Danielle Fishel in the April issue of 'Maxim.'"Boy Meets World" star Danielle Fishel -- Topanga on the popular '90s sitcom-- isn't wearing much on the cover of "Maxim." But she's dishing plenty in the interview inside, including the origin of the name "Topanga."
Fishel is set to return as Topanga in the "Boy Meets World" spinoff, "Girl Meets World," later in 2013, but first she's talking to "Maxim" about how show creator Michael Jacobs came up with her character's name. Jacobs "was driving down the highway when production called and said, 'We need a name for this character!' He happened to be driving past Topanga Canyon," and the coincidence led to the coinage. "He says that if they had called him two miles later, I would've been named Canoga, which is the next exit."
We don't know if "Canoga" would have had the same staying power, as Fishel also tells the lad mag that the show's fans have named their little girls after the character. She's met five mini-Topangas herself, and heard about many more. She doesn't quite get it, though: "It's crazy and it's flattering, but I never know what to say when they're showing me their beautiful little girls. I'm like, "Really? Topanga?" (Which teen-show character would Fishel herself pick for a daughter of her own? Perhaps Tiffani Thiessen's Kelly Kapowski from "Saved by the Bell," whom Fishel calls her "first-ever girl crush." "She's still stunning," Fishel said of the now-"White Collar" star.)
Fishel also put rumors to rest that she and co-star/eponymous "Boy" Ben Savage had been romantically entangled -- rumors she accidentally started by telling Tyra Banks on her talk-show that "Ben and I went on a date, and that turned into 'Danielle and Ben dated.' We went on one date, when I was about 15," before realizing they were more like brother and sister.
Fishel talks about getting pranked by Bob Saget on a plane; her fiancé's "Mortal Kombat" tattoo; and her favorite album -- if you're not too busy staring at her skimpy attire to read the interview.
[Related: 20 Fun Facts About 'Boy Meets World']
And in case you're thinking this is a shocking twist for a Disney star, Fishel's not the first Disney heroine to appear on the "Maxim" cover in boudoir-wear. Past cover girls include Christina Aguilera, who got her start on "The Mickey Mouse Club"; Hilary Duff, star of Disney's "Lizzie McGuire" (sister and co-star Hayley has also had a turn); and Lindsay Lohan of the Disney "Parent Trap" remake.
The April issue of "Maxim" is on newsstands now; "Girl Meets World" hits Disney airwaves later this year.
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