Danica McKellar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Danica McKellar
McKellar at the 2018 National Book Festival
Born	(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 McKellar is an American actress, author, and a strong supporter of education. She is most famous for her role as Winnie Cooper in the popular TV show The Wonder Years.

Besides acting, McKellar is also a talented voice actress. She voiced Frieda Goren in Static Shock, Miss Martian in Young Justice, and Killer Frost in DC Super Hero Girls. In 2015, she also starred in the Netflix series Project Mc².

McKellar has used her talents to help other students. She has written seven books about mathematics, including Math Doesn't Suck and Kiss My Math. Her books are written to help middle and high school students, especially girls, feel more confident about math.

Early Life and Schooling

Danica McKellar was born in La Jolla, California, on January 3, 1975. When she was eight, her family moved to Los Angeles. Her mother, Mahaila, was a homemaker, and her father, Christopher, develops real estate. Her younger sister, Crystal, was also a child actor and is now a lawyer.

After her acting career as a teen, McKellar went to college. In 1998, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the UCLA. She did so well that she graduated summa cum laude, which is a special honor for students with the highest grades.

While at UCLA, she worked on a complex math problem with her professor, Lincoln Chayes, and another student. They proved a new idea in physics, which is now called the "Chayes–McKellar–Winn theorem". Her professor said she was a "first-rate" mathematician. Because of this work, she has an Erdős number of four, which is a fun way to show how connected a person is to the famous mathematician Paul Erdős.

Acting Career

The Wonder Years

When she was seven, McKellar started taking acting classes. Her big break came when she was cast as Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper in The Wonder Years. The show was a huge hit and aired on ABC from 1988 to 1993.

Winnie Cooper was the main love interest of the show's main character, Kevin Arnold, played by Fred Savage. McKellar's first-ever kiss was on screen with Fred Savage for an episode. She said it was a "nerve-wracking experience," but they soon became like a brother and sister.

Later Roles

McKellar at a book signing, October 2007

After The Wonder Years ended, McKellar continued to act. She appeared in many TV shows and movies. She had a recurring role on the political drama The West Wing and made guest appearances on popular shows like How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory.

She is also a successful voice actress. She has voiced characters in video games like X-Men Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Her most famous voice role is Miss Martian in the animated superhero series Young Justice.

In 2014, McKellar competed on the TV show Dancing with the Stars. She and her partner, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, finished in sixth place. Starting in 2015, she played a spy leader called The Quail in the Netflix series Project Mc². She has also starred in many popular movies for the Hallmark Channel, often with holiday themes.

Writing Career

McKellar is a successful author of books that make math fun and easy to understand. Her goal is to show young people, especially girls, that math is not something to be afraid of.

Her first book, Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail, became a New York Times bestseller. She followed it with other books like Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss, Hot X: Algebra Exposed!, and Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape. These books use real-world examples and a friendly tone to explain math concepts.

She has also written books for younger children, including Goodnight, Numbers and Do Not Open This Math Book.

Personal Life

McKellar married composer Mike Verta in 2009. They have one son, who was born in 2010. The couple divorced in 2012.

In 2014, she married Scott Sveslosky, a lawyer. They were married in Kauaʻi, Hawaii.

McKellar is a Christian and has said that fellow actress Candace Cameron Bure was a big influence on her faith.

Selected Film and TV Roles

Film

Television

Books

• Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail (2007)
• Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss (2008)
• Hot X: Algebra Exposed! (2010)
• Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape (2012)
• Goodnight, Numbers (2017)
• Do Not Open This Math Book (2018)
• The Times Machine! (2020)

Published papers

Chayes, L; McKellar, D; Winn, B (1998). "Percolation and Gibbs states multiplicity for ferromagnetic Ashkin–Teller models on ". Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General 31 (45): 9055–9063. doi:10.1088/0305-4470/31/45/005. https://danicamckellar.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/percolation.pdf.Category-Women in orchestration

See also

In Spanish: Danica McKellar para niños