'Wonder Years' Star Explains Why She Quit Acting to Pursue a Career in Mathematics
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McKellar is an award-winning mathematician and author of 11 children's books.
Actress Danica McKellar, who is best known for her role as Winnie Cooper in the original coming-of-age sitcom The Wonder Years, recently revealed what led her to take a break from acting and instead pursue a career as a mathematician.
In an ET interview with her 11-year-old son Draco McKellar Verta, whom she shares with ex-husband and composer Mike Verta, McKellar recalled what life was like during the five years she worked on the show (which originally aired from 1988 to 1993).
"You were about my age when you acted in The Wonder Years. What do you remember most about those years?" Draco asked.
"What I remember the most is juggling being an actress and doing my schoolwork," the now 47-year-old recollected. "It was a lot of going back and forth to the school trailer."
Her son later followed up with a question that many fans have probably wanted to ask the star over-the-years.
"When and why did you decide to take a break from acting and become a mathematician?"
"I went to UCLA, but when I got to school, everywhere I went, people all over campus would shout across campus, you know, 'Hey Winnie!' [or] 'Hey, loved you on The Wonder Years!' I couldn’t get away from it," she confessed.
"So I needed to find out how I was valuable outside of Winnie Cooper, and math was challenging and I did well at it; and I love this feeling that my value, the important stuff had nothing to do with how I looked or television," she expressed.
During her break from show biz, she became an award-winning mathematician and author of nearly a dozen children's books related to math.
The star eventually made her return to acting, though, and has appeared in several Hallmark original movies alongside her son, according to IMDB. She said she would support whatever path the young actor decides to take, whether industry-related or not.
"Draco, I will support you whatever you wanna do. I would put you in acting classes and I would help guide you through it," the doting mom said.
McKellar also admitted: "I'm not gonna ever push you in that direction [though], because it’s a tough life."
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