Whatever Happened To Danielle Fishel?

Every era has its share of beloved coming-of-age sitcoms. Shows like "The Wonder Years," "Freaks and Geeks," and "Derry Girls" demonstrate how different eras and parts of the world may shift their depictions of growing up, but the awkwardness, for the most part, never changes. In the mid-1990s, one of the biggest sitcoms around was "Boy Meets World."

Though the show focused on the life of Cory Matthews (Ben Savage), the most enduring character is most likely his love interest, Topanga Lawrence. Played by Danielle Fishel, Topanga was an idealized but still believable role model for fans of the show; she's intelligent, quirky, and independent. Fishel made the role her own and created one of the most memorable network TV characters of the era. Not bad for someone who encountered her share of professional struggles before, during, and after her career-making role.

Many child actors have trouble living up to expectations after having such a huge breakout part, but Fishel found success in a number of different areas. Here's where else you can find the woman behind Topanga, in acting and beyond.

One of the reasons Topanga is such a beloved character is the breezy, self-assured attitude that Fishel brought to the role. She was smart and unique, but she carried herself with a confidence that almost forced you to believe in her. While major acting roles didn't seem to come her way after "Boy Meets World," Fishel still found herself on plenty of TV sets as a host.

Fishel eventually became the co-host of the MTV game show "Say What? Karaoke" for its final season, alongside "The Real World" contestant Steven Hill. She showed off her comedic delivery as the host of Style Network's "The Dish," a sister-show to the talk show-skewering E! series "The Soup."

"The Dish" was actually a pretty good steppingstone for Fishel, as it provided her with pathways into other hosting gigs. Though not all of her shows lasted very long, they helped prove that there was more to Fishel than just Topanga Lawrence.

Danielle Fishel showcased her hosting abilities on a number of traditional TV shows, but she also showed that she was fit for a more modern hosting gig. In 2013, she became the face of a Popsugar YouTube series called "Dear Danielle," where she provided advice on sex, dating, and love for the channel's audience.

"Dear Danielle" only lasted for about 20 episodes, but it was yet another example of Fishel showing off her natural charisma and charm. Some of the episodes are standard advice-style videos where Fishel addressed a specific question or comment from a user. Others delve more into skit territory, like her "How to Spot a Cheater" episode where Fishel donned mirrored sunglasses and a "CSI" jacket to show viewers the telltale signs to watch out for.

Ultimately, "Dear Danielle" didn't last, possibly because of its odd pairing of nostalgia and target demographic. A good portion of Popsugar's teenage audience in the early 2010s would've been too young to remember "Boy Meets World" from its late-'90s heyday, and thus, might not have recognized Topanga. 

By now, it should be fairly obvious that Danielle Fishel can be relatable and endearing, even while she's being celebrated as a generational sitcom crush. Her personality, plus her easy communicating style that she honed as an actor and host, lends itself perfectly to a memoir. In 2014, Fishel made that happen when she released "Normally, This Would Be Cause for Concern: Tales of Calamity and Unrelenting Awkwardness."

In her memoir, Fishel definitely dishes some stories of her time on "Boy Meets World" and other acting roles, but it isn't a juicy, tell-all story of tabloid fodder. Instead, Fishel uses her experiences to express certain themes — she seems to relish in her imperfections, and certainly has no issues with sharing some of her most embarrassing stories.

One of her memorable stories revolves around a Halloween party gone wrong. Fishel wore very tall heels and wound up tripping on an uneven sidewalk. She remembers being picked up by a "terrifyingly handsome" giant — a man she later identified as Ben Affleck. In her woozy state, she was more worried about bleeding on the star than about any injury she might have suffered. It's a fun, breezy read if you enjoy memoirs.

Though Fishel has made quite a name for herself as approachable and self-deprecating, she's also shared a few pretty scary stories of her time on "Boy Meets World." Considering she was a literal teenager on the show, some of her stories are not for the faint of heart. If eating disorders or harassment issues make you uncomfortable, consider skipping ahead to the next slide.

Fishel has often shared stories about her struggles with her body image, often due to societal pressures and comments from her show's audience. She says that "Boy Meets World" was an especially difficult time for her. She told People that, when she was 16, she weighed 89 pounds, took laxatives, and would sometimes eat only iceberg lettuce for her meals. She actually collapsed on set one day, and she eventually realized that her health was more important than forcing her body to adhere to impossible standards.

An even more creepy story involves fan correspondence. When Fishel first started on the show, she received a letter from a girl her age who was a fan. She began writing back and forth with the girl — who turned out not to exist. Fishel's mother eventually figured out that it was a grown man catfishing her. Fishel is able to discuss the situation now, so it seems like things got figured out, and the incident gave her and her costars a chance to talk about setting boundaries between actors and their fans.

If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

Let's take a mental trip together back in time to March 2021. As tends to happen in the era of social media, the internet's viral story-of-the-week was a man named Jensen who claimed to have found dried shrimp tails in his box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Jensen (full name Jensen Karp) is a comedian and Cinnamon Toast Crunch superfan. On March 22, 2021, he tweeted out an image that seemed to show cinnamon-sugar-covered shrimp tails that were mixed into a box of his cereal. There was plenty of back-and-forth with the social media accounts at General Mills, as they claimed it couldn't have occurred at their facility and asked Karp to send in the box so they could investigate.

If you're wondering what this has to do with Danielle Fishel, she and Jensen Karp are married and have children together. And yes, multiple Twitter users pointed out the odd coincidence of a man named Karp, a woman named Fish(el), and the mysterious case of the cereal shrimp tails.

Even weirder — just a little over a year prior to this incident, Fishel put out a sponsored tweet for a new Coffee Mate coffee creamer flavor. The flavor? Cinnamon Toast Crunch.