Donna Hanscum is the sheriff of Stillwater, Minnesota and a hunter.
Background
Donna grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota. She has at least one sibling, who has a daughter Wendy. Previously was married to another sheriff named Doug, who left her because of her weight.
Season 9
Donna went to Canyon Valley Health Spa to lose weight. The first day she lost 10 pounds due to a Pishtaco sucking the fat out of her. She was unaware of what happened and blew the Winchesters cover to the monsters.[1]
Season 10
Donna with Jody Mills
Donna attended a sheriff convention in Hibbing where she met Jody Mills. They were paired up as partners, much to Jody's dismay. They investigated a case where a man was eaten almost entirely. Jody called Sam and Dean Winchester to help. Donna ran into her ex-husband Doug, who treated her horribly, but she just took the insults. Jody tried to stand up for her by telling Doug that he was a douche. Donna became very upset with her after that. She went outside and found a blood trail. She followed it only to find Sheriff Cuse, the sheriff of Hibbing, standing over a dead body with vampire fangs. She told Jody who told her that vampires were real and Cuse was one of them. She formally met Sam and Dean, who told her of what occurred at the weight loss retreat. She decided to go along with Jody and Winchesters to the vampire nest, though they were captured. While captured, she brought up Cuse's vampire manners when he found a corpse before she watches him refuse to kill and being killed by Starr. Dean and Donna broke free and she killed Starr, before she got to Jody. Jody then congratulated her act and offered to teach Donna to hunt and she liked the idea.[2]
Season 11
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Donna greets Sam and Dean.
Now covering Cottage Grove as well due to budget cuts, Donna was called in on a case where a man in a bunny mask murdered Stan Hinkle. After the mask wouldn't come off, Donna called in the Winchesters for help. As the Winchesters tried to identify the man, Donna tried to take him to the hospital with the help of her deputy, Doug Stover. However, the man attacked the two, forcing Doug to kill him.
Donna was horrified to learn that the young man, Mike Hooks, was controlled by the mask that the Winchesters believe to be a cursed object and was thus another innocent victim. Donna burned the mask and they believed it to be over, but a court jester attacked the local high school coach, Phil Evans, and left him in a coma. Realizing that they were dealing with a ghost, Dean informed Donna that salt or iron should break the spirit's possession. Though Donna offered the salt she uses for her diet, Dean instead pulled out a shotgun and shot the jester with rock salt, breaking the spirit's hold over the young woman, Michelle. Knowing Michelle didn't deserve to go to prison for a crime that wasn't her fault, Donna agreed to make up a story and release her as no one ever saw Michelle's face.
The three learned that Rita Johnson donated the costume, so Donna distracts Rita's son Max while the Winchesters spoke to Rita. Afterward, they informed her that they believed Rita's brother Chester was their ghost and they needed to locate and burn the remaining costumes. Donna agreed to do that with Doug, having already had Doug collect all the costumes from the high school. Sam later called her after a possessed old man killed Phil at the hospital. Donna lied to an increasingly-disbelieving Doug who Sam pointed out she was mistreating due to her past with her ex-husband Doug.
Afterward, Donna continued her search with Doug's help, eventually locating and burning all of the costumes. After setting them all on fire, she called Sam who asked her about a deer's head mask. Donna told him it wasn't on her list as Max Johnson, possessed by Chester through the deer's head mask, attacked Sam. After the Winchesters dispatched Chester, Donna and Doug visited the scene and the Winchesters tell her she's now an official hunter as she has three cases under her belt, leaving Donna excited. Donna apologized to Doug for her behavior and he forgave her, telling Donna he has baggage too. Donna then relaxed around Doug and even joked with him.[3]
Season 12
In Who We Are, Donna is stated to be waiting at a safe house for Alex when she says goodbye to Jody Mills before Jody goes to help take down the British Men of Letters.
Season 13
In Wayward Sisters, Alex tells Jody that she called Donna and Walt, but neither had seen any sign of the Winchesters.
Later, after fleeing from an attack by monsters from the Bad Place, Jody calls in Donna for backup. Donna shows up with a vehicle full of weapons and is stated to have killed "a lot of vampires." Donna helps determine where the rift to the Bad Place is located and joins Jody in searching the ship. The two locate the rift but come under attack by the monsters. Claire kills one with Donna's flamethrower and Donna teams up with Jody, Alex, and Patience Turner to defend the rift as Claire and Kaia Nieves travel through to rescue the Winchesters. Working together, the group kills the attacking monsters and Claire rescues the Winchesters, but Kaia is killed.
That night, Donna helps clean up Jody's house and sits down to dinner with Jody, Alex, Claire, and Patience.
Weeks later, Donna's niece Wendy is kidnapped, she calls Sam and Dean for help as Jody and the girls are busy. They agree to help her since they owed her for rescuing them.
Donna's boyfriend, Doug Stover, also accompanies them in investigating Wendy's disappearance. Now dating Donna but unaware of her hunter lifestyle, Doug is surprised to learn that the Winchesters are supposedly related to Donna and by Dean's rough tactics with Marlon. After realizing that the victims have been kidnapped for a monster auction, Donna is forced to tell Doug the truth about what's out there.
When the Winchesters go after the Butterfly, Doug is left to guard Marlon who reveals himself to be a vampire and attacks Doug, turning Doug into a vampire as well. Donna and Dean return, they are horrified to learn that Doug has been turned. Giving into his new hunger, Doug attacks Donna and attempts to feed on her. However, Dean subdues Doug with dead man's blood and realizes that since Doug has not yet fed, they can cure him. After Donna kneecaps Marlon, Dean is able to get Marlon's blood and Donna interrogates him on her niece's location threatening to kill him. Marlon gives up the location and Donna presumably kills him. She soon feeds Doug the cure in the backseat of the Impala. On the way, they realize Sam was kidnapped by Terrance Clegg who was the actual criminal who was auctioning people to monsters.
At the hideout, Donna located her scared niece who was relieved to see her, but The Harvester entered the room and shoved Donna to the ground, causing Donna to lose her shotgun. The harvester drew his meat cleaver and began swinging at Donna, but Donna dodged his attacks and grabbed a crowbar from a nearby shelf. Donna struck the harvester in the legs and face, stunning him and causing the harvester to drop his meat cleaver. As the harvester came at Donna again, she grabbed the meat cleaver and drove it through the harvester's heart, killing him instantly.
Donna freed her niece as Dean killed Clegg and was able to rescue his brother, ending the illicit business.
After the case is over, Donna takes her niece to the hospital to recover as she and the Winchesters wait for Doug to regains consciousness and he does and is human again. They explain their activities and ask if he can help them, however, Doug is terrified by what he witnessed and went through and refuses to have anything to do with the hunting lifestyle.
Donna listens as Doug states he became a cop because he likes helping people but fighting monsters is too much for him. Though Doug acknowledges that he loves Donna and that she's "a damn hero," he breaks up with Donna and leaves. Sam tells Donna to let Doug go, feeling that he will only get hurt or killed by being involved in Donna's life. Donna breaks down at that rejection and Dean comforts her.
Personality
She is introduced as very cheerful person and is always seen happy. However, she had insecurities as she was self-conscious of her weight and timid in the presence of her ex-husband Doug Kontos who often ridiculed her with that fact.
After seeing Len Cuse as a vampire, she was very shaken and couldn't believe monsters existed. Once she wrapped her mind around it, Donna slowly became more open minded to the supernatural and killing a vampire excited her. Donna eagerly accepted Jody's offer to learn how to be a Hunter and how to perform such acts on her own.
Due to how bad things ended with her ex-husband, she was hesitant about getting into another relationship especially when another man who had the same name as him appeared. However, she decided to give him a chance and formed a relationship with him.
Skills and Abilities
- Basic Hunting Skills- Donna has proven to be skilled in hunting, after being told of monsters she was given info on them. She is quite skilled in hunting vampires and easily killed one on her own and was given teaching by Jody Mills how to do so. As seen in Wayward Sisters, Donna is still skilled in hunting and was shown to have an arsenal of weapons. She was able to kill many Cloaked Figures and barely get a scratch.
Appearances
- Season 9
- Season 10
- Season 11
- Season 12
- Who We Are (mentioned only)
- Season 13
- Season 14
- Nightmare Logic (mentioned only)
- Damaged Goods
- Absence (mentioned only)
Trivia
- At one point in Plush, Donna quips "I was born at night Dean, not last night." Bobby Singer said something similar when Soulless Sam tried to kill him in Appointment In Samarra.
- During the filming of The Purge, actress Briana Buckmaster was 7 months pregnant.
- She has been continuously referred to as "Fat Sucker Donna".
- In Hibbing 911, Donna states that she has been hunting game since she was young. She also states that while she works out of Stillwater, she grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota.
- Donna would have been a major character in the upcoming spinoff, Supernatural: Wayward Sisters.
- In Wayward Sisters, Donna shows up with a trunk full of weapons and defends herself as being from Minnesota. Donna calls this trunk "the basics." Her license plate is shown to read D-Train.
- In Wayward Sisters, Jody calls Donna better than the National Guard for backup.
- In Wayward Sisters, Jody and Donna imply that Donna specializes mainly in hunting vampires. When introducing Donna, Jody states that Donna has "killed a lot of vampires" with Donna replying that "I do what I do."
- Donna has had relationships with two men named Doug (one being her ex-husband and the other a boyfriend).
- Ironically, both dumped her but for different reasons, one of them was a jerk and the other was out of fear of her hunter lifestyle.