BIOGRAPHY

Donna Vivino grew up in Fair Lawn, N.J. and started in show business at the age of 3. She sang on a local television show and has been performing ever since. Shorty thereafter, she became a familiar face and voice on television commercials. She could be heard on hundreds of jingles and voiceovers including "Jello" with Bill Cosby. She eventually landed a New York based CBS television series "Hometown." It was around this time that Donna saw her first Broadway musical, ME AND MY GIRL. She was mesmerized by live theatre and announced to her family, "that's what I want to do. I want to be up on that stage!"

She went to an audition for LES MISERABLES with hundreds of girls and opened on Broadway on March 12,1987 in LES MIS. After leaving LES MIS Donna continued working in television and eventually made her first feature film, "Married To It." By now Donna was a junior high school student and continued performing in school productions as well as regional theatre productions in and around New jersey including JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT at the Montclair Opera.

After starring in PIPPIN, HELLO DOLLY, and WILL ROGERS FOLLIES at Fair Lawn High School under the direction of John Giresi, Donna's final high school performance would ironically be ME AND MY GIRL—the very show that started it all!

Next stop: college! Donna, played Adelaide, in Columbia University's production of GUYS AND DOLLS her freshman year. She also performed in the prestigious Columbia University Varsity Show which has featured composers and lyricists from Oscar Hammerstein to Tom Kitt. She continued doing jingles and in her senior year Donna was back on Broadway in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER. She graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University with a B.A. in English.

After college Donna began to fulfill her other passion: teaching. She taught master classes and workshops for Camp Broadway, Dance Designs, Fair Lawn Community School and Weehawken High School. After touring with HAIRSPRAY, Donna joined the world premiere cast of THE OPPOSITE OF SEX in San Francisco with Karen Ziemba and Kerry Butler. She fell in love with California and moved to Los Angeles to work in film and television. But Broadway called shortly thereafter and Donna headed back to the Big Apple to join the New York cast of HAIRSPRAY.

Donna currently resides in New Jersey and continues to teach at Weehawken High School while performing.