Danielle von Zerneck
- Actress
- Producer
Danielle von Zerneck, founder of Wishing Floor Films, has produced over a dozen critically acclaimed feature films across a variety of genres, from true crime and young adult drama, to satire and holiday romance. Her dramatic works, including Poisoned Love: The Stacey Castor Story (based on a totally nuts true story) and No One Would Tell starring Shannen Dougherty, have garnered numerous awards and nominations, including awards from the Writers Guild of Canada, the Directors Guild, Leo Awards and Canadian Screen Awards. Danielle has partnered with notable collaborators such as the smart and witty writers Bert V. Royal (Easy A) and Roseanne showrunner, Eric Gilliland and fabulous women like Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding series), Fran Drescher (The Nanny), and Barbara Hershey (Beaches, Black Swan).
Danielle's passion for teen-focused projects, including the Recovery Road starring Sebastian DeSouza, Jessica Sula, and Hayley Lu Richardson for Freeform, have been ratings hits and given her the opportunity to tackle relevant and hot button issues, from mental and physical abuse in high school relationships to revenge-porn scandals.
Danielle has also made a name for herself innovating Christmas movies. Her LGBTQ-oriented holiday romantic comedies for Lifetime, such as The Christmas Set-Up (Lifetime's first ever Christmas movie about a same-sex romance), Under the Christmas Tree (its second) were both nominated for Best TV Movie at 2021 and 2022 GLAAD Awards.
Danielle has brought star-studded casts of comedians to the world of holiday. In 2021, she partnered with SNL alums Rachel Dratch and Ana Gasteyer to produce the Christmas movie send-up, A Clüsterfünke Christmas, for Comedy Central, which was heralded as "needlessly silly and entertaining from start to finish. It rises to the top of the Christmas-pile." (She is in development with Gasteyer and Dratch on a sequel.) Danielle's Audible Original Series, The Cinnamon Bear: A Holiday Adventure, which starred Alan Cummings, Milo Manheim, and Stephen Root, with Ryan Reynolds as Santa Claus, was recognized with a place on Audible's prestigious "Best of the Year" List in 2021.
Danielle learned her patience, relationship skills, and the power of craft services after 10,000 hours on sets both as a young actress (Donna in La Bamba and teen runaway, Lou, on General Hospital) and as the proud daughter of notable, ridiculously prolific and famously all-around good guy, TV movie producer Frank von Zerneck.
Danielle's passion for teen-focused projects, including the Recovery Road starring Sebastian DeSouza, Jessica Sula, and Hayley Lu Richardson for Freeform, have been ratings hits and given her the opportunity to tackle relevant and hot button issues, from mental and physical abuse in high school relationships to revenge-porn scandals.
Danielle has also made a name for herself innovating Christmas movies. Her LGBTQ-oriented holiday romantic comedies for Lifetime, such as The Christmas Set-Up (Lifetime's first ever Christmas movie about a same-sex romance), Under the Christmas Tree (its second) were both nominated for Best TV Movie at 2021 and 2022 GLAAD Awards.
Danielle has brought star-studded casts of comedians to the world of holiday. In 2021, she partnered with SNL alums Rachel Dratch and Ana Gasteyer to produce the Christmas movie send-up, A Clüsterfünke Christmas, for Comedy Central, which was heralded as "needlessly silly and entertaining from start to finish. It rises to the top of the Christmas-pile." (She is in development with Gasteyer and Dratch on a sequel.) Danielle's Audible Original Series, The Cinnamon Bear: A Holiday Adventure, which starred Alan Cummings, Milo Manheim, and Stephen Root, with Ryan Reynolds as Santa Claus, was recognized with a place on Audible's prestigious "Best of the Year" List in 2021.
Danielle learned her patience, relationship skills, and the power of craft services after 10,000 hours on sets both as a young actress (Donna in La Bamba and teen runaway, Lou, on General Hospital) and as the proud daughter of notable, ridiculously prolific and famously all-around good guy, TV movie producer Frank von Zerneck.
