Donna Lee Butterworth was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 23, 1956, the daughter of Isabella "Isa" Chalfant (b. 1929). She had one sibling, a brother named william "Bill" Butterworth. Butterworth's family lived in Pennsylvania for the first three years of her life before they moved to Hawaii, where Butterworth remained until her death. Butterworth admired Hawaii and its culture. She learned to play the ukulele.
Performing Hawaiian music from an early age, Donna gave concerts around the islands and worked with Don Ho. She was discovered by the producers of Paradise, Hawaiian Style where she appeared opposite Elvis Presley, singing several duets with him. Little Leatherneck, an unsold sit-com pilot film in which she appeared, aired on ABC television as part of the 7- week 1966 series Summer Fun.
