Donzella has degrees in criminal justice and political science from Morris Brown College and also attended Georgia State University. Donzella also has an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Macon’s Emmanuel Bible College. She is married to Elmo James. They have two sons, Bryant James and the late Kerry James.

Donzella is a retired member of the National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees and taught in the Atlanta public schools for over a decade.

Donzella James was first elected to the Georgia State Senate in 1993 to complete the remainder of an unexpired term and continued serving District 35 until 2002. In 2009, Donzella returned to the State Senate to fill another unexpired term. Donzella later won the 2012 election for State Senate District 35 and still serves in this capacity.