Donna Jo Margaret "D.J." Tanner is a fictional character in the television sitcom Full House, portrayed by Candace Cameron. She is the oldest daughter of Pam and Danny Tanner.
Biography
D.J. Tanner was born on February 9, 1977. She is the oldest child in the Tanner family. D.J. is the older sister of Stephanie and Michelle Tanner. She shares a closer bond with Stephanie than with Michelle. Though she gets upset at times over her father prying into her or otherwise embarrassing her, she is always quick to apologize, especially when she yells at him. D.J. is often irritated about the limits her father places on her, and usually breaks these limits. In the end, she does learn her lesson (usually the hard way). This structure of one of the "Tanner sisters" learning a life-important lesson is shown in many episodes. D.J. is a straight A student (although she received a "F" and a "C" in science once, which never happened again).
From the season one episode "Daddy's Home", when she wouldn’t talk about how much she wished Danny wasn’t working so much because Stephanie would cry about Danny missing her recital, D.J. shows great sensitivity toward her younger siblings. She also stays home from her first non-mother/daughter slumber party to take care of Michelle when Jesse, Joey, and Stephanie all have the chicken pox, so Michelle won’t get it - even though Danny was perfectly willing to miss a chance to miss the game he wanted to go to. Stephanie quite often got on her nerves with her snooping, and this trend continued throughout the series.
Interests
Her interests include music (such as George Michael during season 2), movies, and hanging out with her friends. In a few episodes from season two, she was shown to love horseback riding, dreaming of having her own horse and practicing karate. D.J. has a Pillow Person that she's attached to; unlike Mr. Bear, D.J.'s Pillow Person is still seen until the series ends. D.J. has a charm bracelet that Pam gave her when she and Danny brought Michelle home from the hospital. D.J.'s favorite color is purple.
Education
D.J. attended Frasier Street Elementary School. In later seasons, she started attending Van Atta Junior High School (an inside joke referring to series producer Don Van Atta). In the last seasons, she attended Bayview High School. However, despite getting good grades, she was not admitted to her first college choice, Stanford University.
Relationships
Kimmy Gibbler
D.J.'s best friend is Kimmy Gibbler. In the first episode of the show, D.J. is seen talking on the phone with Kimmy. The two have occasional fights in the show, but rarely anything major. In the episode "Michelle Rides Again (Part 2)", Kimmy arranges for D.J. and Steve to go to the prom together.
Kathy Santoni
D.J. is also friends, and sometimes competitive, with Kathy Santoni. In one episode, Kathy has the flu and is unable to fulfill the role of Juliet in the school play Romeo and Juliet. D.J. takes the role of Juliet. In another episode, D.J. dates Micheal and breaks up with her cause Kathy is "prettier than her."
Michael Montfort
During the series, D.J. has also had several boyfriends. Her first boyfriend, Michael Montfort (played by Jonathan Brandis), appears in the season two episode "A Little Romance", while they are in 6th grade. Their "relationship" lasts only two days. He dumps her for Kathy Santoni, because he said that D.J. is smart and funny, but Kathy is pretty.
Kevin Gwynn
In the season three episode "13 Candles", D.J. has her first kiss with Kevin Gwynn after her birthday party. Initially, Kimmy wanted to "force" the kiss to happen by playing "spin the bottle". Just when D.J. and Kevin are about to kiss, Danny, Jesse, and Joey storm in, interrupting the moment. However, later at night, after the party ends, Kevin returns to bring D.J. her gift and they kiss alone in the backyard.
Nelson
In season eight, she has a wealthy boyfriend, Nelson. In the episode "D.J.'s Choice", Nelson and another suitor (Viper) fight for her affection until D.J. stops them by saying she will date neither of them.
Steve Hale
Her steadiest boyfriend is Steve Hale (played by Scott Weinger). Although he appears in season five (as Steve Peters), he officially joins the cast during the season six. Steve is two years older than D.J. During season seven ("Love on the Rocks"), he and D.J. break up because of having grown apart. However, he returns in the series finale to take D.J. to her prom. The two of them kiss.
Viper
In season eight, D.J. dates Viper, a member from her uncle's band, Hot Daddy and the Monkey Puppets. Stephanie and Michelle originally thought that she was dating Mongo, another member from the band. Danny and Jesse both dislike the idea of D.J. dating Viper; Jesse kicks Viper out of the band for a brief time after hearing the news. Viper and D.J. eventually break up in the episode "D.J.'s Choice", where Nelson, one of D.J.'s previous boyfriends, and Viper force her to choose between the two of them. D.J. stops them by saying she will date neither of them.
Trivia
- D.J.'s private phone number is 555-8722
- Her junior high school (Van Atta Junior High) is named after the producer of the show
- Her parents originally wanted to name her "Farrah" (after the actress, Farrah Fawcett) but Joey "saved" her and stopped them, claiming, "Hey, we can't name her after a hairstyle."
- Danny revealed that, when D.J. was younger, she had an imaginary friend named 'Norton the Duck' (in "Rock the Cradle" from season four)
- D.J. was shortly married to Sylvio in the season four episode "Greek Week"
- In "Shape Up" it is known that Chicken Parmesan is her favorite food
- She is the only main character (who has been a main character since season 1) who was not in every episode (she was not in the episode "Subterranean Graduation Blues")
Gallery
