The pop band LFO had a great song that came out in 1999 titled “The Girl On TV” that perfectly captured how all of us young teenage boys felt at the time.
“Never know what she means to me, I fell for the girl that’s on TV” was one of the lines of the chorus that hit the mark on what all of us hormone driven lads were feeling when our favorite “Girl on TV” came on the screen.
Alas, for 99% of us it was merely a whimsical dream, as we grew up the dreams faded as life continued and we moved onto reality of falling in love with someone that probably was never on TV.
Unless your Matt Hotson, who managed to make a reality of being in a relationship with one of Power Rangers fans’ top girl crushes who wore pink, but we will get to that, for now lets dive a little bit into the top 3 TV girl crushes from the 90’s that came to my mind and catch up to on what they are doing now.
Danielle Fishel
You could not have been a child of the 90’s and not have watched the TGIF lineup on Friday nights on the ABC channel.
While the 2 hour block of shows always had a great lineup, it’s there we all tuned in to see Boy Meets World star Danielle Fishel. Despite the Mandel Effect we have in thinking she was always on the show. Danielle’s role as Topanga was supposed to be a 1 and done in the first season. But her talent and on screen appeal allowed her to shine and become a recurring character in the 1st season. But furthermore came back on season 2 as a full cast member until the shows end, even though it wasn’t until around season 4 she really started to get some screen time.
Since the Boy Meets World days, Danielle has done some on screen appearances, but her focus has been driven to more behind the scenes by directing. While she reprised the role of Topanga 14 years later on Girl Meets World for 3 seasons. She was actively producing and directing on that series which allowed her to hone her craft and love of directing.
And just to name a few of her recent directing credits we have the shows Shifting Gears, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, and 8 episodes of Lopez Vs Lopez.
Beyond the entertainment world, Danielle has started her own hair care line named “Be Free, by Danielle Fishel”, and any superfan of Boy Meets World will understand the full circle moment of her doing this.
Currently Danielle is married to well known producer Jensen Karp, and the have 2 sons together. And alongside former Boy Meets World castmates Rider Strong and Will Friedle aka seat 4C ( IYKYK) co-hosts the podcast Pod Meets World, a rewatch podcast of the trio rewatching and recapping each episode of Boy Meets World, while talking about memories they may or may not have of the episode.
Jennifer Love Hewitt
With a name like Jennifer Love Hewitt you knew this girl would be a star.
Quick side note, she was the actual girl from the “Girl on TV” music video that LFO came out with that I first mentioned.
And while Love, as she is typically nicknamed, saw stardom on the big screen on many movies. She has kept a steady career on the small screen, from her early start on Kid’s Incorporated, to her breakthrough role has Sarah Reeves on Party of Five, the show being the launchpad of her career. And you couldn’t even miss seeing her face on commercials as she was the spokesperson for Neutrogena for a bit of time.
Now one thing that not even this writer realized until double checking my research, was that Love is also a singer that has released 4 studio albums: Love Songs (1992), Let’s Go Bang (1995), self titled Jennifer Love Hewitt (1996), and Barenaked (2002).
In addition to music and acting, Hewitt has served as a producer on some of her films and television projects. She appeared on Forbes’ annual Celebrity 100 list in 2008 and her 2010 dating-advice book The Day I Shot Cupid, became a New York Times Bestseller. And with her stunning looks, she has appeared in several magazines’ lists of the world’s most beautiful women.
In 2015 Love took a break from acting, as she welcomed her 2nd of 3 children she would have with husband Brian Hallisay. In 2018 she returned to TV as Maddie Buckley in the show 9-1-1 that she’s still on today.
Side note as a Tennessean I’m excited to see 9-1-1 Nashville, which is set to premiere in the Fall.
Most recently we could see Love return to her scream queen status in the latest installment of I Know What You Did Last Summer. She reprises her role of Julie James.
Amy Jo Johnson
Alright lets be honest, anyone that knows me and/or follows me on socials knows that myself and Daniel, The Legacy of Nerd, are huge Power Rangers fans. So of course Amy Jo Johnson would be on my list of top TV girls of the 90’s. So with that being said lets dive in.
As a child Amy Jo studied and competed in gymnastics, a broken arm at the age of 12 ultimately led to her decision to quit at the age of 17.
At the age of 18 she made the decision to pursue an acting career. She moved to New York and attended the American Musical & Dramatic Academy. Shortly after, Amy Jo moved to Los Angeles and about 6 months later got her famous role as Kimberly Hart in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
After leaving Power Rangers she would go on to star in Disney Channel’s Susie Q. Following this she would have a main role in the WB series Felicity, with guest roles in other TV shows. She became a series regular in 2008 on the show Flashpoint, until the show ended in 2012.
Beyond her acting, gymnastics, and acting skills, Amy Jo is also singer-songwriter that has released 4 albums: The Trans-American Treatment (2001), Imperfect (2005), Never Broken (2013). In 2024 released an EP titled Still Here. Her main passion right now is behind the camera as a director. She has directed a feature film titled The Space Between and also the film Tammy’s Always Dying. She has also directed an episode of one of my favorite shows, Superman & Lois.
Amy Jo was previously married to Olivier Giner in 2009 but sadly divorced in 2017. She now resides in Canada and as of 2015 became a citizen given her dual citizenship with US and Canada.
She is currently in a long term relationship with assistant director and comic book writer Matt Hotson (see told you we would come back to him).
In 2024 the couple co-wrote and worked with Boom! Studios to produce a 4 comic book series arch titled The Return, as there contribution for the 30 year anniversary of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, to which fans have given high praise, and with hope that cliffhanger it was left on gets continued.
These dream girls of TV, have all gone on to be more than just a pretty face. With success and talents showing in other areas, they have all been an example of what you can do if you have the passion and drive to pursue being more than what everyone thinks you are.
And while this could have been many more, I did want to honorably mention a couple others that came to mind. Saved by the Bell star Tiffani Amber Thesen, Home Improvment‘s famous tool girl Debbe Dunning, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch star Melissa Joan Hart.
So I’m curious, do you agree with this list? Who who would be on your list? And if we did an article on the boys on TV, who would say should be on that list?
Let us know in the comments.
