Born to a medical equipment sales executive and a stage mom, Danielle Fishel knew that she ultimately had two paths in life. She could sleep in public bathrooms like the kid in The Pursuit of Happyness or she could fulfill the dreams of her mother and go into acting. A native of the commuter town of Mesa, Arizona, Danielle always had an innate sense of going someplace else to find the stardom her mother yearned for. However, since mesa means table in Spanish, Danielle would have to table her mother’s dreams until later in life.

Luckily, “later in life” meant “the age of 10,” when Danielle landed her first commercial role, probably for Welch’s Grape Juice, or LIFE cereal, or some other company that uses children to sell its second-rate products. As much as Danielle (and her stage-Mom / manager) enjoyed the paychecks and royalties coming in from hocking the work of others, she really wanted to pursue more the creative avenues of acting. Danielle got her big break with a guest-spot-turned-recurring-character-turned-main-character role on Boy Meets World. As the nerdy yet comely Topanga Lawrence, Danielle earned both critical acclaim (from her parents) and the adoration of many prepubescent fans.

As her character, uh, developed, so too did Topanga’s role on the show, once she was deemed attractive enough to be Cory Matthews’s girlfriend. She landed a cover spot on Seventeen magazine and was voted by Teen People as one of the 21 hottest stars under 21 (a list almost assuredly compiled by men over 40). Danielle knew she had achieved teen superstardom with the release of Grinders in Line, the in-line skating video released with co-star Rider Strong. Danielle was becoming household name, and her future was looking brighter than ever… but could it last?

SHOP AT: Welch’s

Like all child stars, Danielle wrestled with the pressures of maintaining a normal childhood and social life. And like so many before her, she failed–epically. Danielle took her long-time friend and then boyfriend Lance Bass to her high school prom, and, in a bizarre parallel to the prom episode of Boy Meets World, did not get any in the hotel room that night. It would be several years before Danielle found out why. The couple went through a very public break-up, citing the “constant time apart.” Few believed them.

But Danielle wouldn’t stay down for long. She wouldn’t drag her size 7 feet in the mud. No, she traded up for moderately-regarded Devon Sawa, a young actor famous for not being comfortable naked around girls. Unaware of Devon’s affliction as a never-nude, Danielle became incredibly self conscious of her own body. Her weight began to balloon out of control, and when Boy Meets World went off the air, Danielle found herself out of work for the first time in nine years. Sales of Grinders In-Line began to flatten, and she was turned down for the coveted role of “Kim” in 1996′s Flipper. For the first time in her life, Danielle did not know what to do next.

SHOP AT: Life Cereal

With her weight now well over her shoe collection size of 130, Danielle got a wake-up call. It was the hotel, she had to vacate immediately. Her career in flux, her weight escalating, and her Radisson membership voided, Danielle had hit rock bottom. In the basement of a small bakery, she considered her options. She could go on The Surreal Life, release a sex tape, or develop a drinking habit. She opted for the drinking habit, and was charged with a DUI by the Newport Beach Police Department.

Having tasted the sweet nectar of fame once again, Danielle knew she could claw her way back to the top. She sought guidance from long-time crackpot Tyra Banks, who showed her how to smile with her eyes, and advised her to drop 25 pounds. Ever the over-achiever, Danielle managed to lose 27 pounds on the Nutrisystem diet. She was later contacted by the company and added to their stable of C-level celebrities. She was back doing what she loved: commercials. The young girl born in the commuter town just outside Phoenix, Arizona, had risen from the ashes like the mythical Phoenix (not from Arizona). Another child star who battled the odds to become a normal, well-adjusted member of society.