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The Bear season 4 welcomed some new guest stars, while also bringing back some from the previous seasons. One of the returning guest stars is Jamie Lee Curtis, who debuted as Donna Berzatto in the season 2 episode 6 Fishes.
For her performance in that episode, Curtis won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. She has reprised her role in The Bear season 4, where Donna shares an emotionally charged scene with her son, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White).
The Freaky Friday star's performance has once again left fans impressed, as one of them wrote on Reddit:
"SHE KILLED IT. I cried."
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Some other fans expressed similar sentiments about Jamie Lee Curtis's performance and character development as Donna in season 4.
"Her scene with Carmy this season was absolutely devastating," another fan wrote.
"DD is JLC’s watershed moment. Her character will be studied for years," another fan stated.
"Second Guest Actress Emmy coming her way," another user mused.
Fans continued to heap praise on Curtis for her portrayal of Donna, a recovering alcoholic, who is doing her best to make amends with her kids.
"She is honestly so good on this show," another fan wrote.
"She’s unbelievable in her role!!!!" another fan stated.
"She f**king crushed it this season," another fan added.
Jamie Lee Curtis opened up about the line from The Bear season 4 that affected her the most
Jamie Lee Curtis's Donna has complex relationships with her children. This is evident since season 1 episode 1 when Sugar (Abby Elliott) tells Carmy to call their mother, and he does not. Then, in season 2's Fishes, viewers learn about the disastrous holiday dinner that pushed Carmy away from Donna.
Donna has a full-blown meltdown in that episode and ultimately, crashes her car in the dining room. That is the last time Carmy talks to her before meeting her again at Frank and Tiffany's wedding in The Bear season 4. In episode 9, Donna revisits some memories with Carmy and admits that she has been sober for a year before reading an apology letter to him.
In an interview with TIME published on June 28, 2025, Jamie Lee Curtis was asked if there was a line in Donna's conversation with Carmy that particularly affected her. Curtis claimed that Donna admitting that she was incapable of helping Mike was the most emotional line for her because she, too, has a kid who has special needs.
"Oh yeah—what I just said about Mike. I did that as a statement of fact. I have to live with that. She also says it to Sugar in the hospital when Sugar says, 'You scared me and I don't want my baby to feel scared.' I said, 'I scared you?' Hearing that you have that effect on a human being's life is powerful," Curtis explained.
One of the central themes in The Bear season 4 is redemption. This plays out in the evolving relationship between Donna and Carmy, who experience their own emotional redemption arcs. Another powerful moment of reconciliation comes when Sugar and Francie Fak (Brie Larson) admit they missed each other, following an earlier explosive argument.
The Bear season 4 is available to stream on Hulu.
