Danica McKellar may have captured hearts as Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years, but her story didn’t stop there. After stepping away from Hollywood, she found a new passion in an unexpected place — mathematics.
At 13, McKellar was cast as Winnie, the love interest of Fred Savage’s character, Kevin Arnold, when the beloved series premiered in 1988. The show made her one of America’s sweethearts, but when it ended in 1993, it marked the start of an entirely new chapter.
“I needed to figure out who else I was besides Winnie Cooper,” McKellar told hosts Christine Taylorand David Lascher on the latest episode of “Hey Dude… The 90s Called!”
She recalled how people constantly recognized her by that one role. “Every day, all day long, people would say, ‘Aren’t you that girl, Winnie? Aren’t you that girl from TV?’”
While grateful for the show’s success, McKellar found it limiting. “You’re trying to figure out who you are as a teenager, and everyone else is telling you who you are,” she explained. “There’s a lot of insecurity that comes from having a lot of success early on, and then you don’t have that thing anymore. And you’re like, ‘Who am I now? Where do I get my validation?’”
Looking for a fresh start, McKellar enrolled at UCLA, where she took a math class on a whim, because she loves a “challenge.” “I thought I failed the first midterm,” she said, laughing. Scoring 22 out of 40, she soon discovered she was among the top performers.
“There was one 22, there were two 15, and the rest was nine and below. I will never forget this,” she said. Her “imposter syndrome” quickly faded.
The next day, a classmate recognized her, not for her acting, but for her math skills. They asked, “‘Are you that girl who got the 22?’” McKeller said it was “the greatest feeling.” For the first time, it was just her brain, not the Hollywood persona, getting all the credit.
She went on to major in math and even co-authored a mathematical theorem during a summer research project. But ultimately, McKellar didn’t pursue a career in academia. She realized she missed connecting with others in a more creative way.
After graduating, she returned to acting with voice-over work and roles on shows like Even Stevens and The West Wing. At the same time, she launched a website to share math advice and help others feel more confident with numbers.
That effort grew into a series of bestselling books aimed at making math fun and accessible — especially for kids and teens. Her first book, Math Doesn’t Suck, launched a successful second career. Her twelfth book,I Love You 100: A Counting Book Full of Love, is set to release this November.
Reflecting on her unexpected journey, McKellar said she didn’t fully grasp her role as “America’s sweetheart” during The Wonder Years. “In the last year of ‘The Wonder Years,’ somebody referred to me on set as America’s sweetheart. I was like, ‘What? What are you talking about?’” she recalled.
She hadn’t realized that, for many viewers, she was their first crush. “It’s still bizarre for me,” she said.
