Danielle Fishel

Danielle Christine Fishel (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; born May 5, 1981)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is an American actress and director. Her career started in community theater, and she made her screen debut with guest roles on shows such as Full House (1992–1993) and Harry and the Hendersons (1993). Fishel's breakthrough came with the role of Topanga Lawrence on the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World (1993–2000), which she later reprised in its successor, Girl Meets World (2014–2017), on Disney Channel. For the role, she received a YoungStar Award in 1998.

After Boy Meets World, Fishel appeared in a number of films; her first feature film role being in the 2000 comedy Longshot. She also acted in National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze (2003) and its 2006 sequel, followed by the animated film The Chosen One (2007) and the drama Boiling Pot (2015). Fishel also made her directorial debut in 2016 with episodes of Girl Meets World, and has since directed episodes of other series, including Raven's Home (2019–2022), Coop & Cami Ask the World (2019–2020), Sydney to the Max (2019–2021), Just Roll with It (2020), and more.

Outside of fiction media, Fishel was the host of Style Network's The Dish (2008–2011), and is also a resident reporter on PopSugar, and on their spin-off YouTube channel, PopSugar Girls Guide. In 2025, she was a contestant in the 34th season of Dancing with the Stars, coming in eighth.

Early life

Fishel was born in Mesa, Arizona, the daughter of Jennifer, a personal manager, and Rick Fishel, former president of Masimo Corporation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fishel is of maternal Maltese descent through both grandparents.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref> She graduated from Calabasas High School in Calabasas, California in 1999.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

1991–1998: Career beginnings and debut

In 1991, at the age of 10, 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 voiceovers 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also had a small role on Harry and the Hendersons, playing Jessica.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fishel's mother became her full-time manager.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1993, at the age of 12, she began her role as Topanga Lawrence-Matthews on the ABC series Boy Meets World. Initially a different actress was cast, but series Michael Jacobs did not like her performance and therefore replaced her with Fishel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Originally written as a small part, Topanga became a recurring role.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After a successful first year, Fishel became a show regular. The show ended in 2000 after seven years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Fishel was on the cover of Seventeen magazine in December 1998.Template:Cn She won an award, the 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" in Teen People magazine.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> She was on the cover of GQ magazine's hottest stars to watch in the October 1997 issue. She appeared in the music video for "Until You Loved Me" by Canadian music group The Moffatts.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

2003–2011: Films and television presenting

Template:BLP sources section Following Boy Meets World, she began to work heavily in television, and in 2003 co-hosted Say What? Karaoke on MTV for one season. She also 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 (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, she appeared as a guest on The Tyra Banks Show where she discussed her dramatic weight loss with the use of the Nutrisystems Diet.<ref name="tyra">The Tyra Banks Show. Friday, October 6, 2006. Warnerbros.com. Retrieved November 6, 2006.</ref> Following her appearance, she became a spokeswoman for Nutrisystem. She also became a special correspondent for The Tyra Banks Show, starting in early February 2007.<ref name="mania411">Template:Cite web</ref> By 2010, she had gained some of the weight back, and told People magazine she could not maintain her Nutrisystem weight.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

From August 2008 to March 2011, Fishel hosted The Dish for the Style Network, which satirized pop culture in a format similar to sister network E!'s The Soup. She 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. In 2012, she became the host of MSN TV's Last Night on TV.

2013–present: Current work

File:Danielle Fishel photo Red Carpet.jpg

Fishel at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards (2016)

In 2013, she starred in the drama Boiling Pot (released in 2015), which is based on true events of racism that occurred on college campuses across the country during the 2008 United States presidential election.<ref name=A>Template:Cite web</ref> The film also stars Louis Gossett Jr., Keith David, M. Emmet Walsh, and John Heard. Fishel plays an average college girl, naive regarding racism and unaware of its existence. In October 2013, she was featured in Clapping for the Wrong Reasons, a short film to promote Childish Gambino's second studio album, Because the Internet.Template:Citation needed

In 2014, she reprised her role of Topanga Lawrence-Matthews in the Boy Meets World spin-off series, Girl Meets World.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The series premiered on Disney Channel on June 27, 2014, and features Topanga and her Boy Meets World love interest Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) married in their adult years with two children. The series follows Cory and Topanga's daughter Riley (Rowan Blanchard) and her friend, Maya (Sabrina Carpenter) as she enters middle school and tries to navigate through life. The series ended on January 20, 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In an episode that aired January 9, 2018, she competed against actor Jonathan Lipnicki on TBS's Drop the Mic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She has hosted the Boy Meets World rewatch podcast Pod Meets World with Rider Strong and Will Friedle since 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2025, she competed on season 34 of Dancing with the Stars, being eliminated from the show on November 4, 2025, coming in 8th.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

At age 27,<ref name=us-engaged /> Fishel began attending California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), graduating in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During her university studies, she became a math tutor, leading her to meet fellow student Tim Belusko.<ref name=us-engaged>Template:Cite news</ref> After over three years' dating, she became engaged to Belusko in May 2012.<ref name="maxim2013">Template:Cite news</ref> They married in Los Angeles on October 19, 2013,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Ben Savage and Home Improvement cast member Jonathan Taylor Thomas were said to be in attendance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In May 2016, it was reported that she had filed for divorce the previous year; this was final in March 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In December 2007, Fishel was arrested on a drunk driving warrant. She was released from jail shortly after her arrest.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On July 4, 2017, toward the end of episode #303 of his podcast Get Up On This, Jensen Karp announced that he was dating Fishel. On March 22, 2018, the couple were engaged<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and married on November 4.<ref name="instagram.com">Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Their first son was born on June 24, 2019, arriving a month early.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He spent three weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit. Fishel said that fluid was found in his lungs that had not been present prior to that. Fishel and Karp had a second son on August 29, 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On August 19, 2024, Fishel announced on her podcast, Pod Meets World, that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992, 1993	Full House	Jennifer P.	Episodes: "I'm Not D.J.", "Silence Is Not Golden"
1993	Harry and the Hendersons	Jessica	Episode: "The Long Goodbyes: Part 2"
1993–2000	Boy Meets World	Topanga Lawrence	Recurring role: season 1; main role: seasons 2–7
1996	Kirk	Heather	Episode: "Stuck on You"
1997	ABC TGIF	Topanga	Episode: "Frightful Halloween Bash"
2000	Rocket's Red Glare	Sarah Miller	Movie
2001, 2002	Nikki	Stacy	Episodes: "Vaya Con Nikki", "Welcome to the Rest of Your Life"
2002	The Nightmare Room	Counselor	Episode: "Camp Nowhere: Part 1"
2003	Yes, Dear	Katie	Episode: "Sorority Girl"
2012	The Soup	Lizdsay Taylorhan / Herself	Episode: "The Soup Salutes WWE Pile Driving Clips in Your Face"
2014–2017	Girl Meets World	Topanga Lawrence-Matthews	Main role; also co-producer (51 episodes), director (4 episodes), writer (1 episode)
2015–2016	Gravity Falls	Pyronica	Voice role; three-part finale: "Weirdmageddon"
2019	Star vs. the Forces of Evil	Librarian	Voice role; episode: "Kelly's World"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Reality
2003	Say What? Karaoke	Herself / Host
2008–2011	The Dish
2009	The Fuse 20
2018	Drop the Mic	Herself	Episode: "Danielle Fishel vs. Jonathan Lipnicki / Shania Twain vs. Meghan Trainor"
2022, 2025	The Masked Singer		Guest; S08E06, S13E10
2025	Dancing with the Stars	Contestant	Season 34

Film

Year	Title	Role	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
2007	The Chosen One	Donna Goldstein	Voice role
2013	Clapping for the Wrong Reasons	Herself	Short film
2015	Boiling Pot	Valerie Davis

Director

Year	Title	Notes
2016–2017	Girl Meets World	4 episodes
2019–2021	Sydney to the Max	11 episodes
2019–2022	Raven's Home	7 episodes
2019–2020	Coop & Cami Ask the World	2 episodes
2020	Just Roll with It	Episode: "Aliens Among Us"
2022–2023	The Villains of Valley View	7 episodes
2023–2025	Lopez vs Lopez	8 episodes
2023	Pretty Freekin Scary	4 episodes
2025	Wizards Beyond Waverly Place	2 episodes
	Shifting Gears	Episode: "Grief"
	Electric Bloom	3 episodes
	Vampirina: Teenage Vampire	3 episodes

Accolades

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result	Template:Abbr
1996	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actress: TV Comedy Series	Boy Meets World	Template:Nom	<ref>17th Young Artist Awards Template:Webarchive (1995). youngartistawards.com. Accessed June 6, 2012.</ref>
1997		Best Performance in a TV Comedy: Supporting Young Actress		Template:Nom	<ref>18th Young Artist Awards Template:Webarchive (1996). youngartistawards.com. Accessed June 6, 2012.</ref>
1998	YoungStar Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy TV Series		Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed
2000		Best Young Actress/Performance in a Comedy TV Series		Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed

External links

• Template:Official website
• Template:IMDb name