She’s been a familiar face on television for almost 15 years now thanks to her role on the much-loved reality series American Pickers, but when Danielle Colby isn’t sniffing out antiques, she’s entertaining fans in a much sexier way.
As well as being a TV personality, an entrepreneur, and a collector, the 48-year-old is also a burlesque star who goes by the name of Dannie Diesel, and even founded her own troupe called Burlesque Le Moustache, based out of Iowa long before she found fame on the small screen.
The mother-of-two is no stranger to posting sultry snaps of herself online and loves to model her burlesque attire, including nipple tassels, elaborate headwear and cut-out lingerie.
For certain shots, which are often taken by her photographer husband Jeremy Scheuch, Danielle likes to strip off completely and is fan of posing with feather boas and other accessories and once admitted: ‘I love using props during burlesque routines.’
In fact, Danielle makes a lot of her own accessories and recently made a vow ‘to only use recycled feathers from now on,’ and her fans certainly aren’t complaining as she is inundated with compliments every single time she posts a sexy video of herself performing.
Danielle Colby is best known for starring on the television show American Pickers alongside Mike Wolfe (left) and Frank Fritz
The reality TV star has been a familiar face on the History reality show for almost 15 years now
She’s also collected some vintage attire too, as her website Stripping History states: ‘Over the years Danielle has acquired some of the most coveted, and unknown pieces of burlesque and striptease history.’
The ‘educational platform’ documents ‘inclusive stories of performers of the past’, and also ‘brings exquisite handmade vintage costumes new life.’
Danielle is a fierce advocate of building a more inclusive lifestyle within the sex work industry and she believes that ‘sex work is work and deserves to be compensated as such with all the benefits and entitlements of any other job.’
In a 2018 interview with Fox News, Danielle revealed that she had learned about Burlesque over 10 years earlier in Chicago, where she saw comedienne Margaret Cho perform in her variety show The Sensuous Woman.
‘The interesting thing is I grew up a Jehovah’s Witness and I had a very, very strict upbringing,’ she explained.
‘So burlesque wasn’t something that was really around for me. I couldn’t be around it. It was new and taboo. The burlesque journey has really been an interesting one for me.
‘It’s part of my life journey, my relationship with my body and my relationship with sexuality. It’s deep and it really started from a place of anxiety and depression,’ Danielle admitted.
As well as being an antiques collector and entrepreneur, Danielle is also a burlesque performer
The 48-year-old star often models her sexy vintage burlesque costumes on Instagram
The heavily-tattooed star flashes the flesh in her sexy homemade videos, and even records some of them in her kitchen
‘It really helped me blossom into a person who is less anxious and less depressed. It’s taught me a lot about ego, humanity, kindness, sharing. It also taught me a lot about what I don’t want to be and what I do want to be.’
When asked what the difference is between burlesque and stripping, Danielle replied: ‘There’s no difference. I’ll tell you what, burlesque is striptease done at its finest, hopefully. And it takes a long time to learn that.
‘I think people who get into burlesque think they’re going to be this diva dripping in jewels like Dita Von Teese. They find out very quickly it’s a 24-hour job.
‘You spend all your time preparing costumes, dances. … It’s sensual, it touches on all the senses. And you’re exploring your body and how your body works,’ Danielle added.
In recent years, the reality TV star has attracted a lot more fans and admirers via subscription based services OnlyFans and Patreon, and currently has 578 paying members on the latter.
During a 2019 interview with Freshly Inked, Danielle was asked how she thinks burlesque can benefit women, to which she responded: ‘Well, it depends on the woman. I’ve seen plenty of women go into burlesque and it does not benefit them at all.
‘Keep it real, understand that you are not the best, you are not the worst, there’s always better and there are always worse. You’re just there representing your voice.
Danielle often teases content from her OnlyFans account via Instagram
The TV star films herself at home wearing her elaborate and revealing costumes
Danielle pictured in a 2023 selfie with her husband Jeremy Scheuch, whom she married in February 2024
‘You’re not any more special or any less special than anyone else in the theater. Wait…actually, the most important people in the theater are in the audience, rtp iconwin without them you would just be dancing by yourself,’ she claimed.
Last year, Danielle appeared to take a break from her burlesque dancing due to suffering with some health struggles.
In December 2023, she took to Instagram and posted an unusual photo of herself posing in front of her usual burlesque feathers – but with a Buddha’s hand citrus fruit in her mouth.
The TV star informed her 264,000 followers that she had ‘been experiencing incredible pain’ through her face, jaw, ear, neck, arm and her hand on her right side.
She wrote in the caption: ‘A severe case of Trigeminal neuralgia is the diagnosis and a tumor in my face is the culprit. The last month has been excruciating but today I get my surgery to release me from this hell that visits in crashing waves of pain. After my surgery I will be posting my progress on my patreon.’
Trigeminal neuralgia is a condition that causes painful sensations similar to an electric shock on one side of the face. The chronic pain condition affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from your face to your brain.
Towards the end of December, Danielle gave her fans an important update and said she was doing much better as her surgery ‘was a success.’
Most recently, the mother-of-two has performed burlesque shows in Chicago and is still posting content on OnlyFans.
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