Lynn Hamilton (born April 25, 1930) is an American actress who made her film debut in John Cassavetes' Shadows (1959). he is known for her recurring role as Donna Harris, a role she played on the sitcom Sanford and Son, from 1972 to 1977 as Fred Sanford's girlfriend and fiancee. In addition to Hamilton's work on Sanford and Son, she also had a recurring role as "Verdie" on The Waltons,[5] and made numerous appearances in television sitcoms, soap operas and miniseries such as Good Times, 227, Dangerous Women, Generations, Port Charles, The Golden Girls, Gunsmoke, and Roots: The Next Generations. Hamilton also had a recurring role as Judge Fulton on The Practice. She appeared in the following films: Buck and the Preacher (1972), Lady Sings the Blues (1972), The Jesse Owens Story (1984), The Vanishing (1993), Beah: A Black Woman Speaks (2003) and others.