Newsletters
Entertainment
Olivia Singh
Updated
- "Boy Meets World" premiered on ABC in September 1993 and lasted for seven seasons.
- The sitcom starred Ben Savage as Cory Matthews, Rider Strong as Shawn Hunter, and Danielle Fishel as Topanga Lawrence-Matthews.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview
Thanks for signing up!
Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go.
Advertisem*nt
"Boy Meets World" premiered on ABC in September 1993 and concluded in May 2000.
At the onset, the series centered on Cory Matthews (played by Ben Savage), a sixth-grader attending Jefferson Elementary School in Philadelphia. As the show progressed, fans watched Cory go to high school and later attend Pennbrook University with his friends.
Over the course of seven seasons, he got into mischief with best friend Shawn (Rider Strong), learned valuable life lessons from teacher Mr. Feeny (William Daniels), and married longtime love Topanga (Danielle Fishel). "Boy Meets World" also spawned a Disney Channel spin-off series called "Girl Meets World," which saw the return of many of the characters from the original series.
Here's what the stars have been up to since "Boy Meets World" premiered.
Advertisem*nt
Ben Savage starred as Cory Matthews, the show's main character.
He went on to become a history teacher.
Advertisem*nt
Savage reprised his role as Cory on "Girl Meets World."
The spin-off aired from 2014 to 2017 and focused on Cory, Topanga, and their two children, Riley (Rowan Blanchard) and Auggie (August Maturo), living in New York City. In addition to acting on the sitcom, Savage also coproduced and directed a few episodes.
When "Boy Meets World" ended, Savage attended Stanford University and earned a bachelor's degree in political science. He also interned with Arlen Specter, a former US senator, in summer 2003 and was part of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.
Savage has guest-starred on several TV shows over the years, including "Criminal Minds," "The Leftovers," "Bones," "Shake It Up," "Without a Trace," and "Homeland." He appeared as himself on the short-lived Disney Channel series "Phil of the Future," too.
Advertisem*nt
Danielle Fishel portrayed Topanga Lawrence-Matthews.
She was a straight-A student and classmate of Cory. The two dated for years and got married during season seven.
Advertisem*nt
In addition to acting, Fishel is also a director, producer, and mother.
After "Boy Meets World," Fishel starred in movies like "Longshot" and "Dorm Daze." In December 2012, the actress revealed that she graduated from college after pursuing a psychology degree. In a Tumblr post, Fishel spoke about her school experience and revealed that she "did so well in math, I even became a tutor."
Fishel also hosted a weekly show on the Style Network called "The Dish" (which she juggled with undergraduate classes) and was a correspondent on "The Tyra Banks Show."
The actress reprised her role as Topanga on "Girl Meets World" and, like Savage, served as a coproducer. She also directed four episodes of the series. In addition, Fishel directed a few episodes of three other Disney Channel shows: "Sydney to the Max," "Raven's Home," and "Coop and Cami Ask the World."
She also competed against "Dawson's Creek" star Jonathan Lipnicki on a 2018 episode of TBS' "Drop the Mic."
Fishel married Tim Belusko in 2013 and reportedly filed for divorce in 2015. The divorce was finalized the following year, according to "E! News."
In 2018, the actress married Jensen Karp. They welcomed their first child together, a son named Adler Lawrence Karp, in June 2019. In anInstagrampost, Fishel explained that her baby was born four weeks early and there were complications.
Advertisem*nt
Rider Strong played Shawn Hunter, Cory’s best friend.
He was far more rebellious than Cory. Shawn went on to become a writer and photographer.
Advertisem*nt
Most recently, Strong voiced characters on two animated shows.
He voiced Tom on the Disney series "Star vs. the Forces of Evil" and a few characters on Cartoon Network's "Mighty Magiswords." You may also recognize him as the voice of Brick Flagg on the hit Disney Channel series "Kim Possible."
Strong has guest-starred on several shows over the years, including "Veronica Mars" and "Bones." He also played Paul in the 2002 horror movie "Cabin Fever" and its sequel.
At one point, Strong tried to stay out of the spotlight and instead moved to New York where he attended Columbia University. He graduated magna cum laude as an English major in 2004 and got a Master of Fine Arts degree from Bennington College five years later.
Strong and his brother, Shiloh Strong, wrote, directed, and starred in a 2008 short film called "Irish Twins."
Strong reprised his role as Shawn Hunter for "Girl Meets World" and directed a few episodes. In a 2019 interview with Vice, the actor said that he "wouldn't do a sitcom again."
"I hate to say it, but it was really hard going back and doing Girl Meets World," he said.
Strong has been married to "Pepper Dennis" costar Alexandra Barreto since 2013. They have a son named Indigo "Indy" Baretto Strong, who was born in December 2014.
Advertisem*nt
Will Friedle played Cory's goofy older brother, Eric Matthews.
He was brutally honest and sometimes lacked common sense. Eric also delivered some of the show's best one-liners.
Advertisem*nt
Friedle is known for voicing Ron Stoppable on Disney Channel's "Kim Possible."
He's done plenty of other voice work for animated shows like "Batman Beyond" (Terry McGinnis/Batman), "Ultimate Spider-Man" (Deadpool), and "Teen Titans Go!" (Kid Flash).
Friedle also appeared on "Girl Meets World." In 2016, he married Susan Martens.
William Daniels played the kids' beloved teacher named George Feeny (also known as Mr. Feeny).
He was the Matthews' next-door neighbor and shared plenty of wise advice with Cory and his friends. Mr. Feeny went from being an elementary school teacher to becoming a college professor at Pennbrook.
Advertisem*nt
Daniels' last acting role was on "Girl Meets World," reprising his iconic role as Mr. Feeny.
After "Boy Meets World," Daniels guest-starred on shows like "Scrubs," "Touched by an Angel," and "Grey's Anatomy."
He released a memoir in 2017 titled "There I Go Again: How I Came to Be Mr. Feeny, John Adams, Dr. Craig, KITT & Many Others," in which he opened up about suffering from child abuse (Daniels and his sisters were child performers) and said that he was initially reluctant to play Mr. Feeny because he thought the character was only meant to be comedic relief.
Daniels made headlines in late October 2018, when it was revealed that someone tried to break into his and wife Bonnie Bartlett's home.
"I struggled with an intruder, took him to the ground, I beat him up, and he ran away with bruises all over him," Daniels joked during an interview with ABC News.
Daniels said that the intruder didn't make it too far, and they scared the unidentified person away. Following the incident, Daniels was met with praise from fans and his "Boy Meets World" costars.
Advertisem*nt
Betsy Randle portrayed matriarch Amy Matthews.
She had a good relationship with Cory.
Advertisem*nt
Randle has appeared on a few shows and movies since "Boy Meets World."
The former "Home Improvement" star played Mrs. Winterbourne on a few episodes of the original "Charmed" series. Randle also guest-starred on the sitcom "Adam Ruins Everything" and reprised her role as Amy Matthews for two episodes of "Girl Meets World."
Randle's most recent roles were in two 2018 thrillers, "Painter" and "My Little Girl Is Gone."
Advertisem*nt
William Russ played Cory's father, Alan Matthews.
Alan and Amy got married when they were young adults.
Advertisem*nt
Russ has appeared on tons of well-known shows over the years and guest-starred on the Fox series "9-1-1."
The actor has landed guest-starring roles on "Touched by an Angel," "90210," "CSI: NY," "The Sopranos," and "Scandal," to name a few. He also played Tucker McCall on "The Young and the Restless."
Russ appeared on two episodes of "Girl Meets World."
Advertisem*nt
Morgan Matthews, Cory and Eric's younger sister, was initially played by Lily Gibson (née Nicksay). Lindsay Ridgeway took over during season three.
Eric's nickname for his younger sister was "Weasel."
Advertisem*nt
Gibson has kept busy with guest-starring roles and theater productions.
The actress has appeared on shows like "8 Simple Rules" and "The Mentalist," in addition to playing Morgan Matthews for the series finale of "Girl Meets World." In 2019, she guest-starred on "NCIS," portraying an HR tour guide at a tech company.
Gibson has starred in theater productions of "The Trip Back Down," "The Curse of Oedipus," and "Last Train to Nibroc" (which earned her an LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award for lead actress in a play in 2017).
In 2015, she married Scottish songwriter Dave Gibson.
Advertisem*nt
Nowadays, Ridgeway's main focus appears to be singing, which isn't a far stretch considering that she did sing on "Boy Meets World."
She has performed the national anthem at several sporting events, as seen in videos shared on her YouTube page.
The "Girl Meets World" series finale also broke the fourth wall by featuring both Ridgeway and Gibson as Morgan.
Trina McGee joined the show as Angela Moore on season five.
She had an on-again, off-again relationship with Shawn.
Advertisem*nt
McGee's most recent acting roles were in two 2016 movies.
She starred in the comedy "LAPD African Cops" and "Sins of the Guilty." The actress also returned as Angela for a season two episode of "Girl Meets World."
In January 2020, McGee spoke about her experience on "Boy Meets World" and said that she was "called Aunt Jemima" during hair and makeup and called "a bitter b----."
In April, the actress said that Friedle was the costar who referred to her as Aunt Jemima, and he apologized twice after McGee publicly spoke out.
"He acknowledged that he really wasn't educated enough in his early twenties to know he was truly offending me," McGee wrote on Instagram. "THIS SHOULD AND COULD BE A TEACHING MOMENT FOR ALL. For all people of all races or different backgrounds. He has conveyed to me how much this has changed his perception of comedy. And humanity."
She added: "Will apologized to me and I forgave him, I then apologized to him for making the statements public because his joke came out of just not knowing, not viciousness and he forgave me. That's what friends do."
Matthew Lawrence portrayed Jack Hunter, Shawn's older half-brother.
He was also Eric's best friend. His first appearance was on season five, episode one.
Advertisem*nt
Lawrence continued acting and married "Dancing With the Stars" pro Cheryl Burke in May 2019.
They exchanged vows at the Fairmont Grand del Mar in San Diego, California, according to People.
Lawrence went on to star in the 2001 Disney Channel movie "Jumping Ship" with siblings Joey Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence. The trio also starred on a sitcom in the '90s and formed a band in 2017 called Still Three.
In addition, Matthew guest-starred on a few episodes of Joey's sitcom called "Melissa & Joey." He appeared on other shows like "Workaholics," "Girl Meets World," and "Hawaii Five-0."
Maitland Ward first appeared as Rachel McGuire on season six.
She gave up a scholarship at Yale to attend Pennbrook. Rachel was also Jack and Eric's roommate.
Advertisem*nt
Ward is now a cosplayer and p*rnographic actress.
She's appeared at conventions dressed as Poison Ivy from the "Batman" comics and Mera from "Aquaman," among other characters.
Ward signed with the adult boutique talent agency Society 15 and she's posted several topless photos on her social media accounts. The actress previously appeared in "White Chicks" and "Rules of Engagement." Her latest role was on an erotic series for adult film studio Blacked.
Ward has been married toTerry Baxtersince 2006.
Read next
Advertisem*nt
