Danielle Fishel’s Bold Move Onto The ‘DWTS’ Stage

Once a ’90s pinup icon gracing magazine covers, she’s now ready to trade scripts for sequins, embracing vulnerability, transformation, and pure joy in front of millions.

On Wednesday, the actress was revealed as one of the new celebrity contestants for “Dancing with the Stars” season 34, and she couldn’t be more thrilled.

Speaking to the Daily Mail after the cast reveal, Fishel shared that this wasn’t the first time she has been asked to join the competition.

“After being asked before to join DWTS, I finally said yes this time around when I got a call in mid-to-end of July,” she explained. “This year, when they asked, it was the most immediate and fastest ‘yes’ of the year. I just knew for sure this time was right and I wanted to do it.”

Though she’s spent the last several years behind the camera as a director, Fishel admitted the idea of performing again is a mix of exciting and nerve-racking.

“There is definitely a vulnerable feeling putting on a costume and these costumes are way sexier than anything I wear in my mom life, so there’s a little bit of vulnerability with that. But honestly, I’m just excited for the whole experience,” she confessed.

With two young sons, Adler, 6, and Keaton, 4, Fishel balances motherhood with the demanding rehearsal schedule. Yet she sees the show as an opportunity for personal growth.

“My physical goals are just to get into the best shape of my life because I’m going to be training for four hours a day, six days a week at least. So I think I’m going to get in pretty good shape,” she shared.

However, for Fishel, it’s not just about physical changes.

“And my mental goal’s almost kind of the opposite — I want physically to be the strongest and most strict with myself I’ve ever been, and mentally, I really want to give myself a lot of grace and try to feel what it feels like to feel proud of myself. This time I really want to try to live in it and really experience joy and pride,” she added.

As part of the show’s tradition, secrecy was essential before the big reveal. Fishel and her pro partner, Pasha Pashkov, were instructed to arrive at rehearsals in disguise. She laughed as she recalled her creative disguises, which included Hulk, Iron Man, Black Panther, and even Spider-Man masks.

Her chemistry with Pasha has been instant. “He’s a perfect personality fit, and we get along really well,” she said, adding that both are perfectionists, which fuels their drive to perform.

Even fellow pro Val Chmerkovskiy couldn’t resist sharing his admiration. According to Fishel, he approached her and asked if it was inappropriate to say he loved her.

She also admitted she hopes to form an alliance with Dylan Efron and his partner, dreaming of reaching the finals together.

To celebrate her journey, Fishel launched her own podcast, “Danielle with the Stars, with iHeartPodcasts.”

Her first guest? None other than Pashkov himself.

Long before the glitzy ballroom, Fishel was making headlines as one of the hottest stars of the ’90s.

In 2013, she posed in lacy lingerie for Maxim, cementing her bombshell status. But she has since expanded her career beyond acting.

After reprising her role in Disney Channel’s “Girl Meets World,” Fishel transitioned into directing.

Since 2017, she has helmed over 50 episodes of multi-camera television, including “Raven’s Home,” which earned her Emmy nominations, as well as “Shifting Gears” on ABC and “Lopez vs. Lopez” on NBC.

She also co-hosts the hit “Pod Meets World” podcast with Will Friedle and Rider Strong, while running her clean haircare brand, Be Free by Danielle Fishel, available online and through QVC.