Danica McKellar’s career has gone through many changes since scoring her breakthrough role as Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years. While she is most well-known for her Hallmark performances, McKellar also had a time when her acting career was put on hold to pursue other interests. After her son asked why she had stopped acting so many years ago, McKellar gave a thoughtful response.
The Wonder YearsAfter starring in the ABC show, the alum spoke out about her reasons for taking a break from acting. Danica McKellar was a source of teenage crushes in 1980s and 1990s. Many people are still curious about her past before she returned to the scene in 2000s. Draco, Draco’s son, was able to get an honest answer as he interviewed her mom. ET. McKellar shared how her passion for math and education led her to pursue a college degree.
UCLA was my first choice, but I found that everywhere I went on campus, everyone shouted, “Hey Winnie!” [or]”Hey, I loved you on The Wonder Years!” I couldn’t get away from it. I had to figure out what I was worth outside of Winnie Cooper. It was hard, but math was challenging. This feeling of my worth, the important stuff, was something I treasure. It had nothing to do either with how I looked or what I watched on television.
She made the best decision for her life by getting out of Hollywood’s rat race. Having been on TV since she was a tween, Danica McKellar felt like she didn’t have an identity outside of being Winnie from The Wonder Years. Her entire existence was altered to believe she was worth more than her appearance and appeal to television viewers. The Winnie Cooper connection appeared to harm McKellar’s sense of self as a teenage girl growing up on TV.
Math was for her her way of letting other UCLA students (and viewers!) know that she was not just Winnie Cooper. She achieved this during her time at the school. Her work in the mathematics field lead to Danica McKellar gaining a place in science with Chayes–McKellar–Winn theorem after co-authoring a research paper alongside UCLA professor Lincoln Chayes and fellow student Brandy Winn. The GAC Family star and math-oriented book author, Danica McKellar, published 11 books that were best-sellers for teens.
Of course, McKellar didn’t give up on acting as she had starred in multiple TV shows and movies, including Hallmark projects. McKellar made waves last year when she left the network to join rival GAC Family for her first project. The Winter PalaceAiring earlier in the year. Outside of her work with her new network home, Danica McKellar has experienced mixed results from celebrating her ageless father’s 72nd birthday to opening up about an unexpected death in her family. But it appeared the 47-year-old actress has kept things moving despite life’s difficulties.
Right now, McKellar’s new network home GAC Family Is gearing up for its Thanksgiving and Christmas programming. Viewers will be able to see which Danica McKellar projects are coming up next. Keep updated by checking out CinemaBlend’s 2022 TV schedule to see what new TV shows and movies are set to premiere.