Doris has one brother Marty, who dodged the draft in the Vietnam War, and spent years in Canada. Upon his return (Homecoming) their father refused to have anything to do with him, although he knew exactly how long it had been since Marty had been gone. All of Doris' efforts were rebuffed by both her father and Marty, both exhibiting the Schwartz stubbornness that we've seen in Doris so many times. When she went missing overnight (she was spending the night at Bruno's, and the message got lost) the two of them teamed up to look for her and made up.

Doris' father was often stubborn and gruff, but he loved his daughter. His understanding of the love that a parent has for a child was what led him to allow his daughter to marry Jesse Velasquez, who she didn't even date, let alone love, in a marriage of convenience to allow him to stay in the country. When the immigration department refused to recognise the marriage, the two had it annulled.

One of Doris' first boyfriends on the show was Will (Greg Evigan) in the season 2 episode Relationships He was a country and western singer who worked in the bar where they were researching for the C&W production of "Romeo and Juliet" they were putting on. They sang the lovely duet "Lucky Enough for Two" and had a codeword "meteor madness" (after the pinball game) which they could use if either one of them ever needed the other. Tragically Will died when he was mugged and wouldn't let anyone steal his guitar. A tear-stricken Doris wrote all about it in her diary, and as she hugged her teddy bear, whispered "meteor madness" into the darkness. (**gets me every time! - j)

Her old boyfriend Sandy came back in the season 3 episode Bottle of Blues and Doris tried to cope with the re-occurence of his alcohol problem. It was what split them up the first time and did the same thing this time.

Doris' two best friends were Danny Amatullo and Bruno Martelli. Herself and Danny as a team were always good for the best one liners, especially from the episode Indian Summer where they started dating one another, when they were both on the rebound. It was Bruno she went to with all her problems, and she had a crush on him in the season 2 opener And the Winner Is.... The two even shared a kiss but it was interrupted when Reardon came in.

Doris had a fear of old people, which she got over in Sunshine Again

Doris also struggled with her self-image, especially in the episode Winners where she went on a crash diet to try to be more like Coco. The two eventually realised they were more alike than unlike and went on to be very close. She also had problems with Holly when she started at the school, but again, the two ended up good friends. In the episode The Monster That Devoured Las Vegas she was right in the middle of a war of words with Suzy Detroit and it took the two of them getting locked in the kitchen for them to work it out. It was then that Leroy, stuck in an air vent, and able to hear their every word (if you have to ask, you didn't see it!) told her that in the locker room talk, her name came up as much as anyones. It also emerged in her relationship with Will, where she brought Julie to the bar to see if her good looks would lure Will away from Doris. Julie was furious when she realised what she was doing, and Will was none too pleased either.

Doris was always passionate about her friends and her school. She spearheaded the protest movement against the moratorium imposed on dancing and singing in the halls in Spontaneous Combustion and fell out with Nicole, Cleo and Leroy over it. She wasn't shy about expressing her opinions or what she believed in.

Doris seemed also to have an affinity for befriending lame ducks. Herself and Montgomery helped Julie Miller to fit into the school (Metamorphosis) and in Street Kid she helped a runaway prostitute find her way back to her parents.

In Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf Doris was mugged and was badly affected by it.

Doris once worked at a summer camp for deaf kids and learned how to sign and read lips.

Doris' voice is one of the things that most people remember about Fame. Some have said that she was the most gifted singer on the show. Doris left after the fourth season, and we heard mention of her in the fifth season, where she was carrying a spear in Shakespeare in the Park. When she came back for Baby Remember My Name, the final episode, we learned that she was married, to Bob Rhythm, the director of the Kennedy Players of Akron, Ohio. They met during summer stock, and had a nine week old daughter, Jenny.

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