Danielle Fishel

Born in Arizona, Danielle Fishel started acting as a child and was discovered while performing in community theater. She appeared in voiceover roles and commercials before booking a two-episode stint on Full House. Fishel scored her breakout role as Topanga on ABC’s sitcom series Boy Meets World, which ran from 1993 to 2000. She reprised the role in 2014 after Disney Channel expanded the universe with the Girl Meets World spinoff series.

Fishel has hosted various shows including Say What? Karaoke, The Dish and Drop the Mic. She has scored other TV roles on Gravity Falls, Star vs. the Forces of Evil and a guest appearance on The Masked Singer.

In addition to appearing in front of the camera, Fishel transitioned into directing to helm episodes of Sydney to the Max, Raven’s Home, Lopez vs Lopez and more. Fishel reunited with Boy Meets World costars Rider Strong and Will Friedle to host their “Pod Meets World” rewatch podcast.

Fishel was previously married to Tim Belusko, whom she met as a student at California State University. The pair called it quits in 2015 after two years of marriage and their divorce was finalized in 2016. Fishel moved on with Jensen Karp and the couple got married in 2018 before expanding their family with two sons.

Fishel revealed in August 2024 that she has been diagnosed with a form of breast cancer called DCIS.