Danielle Colby is a dancer, an artist, a mother, an activist, and a filmmaker, but you probably
know her best for her role on History Channel's smash hit American Pickers.
When she's not out picking through weird, old artifacts herself, Colby holds down the
fort at American Archaeology, the Iowa-based home base for the show.
Here are a few fast facts about Colby's fascinating life.
Colby found her domestic life in trouble after American Pickers debuted in 2004 and quickly
became a massive success.
She told WQAD in 2012 that her new life wasn't a good fit for her first husband, saying,
"Fame and notoriety are not easy for him to deal with at all, so the relationship ended
up not working out."
While her first marriage did not last, Colby says her ex is a great father, and it's clear
from her Instagram that she's very close with her two kids.
She told WQAD that her favorite tattoos are the ones her children drew for her: a circle
on one hand drawn by her son and a heart on the other drawn by her daughter.
Not only was Colby a roller derby player, she was also the owner of a team, The Big
Mouth Mickies.
Unfortunately, as Colby puts it, quote, "the shelf life of a roller derby girl is like
three to five years," since the sport is known for tearing you up.
There's a reason their matches are called bouts!
Happily, many of the Mickies went on to accompany Colby in her pursuit of burlesque, proving
that the bonds of roller derby are durable indeed.
What is built on the track is built to last.
Colby's primary passion outside the world of picking is burlesque.
As Dannie Diesel, she performs with a shimmering wardrobe of gowns, gloves, and props.
She's backed by her band, Gin Rummy, with whom she's traveled the country.
While Colby's love of burlesque stems in part from an appreciate for glitz and glamor, it's
an ideological pursuit as well.
She told the Bemidji Pioneer in 2017,
"A lot of people are very nipped and tucked in the striptease industry, so to go out there
with a natural body and try to make people emote with you and laugh and enjoy a moment
where everybody feels a little vulnerable, that's the appeal."
As one of the co-hosts and principal "pickers" of the show, Mike Wolfe is among the most
important and visible parts of American Pickers.
But his relationship with Colby goes back far further than their time together on screen.
As she told Yuppie Punk in 2010, Mike had been "picking" for 20 years prior to the show
and she had zero hesitation in signing on when the History Channel decided to take a
chance on him.
"[Mike had] been a really dear friend of mine for almost ten years — and he has helped
me on all of my projects for about ten years — so I knew without a doubt, if he was a
part of [American Pickers], not only would it be successful, but it would be kickass
too."
People tend to assume Colby and Wolfe have a romantic history, when they do not.
Colby confessed,
"I get a lot of emails from people asking if me and Mike are married.
Well, Mike's taken.
And not by me!"
Colby's hobbies extend beyond tattoos, picking, roller derbies, and burlesque: she's also
fascinated by bugs.
She has an enormous tattoo of a fly on her forearm, in fact, done by Chewie, a tattoo
artist from Moline, Illinois.
When interviewed in 2010, Colby gushed over her ink — Chewie also did her knuckle tattoos,
which read "HOLD FAST," and and the plan was for her work to go much, much bigger.
"She'll be finishing my left arm, which is all entomology.
I love bugs."
Colby is also an ardent philanthropist who has donated her time, money, and publicity
to more than a few charities, organizations, and causes including Hurricane Maria relief
work in Puerto Rico.
One that's dear to her heart is Batey Girls, part of the Batey Rehab Project, which sells
jewelry to help provide economic opportunities for girls and women in the Dominican Republic
at high risk of sex trafficking and domestic violence.
Colby's website and social media accounts are all boldly emblazoned with the group's
colorful logo and a link to their website — one that's certainly worth the click.
What more could Colby possibly pack into her life?
Well, it turns out there's one more field she's intent on conquering: the world of documentary
filmmaking.
Colby's most notable credit as of the making of this video is as executive producer on
the documentary Tempest Storm: World's Oldest Exotic Dancer.
Storm, who has been linked to everyone from JFK to Elvis Presley, blew up her life when
she committed to a then-controversial interracial marriage, and spends much of the film looking
to reconcile with her estranged family.
Colby positively gushes when it comes to describing her part in the production, both as a historian
and as a fellow dancer.
She wrote on her Facebook page,
"Thank you for paving the way for the rest of us B Grrrls.
I can't wait to perform with you in Vegas soon!"
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