Donna Boden (née Robbins) is a high school teacher and the wife of Wallace Boden. They have a son together, Terrance Boden. She is portrayed by Melissa Ponzio.
Quick Answers
How did Donna Boden and Wallace Boden first meet?
Who portrayed the character of Donna Boden in 'Chicago Fire'?
What incident led to Donna Boden visiting Firehouse 51?
What role did Peter Mills play in Donna and Wallace Boden's relationship?
Biography[]
Season 2[]
Donna first met Wallace during a fire at her apartment building. The heating was broken, so the residents had started using BBQ grills to heat their apartments, which led to a fire. She later came to Firehouse 51 to thank Wallace, who fails to notice that she is romantically interested in him. Thanks to Peter Mills' advice, Wallace eventually asks Donna on a date. (Out With a Bang)
Donna comes to Firehouse 51 to help out during a black-out and they make out before they are caught by Otis. (Tonight's the Night)
Donna invited Boden to meet her friends for dinner, which he accepted. During the dinner, she learns about his former stepson Jimmy and how he was married twice but those marriages fell apart. After the date out with her friends, she met him again and wanted Boden to meet her parents who were in town but she was sad when he ended things between them, as he believes he is damaged goods. (Keep Your Mouth Shut)
A few weeks later, he visits her at her school, but she cannot talk as she has a meeting to attend. Later that day, she comes to Firehouse 51 and reveals to Wallace that she is pregnant with his child. Wallace then proposes to Donna, stating that marriage would support her and the baby financially.
Chicago Fire - An Honest Proposal (Episode Highlight)
Donna isn't impressed by Wallace's non-romantic point of view. Confused, Wallace goes back to Peter for some advice, who suggests that he should speak about his feelings instead. Wallace then goes to Donna's school in his full dress uniform and proposes to her on the front steps with his grandmother's ring. Flattered by this gesture, Donna accepts his proposal.
Chicago Fire - Chief Boden's Wedding Ceremony (Episode Highlight)
Wallace and Donna have their wedding ceremony in front of Firehouse 51, with Herrmann as the best man and Mills as the officiant.
Season 3[]
In Santa Bites, Donna comes to the Firehouse to speak to Wallace about how they will name their baby. Donna wishes to hyphenate their last names, but Wallace refuses, citing tradition. Donna proceeds to go into labour in the middle of the firehouse and Wallace yells for help, only to discover that Ambulance 61 is out on a call. Newhouse and Boden assist Donna to the Squad 3 truck and they rush to the hospital, lights and sirens blaring, until they hit traffic. Stopped in their tracks, Donna gives birth to their son, Terrance Boden, in the back of the truck. Donna tells her husband it is all right for their son son to have just his last name. They eventually arrive at the hospital and as they are going inside, doctors notice that the baby is turning blue and rush into the hospital. Terrance in placed on ECMO to help his lungs function as Donna screams after him.
During Let Him Die, Donna is still worried about her son while the doctors tell them they’re doing everything they can. Eventually the doctors arrive with good news Terrence will be all right. Donna is relieved especially when her son comes back in the room and she is able to hold him. She is quite shocked when her father-in-law Wallace Boden Sr. arrives at the hospital. She is excited to have him join the moment.
During Three Bells, Wallace Sr. comes to stay at his son's house, where he shows her and Boden how to take care of Terrance while very excited to finally hold him. Wallace Sr. also refuses to tell his son of how long he is in town. Eventually Donna gets annoyed with Wallace Sr. telling her how to change to her son while demanding her husband speak to his father.
Season 4[]
Donna is surprised when a detective with Chicago P.D. confronts Boden at home and says that Holmes claimed that Boden broke into her apartment and assaulted her with a wine bottle and produces photographs that show an obviously battered Holmes. Despite all these claims Donna stands by her husband correctly believing that he was being framed for something he did not do. She later confront Serena and demanded she come clean about her accusations only to watch Serena get in the truck of an unknown man.
Season 5[]
In I Held Her Hand, Donna brings Terrance to the fire house so that he could say good night to his father. Wallace thanks her for this and tells her he will see them at home. When he comes home, Donna tells Wallace someone has been sitting outside their house in a car all day. Wallace angrily marches towards the car to find that it is his stepson, James, whom he introduces to his wife. Donna is particularly excited to finally meet James.
In That Day, Donna and Wallace allow James to stay with them for as long as he needs. After it was discovered that James has been abused by someone Donna and her husband sure looks when he does not come forward about it. Eventually James tells Wallace that his mother’s new boyfriend is the one attacking him, causing Wallace to go and confront the man and beat him senseless for his action.
In Trading in Scuttlebutt, Donna is seen with Boden at a CFD dinner, where Deputy District Chief Anderson shows up and starts an argument with Boden. Donna tells him to calm down and suggests they should both leave.
Season 6[]
In It Wasn't Enough, Donna suspects the fire at her school wasn't an accident. She is right, it was arson.
Season 8[]
She attends Joe Cruz's wedding along with her husband. (Light Things Up)
Season 9[]
She once uses the firehouse for her online classes, because the wi-fi at home broke down. Ritter and Gallo help her. (Don't Hang Up)
Appearances[]
| Season 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Problem House | Prove It | Defcon 1 | A Nuisance Call | A Power Move |
| Joyriding | No Regrets | Rhymes with Shout | You Will Hurt Him | Not Like This |
| Shoved in My Face | Out With a Bang | Tonight's the Night | Virgin Skin | Keep Your Mouth Shut |
| A Rocket Blasting Off | When Things Got Rough | Until Your Feet Leave the Ground | A Heavy Weight | A Dark Day |
| One More Shot | Real Never Waits | |||
| Season 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Always | Wow Me | Just Drive the Truck | Apologies Are Dangerous | The Nuclear Option |
| Madmen and Fools | Nobody Touches Anything | Chopper | Arrest in Transit | Santa Bites |
| Let Him Die | Ambush Predator | Three Bells | Call It Paradise | Headlong Toward Disaster |
| Red Rag the Bull | Forgive You Anything | Forgiving, Relentless, Unconditional | I Am the Apocalypse | You Know Where to Find Me |
| We Called Her Jellybean | Category 5 | Spartacus | ||
| Season 4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Let It Burn | A Taste of Panama City | I Walk Away | Your Day Is Coming | Regarding This Wedding |
| 2112 | Sharp Elbows | When Tortoises Fly | Short and Fat | The Beating Heart |
| The Path of Destruction | Not Everyone Makes It | The Sky Is Falling | All Hard Parts | Bad For the Soul |
| Two Ts | What Happened to Courtney | On the Warpath | I Will Be Walking | The Last One for Mom |
| Kind of a Crazy Idea | Where the Collapse Started | Superhero | ||
| Season 5 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hose or the Animal | A Real Wake-Up Call | Scorched Earth | Nobody Else Is Dying Today | I Held Her Hand |
| That Day | Lift Each Other | One Hundred | Some Make It, Some Don't | The People We Meet |
| Who Lives and Who Dies | An Agent of the Machine | Trading in Scuttlebutt | Purgatory | Deathtrap |
| Telling Her Goodbye | Babies and Fools | Take a Knee | Carry Their Legacy | Carry Me |
| Sixty Days | My Miracle | |||
| Season 6 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| It Wasn't Enough | Ignite on Contact | An Even Bigger Surprise | A Breaking Point | Devil's Bargain |
| Down Is Better | A Man's Legacy | The Whole Point of Being Roommates | Foul Is Fair | Slamigan |
| Law of the Jungle | The F is For | Hiding Not Seeking | Looking for a Lifeline | The Chance to Forgive |
| The One That Matters Most | Put White On Me | When They See Us Coming | Where I Want To Be | The Strongest Among Us |
| The Unrivaled Standard | One for the Ages | The Grand Gesture | ||
| Season 7 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Closer Eye | Going To War | Thirty Percent Sleight Of Hand | This Isn't Charity | A Volatile Mixture |
| All The Proof | What Will Define You | The Solution to Everything | Always A Catch | Inside These Walls |
| You Choose | Make This Right | The Plunge | It Wasn't About Hockey | What I Saw |
| Fault in Him | Move a Wall | No Such Thing as Bad Luck | Until the Weather Breaks | Try Like Hell |
| The White Whale | I'm Not Leaving You | |||
| Season 8 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacred Ground | A Real Shot in the Arm | Badlands | Infection, Part I | Buckle Up |
| What Went Wrong | Welcome to Crazytown | Seeing is Believing | Best Friend Magic | Hold Our Ground |
| Where We End Up | Then Nick Porter Happened | A Chicago Welcome | Shut It Down | Off the Grid |
| The Tendency of a Drowning Victim | Protect a Child | I'll Cover You | Light Things Up | 51's Original Bell |
| Season 9 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rattle Second City | That Kind of Heat | Smash Therapy | Funny What Things Remind Us | My Lucky Day |
| Blow This Up Somehow | Dead of Winter | Escape Route | Double Red | One Crazy Shift |
| A Couple Hundred Degrees | Natural Born Firefighter | Don't Hang Up | What Comes Next | A White-Knuckle Panic |
| No Survivors | ||||
| Season 12 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barely Gone | Call Me McHolland | Trapped | The Little Things | On the Hook |
| Port in the Storm | Red Flag | All the Dark | Something About Her | The Wrong Guy |
| Inside Man | Under Pressure | Never Say Goodbye | ||