile towards her, attempting to ruin her relationship with his father at least twice; Fred, who hastily had plans to get married again to her, had to settle on an engagement from her, which still chifed at Lamont, who saw Donna as a threat to his personal relationship and business partnership with his father, not to mention that another woman in the Sanford home as an attempt by Fred, who denied the accusation, to "smear his mother's memory".

In later episodes, however, Lamont and Donna begin to warm up to each other, becoming close friends in the care of aging Fred, not to mention that the two often served as the dual foil to many of his later antics and schemes. Lamont even invites Donna out to dinner with himself and his girlfriend/fiancee Janet Lawson, remarking that it would do his reputation good to be seen with "two lovely ladies."