Steckbrief

Danielle Christine Fishel (born May 5, 1981, in Mesa, Arizona) is an Maltese-American actress who is best known for her role as Topanga Lawrence on the 1990s TV sitcom Boy Meets World ("Das Leben und ich").

Early Life

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

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 eventually became her full-time manager.

In 1993, at the age of 12, she began her well-known role as Topanga Lawrence on ABC's pilot series "Boy Meets World." Originally written as a small part, Topanga soon became a recurring role. After a successful first year, Fishel became a show regular. Fishel's character, Topanga, was a spunky, 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. Their characters eventually married. The long running show finally ended in 2000 after 7 years, with Cory and Topanga going to New York to pursue their 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.

Since Boy Meets World ended, Fishel has appeared in a number of 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 (reprising her role 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 NutriSystem. Following her appearance on the show, Fishel became a spokesperson for Nutrisystem. She also became a special correspondent for the Tyra show starting in early February 2007.

Personal life

In real life, Fishel dated her Boy Meets World co-star, Ben Savage. Her most visible relationship was with Lance Bass, who revealed that he was gay in 2006. Of Bass's 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."