Donna Chambers

"Sometimes sacrifices need to be made in the name of science."

- Donna Chambers to Mr. Jingles

Donna Chambers is a major antagonist in American Horror Story: 1984. She was a PhD psychology student who posed as "Nurse Rita", Camp Redwood’s no-nonsense nurse and resident ghost story teller”. She became fascinated with Benjamin Richter a.k.a. Mr. Jingles and needed to study him in his natural habitat, so she became his collaborator.

However, as the story progress, she slowly had a change of heart upon witnessing Richard Ramirez being revived by Satan and discovering that Mr. Jingles was not a real serial killer, just being manipulated into such, thus changing her point of view. One year later, Donna saved a framed Brooke Thompson by faking the latter's death, before they settled out to clear Brooks' name.

She is portrayed by Angelica Ross.

Past
Before joining Camp Redwood Donna Chambers had done doctoral work at Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania, both Ivy League institutions.

In 1980, Donna discoverd her father, David Chambers, was a serial killer. Donna catched him in the act when she broke into his apartment, suspecting that he was cheating on her mother. David then admitted his natural inclination to kill in front of his daughter before stabbing himself in the neck, killing himself. This event traumatized Donna and motivated her into studying serial killers, trying to understand their psyche and claiming she would make them talk even if their lips were sealed.

Upon arriving at Red Meadows Asylum, Donna vistited Benjamin Richter, aka Mr. Jingles, and discussed with him the rise of serial killers in recent years. She became so fascinated by him that she set up his escape in order to study him in his natural habitat. After kidnapping the real Nurse Rita, Donna stole her identity and went to work as Camp Redwoodʼs on-site nurse for the summer.

Trivia

 * This is the first role of Angelica Ross in American Horror Story, after already working with Ryan Murphy with the role of Candy Ferocity (formerly Abundance) in Pose. Her series regular role as Rita/Donna in AHS made her the first transgender actor in history to secure two series' regular roles.
 * There were several serial killers Donna mentioned she had made a research, including, , , and.
 * Among them, John Wayne Gacy appeared as a ghost in American Horror Story: Hotel, portrayed by John Carroll Lynch who also portrayed Mr. Jingles and Twisty the Clown, a character inspired by Gacy.
 * Donna's last name might be a shout out to Marion Chambers, a nurse and fairly prominent character played by Nancy Stephens in the Halloween franchise.