Danica McKellar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Danica McKellar
McKellar at the 2018 National Book Festival
Born	Danica Mae McKellar (1975-01-03) January 3, 1975 (age 50) La Jolla, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles (BS)
Occupation	Actress, mathematics writer, education advocate
Years active	1985–present
Spouse(s)	Michael "Mike" Verta ​ ​ (m. 2009; div. 2012)​ Scott Sveslosky ​ (m. 2014)​
Children	1

Danica Mae McKellar (born January 3, 1975) is an American actress, writer, and math helper. She is most famous for playing Winnie Cooper in the TV show The Wonder Years.

Danica has also acted in many TV movies for the Hallmark Channel. She has used her voice for cartoon characters like Miss Martian in Young Justice and Killer Frost in DC Super Hero Girls. In 2015, she joined the cast of the Netflix show Project Mc².

Besides acting, Danica has written seven non-fiction books about mathematics. Books like Kiss My Math and Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape help middle and high school girls feel confident and do well in math.

Early Life and School

Danica McKellar was born in La Jolla, California. When she was eight, her family moved to Los Angeles. Her mom, Mahaila, was a homemaker, and her dad, Christopher, works with real estate. Her younger sister, Crystal, is a lawyer. Danica has family roots from Scotland, France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. Her mother's family is from Portugal.

Danica went to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She studied Mathematics and graduated with top honors in 1998. While in college, she even helped write a science paper with her professor and another student. Their work is known as the "Chayes–McKellar–Winn theorem."

Acting Career

The Wonder Years and First Roles

When Danica was seven, she started taking acting classes. As a teenager, she got a big role in The Wonder Years. This American TV show was on from 1988 to 1993. She played Winnie Cooper, who was the main crush of Kevin Arnold, played by Fred Savage. Danica's first kiss was with Fred Savage on the show. She later said it was a bit scary, but they became like brother and sister off-screen.

Later Acting Roles

McKellar at a book signing in October 2007

After The Wonder Years, Danica found it a bit hard to go from being a child actress to an adult one. She has appeared in many TV shows as a guest star. She even acted with her old co-star Fred Savage again on the show Working.

Danica has also done a lot of voice acting. She was the voice of Jubilee in the video game X-Men Legends (2004). She also voiced Invisible Woman in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (2006) and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (2009). She is well-known for voicing Miss Martian in the TV series Young Justice.

In 2014, Danica was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. She danced with Valentin Chmerkovskiy and finished in 6th place. She has also made guest appearances on Impractical Jokers.

Danica has starred in many movies for the Hallmark Channel. Some of these include Crown for Christmas, My Christmas Dream, and Christmas at Dollywood. She also stars in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries series The Matchmaker Mysteries.

In 2022, Danica became a judge on the Fox show Domino Masters.

Books About Math

Danica McKellar has written several books about math, mostly for young people. She wants to help them do well in math.

Her first book, Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail, was a bestseller. It was praised for helping girls overcome their math challenges. Danica said she wrote the book to show girls that math is fun and important.

Her second book, Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss, came out in 2008. It was for girls in 7th to 9th grades. Her third book, Hot X: Algebra Exposed!, teaches about algebra. Her fourth book, Girls Get Curves – Geometry Takes Shape, makes geometry easier to understand.

Three of Danica's books have been on The New York Times children's bestseller list. She also received an award for her book Goodnight, Numbers.

Awards and Recognition

Danica McKellar was named Person of the Week on World News with Charles Gibson in 2007. This was because of her book Math Doesn't Suck and her work to help girls get interested in math. In 2014, she received an award for her books, blog, and public talks. This award recognized her for encouraging many students, especially girls, to be more interested in math.

Personal Life

Danica McKellar married composer Mike Verta in 2009. They had a son in 2010. They later divorced in 2012.

In 2014, she got engaged to Scott Sveslosky. They married on November 15, 2014, in Hawaii.

Danica is a Christian and goes to church services regularly. She has said that actress Candace Cameron Bure helped her a lot by giving her a Bible.

Filmography (selected)

Film

Television

Music videos

Video games

See also

In Spanish: Danica McKellar para niños