Danielle Fishel Biography

Danielle Fishel
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Danielle Fishel
Born Danielle Christine Fishel
May 5, 1981 (1981-05-05) (age 28)
Mesa, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation Actress

Danielle Christine Fishel (born May 5, 1981) is an American actress who is best known for her role as Topanga Lawrence on the 1990s TV sitcom Boy Meets World. She later appeared in National Lampoon's Dorm Daze and its sequel, and was a spokesperson for NutriSystem. She currently hosts The Dish.

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Early life

Danielle Christine Fishel was born to Rick Fishel, a medical equipment sales executive and Jennifer Fishel, a homemaker, in Mesa, Arizona. The family relocated to Yorba Linda, California when she was three weeks old. She has one younger brother, Christopher Fishel.

Career

In 1991, 10-year-old Fishel was discovered in a community theater where she performed in two productions, The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan. She quickly moved on to do voice-overs and commercials, including several as a Barbie Girl for Mattel. Soon after, she appeared on two episodes of the hit show Full House, guest starring as a character named Jennifer. She also had a small role on Harry and the Hendersons, playing Jessica. Fishel's mother became her full-time manager.

In 1993, at the age of 12, Fishel began her well-known role as Topanga Lawrence on ABC's pilot series Boy Meets World. Originally written as a small part, Lawrence became a recurring role. After a successful first year, Fishel became a show regular.1 Fishel's character, Topanga Lawrence, was a sparkly, intelligent girl who was mature beyond her years.

Throughout the series, a central plot was the relationship between her and main character, Cory Matthews. Their high-school sweetheart romance took them through high school, dealing with stereotypical "after-school special" themes such as peer pressure, teen sex, infidelity, and breakups. Topanga proposed to Cory at graduation and the show followed them to college. The characters married. The long-running show ended in 2000 after seven years, with Cory and Topanga going to New York to pursue careers.

Fishel was on the cover of Seventeen in December 1998. She took home a 1998 Young Star for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy TV Series. In June 1999, she was one of "The 21 Hottest Stars Under 21" as presented by Teen People.

Fishel was on the cover of GQ's hottest stars to watch in GQ's 1997 September issue. (GQ 1997 9)

Since Boy Meets World ended, Fishel has appeared in several films, including National Lampoon's Dorm Daze. In 2006, she appeared in three made-for-DVD releases: National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2: College at Sea (appearing again as "Marla" from the first film), the action film Gamebox 1.0 (playing a dual role), and The Chosen One, an independent animated film in which she provides the voice of the lead female character.

In 2006, Fishel appeared as a guest on The Tyra Banks Show where she discussed her dramatic weight loss with the use of the Nutrisystems Diet.2 Following her appearance on the show, Fishel became a spokesperson for NutriSystem. She also became a special correspondent for The Tyra Banks Show, starting in early February 2007.3

In August 2008, Fishel began hosting The Dish for the Style Network, which satirizes pop culture in a format similar to sister network E! Entertainment Television's The Soup. Fishel was also on Fuse TV as host of The Fuse 20, and was a guest star on the round table on an episode of Chelsea Lately.

Personal life

In real life, Fishel dated her Boy Meets World co-star, Ben Savage.23 She also briefly dated another of her Boy Meets World co-stars, Matthew Lawrence. Her most visible relationship was with Lance Bass, who revealed that he was gay in 2006.4 Of Bass' sexuality, Fishel said, "It wasn't a shock for me. I found out probably a year or two after we broke up. People magazine was not my first time knowing Lance was gay! He is an awesome guy, he was an awesome boyfriend and he is still a very good friend of mine."5 Fishel was seen in the audience after Bass performed his week 7 dance on the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars on November 3, 2008.

Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Other notes
2000 Longshot Gloria
2003 National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze Marla
2004 Gamebox 1.0 Kate/Princess
2006 National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2 Marla Direct-to-DVD Release
Television
Year Title Role Other notes
1992-1993 Full House Jennifer P. Episode: I'm Not D.J.
Episode: Silence is Not Golden
1993 Harry and the Hendersons Jessica Episode: The Long Goodbyes - Part 2
1996 Kirk Heather Episode: Stuck on You
1993-2000 Boy Meets World Topanga Lawrence Young Artist Award (nominated-2)
YoungStar Award (won-1) (nominated-1)
2000 Rocket's Red Glare Sarah Miller FOX Family TV-Movie
2001-2002 Nikki Stacy Episode: Vaya con Nikki
Episode: Welcome to the Rest of Your Life
2002 The Nightmare Room Camp Counselor
2003 Yes, Dear Katie Episode: Sorority Girl
2006 The Tyra Banks Show Herself Episode: Danielle Fishel; Jordin Sparks
2008 The Dish Herself/Host
2009 The Fuse 20 Herself/Host

References

  1. ^ Biography for Danielle Fishel. IMDb. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
  2. ^ a b The Tyra Banks Show. Friday, October 6, 2006. Warnerbros.com. Retrieved November 6, 2006.
  3. ^ a b 411 Movies Interview: Danielle Fishel of Boy Meets World and Game Box 1.0. (March 22, 2007). 411mania.com. Retrieved June 18, 2007.
  4. ^ Lance Bass: I'm Gay. (July 26, 2006) People. Retrieved July 26, 2006.
  5. ^ Catching Up With Danielle Fishel. (August 28, 2006) CelebrityWeek.com. Retrieved September 9, 2007.

External links