Danica Mae McKellar (born January 3, 1975) is an American actress, mathematics writer, and education advocate. She played
Winnie Cooper
This is a list of characters of the television series ''The Wonder Years''.
Main characters
Kevin Arnold
Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) is the main character. Born on March 18, 1956, Kevin grew up in the turbulent late 1960s and early 1970s. Right ...
in the television series ''
The Wonder Years
''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy/drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super ...
'' from 1988 to 1993, and since 2010 has voiced
Miss Martian
Miss Martian (real name: M'gann M'orzz; alias Megan Morse) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
Sharon Leal portrayed the character in the Supergirl (season 2), second season of the Arrowverse series ''Supe ...
in the animated superhero series ''
Young Justice
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes.
The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...
''.
In 2015, McKellar was cast in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
original series ''
Project Mc2''. She appears in several television films for
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies a ...
. She is the current voice of Judy Jetson from ''
The Jetsons
''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produced ...
'' since 2017 following
Janet Waldo
Janet Waldo (born Jeanette Marie Waldo; February 4, 1919 – June 12, 2016) was an American radio and voice actress. In animation, she voiced Judy Jetson in various Hanna-Barbera media, Nancy in ''Shazzan'', Penelope Pitstop, Princess from '' B ...
's death in 2016.
In addition to her acting work, McKellar later wrote six non-fiction books, all dealing with mathematics: ''Math Doesn't Suck'', ''Kiss My Math'', ''Hot X: Algebra Exposed'', ''Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape'', which encourage middle-school and high-school girls to have confidence and succeed in
mathematics, ''Goodnight, Numbers'', and ''Do Not Open This Math Book''.
Early life and education
McKellar was born in
La Jolla, California.
She moved with her family to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
when she was eight. Her mother Mahaila McKellar (née Tello) was a homemaker; her father Christopher McKellar is a
real estate developer
Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re- lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to othe ...
; her younger sister
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macro ...
(b. 1976) is a
lawyer. She is of paternal
Scottish,
French,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, and
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
descent and her mother is of
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
origin via the
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
and
Madeira islands.
McKellar studied at the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
where she was a member of the
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi (), commonly known as ADPi (pronounced "ay-dee-pye"), is an International Panhellenic sorority founded on May 15, 1851, at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. It is the oldest secret society for women.
Alpha Delta Pi is a memb ...
sorority and earned a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree ''
summa cum laude'' in
Mathematics in 1998. As an undergraduate, she coauthored a scientific paper with Professor Lincoln Chayes and fellow student Brandy Winn titled "
Percolation
Percolation (from Latin ''percolare'', "to filter" or "trickle through"), in physics, chemistry and materials science, refers to the movement and filtering of fluids through porous materials.
It is described by Darcy's law.
Broader applicatio ...
and
Gibbs state In probability theory and statistical mechanics, a Gibbs state is an equilibrium probability distribution which remains invariant under future evolution of the system. For example, a stationary or steady-state distribution of a Markov chain, such a ...
s multiplicity for
ferromagnetic Ashkin–Teller model
In statistical mechanics, the Potts model, a generalization of the Ising model, is a model of interacting spins on a crystalline lattice. By studying the Potts model, one may gain insight into the behaviour of ferromagnets and certain other phenom ...
s on
." Their results are termed the "Chayes–McKellar–Winn theorem". Later, when Chayes was asked to comment about the mathematical abilities of his student coauthors, he was quoted in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', "I thought that the two were really, really first-rate." For her past collaborative work on research papers, McKellar is currently assigned the
Erdős number
The Erdős number () describes the "collaborative distance" between mathematician Paul Erdős and another person, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers. The same principle has been applied in other fields where a particular individual ...
four, and her
Erdős–Bacon number
A person's Erdős–Bacon number is the sum of one's Erdős number—which measures the "collaborative distance" in authoring academic papers between that person and Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős—and one's Bacon number—which represents ...
is six.
Acting career
''The Wonder Years'' and early acting career
At age seven, McKellar enrolled in weekend acting classes for children at the
Lee Strasberg Institute
The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, ...
in Los Angeles. In her teens, she landed a prominent role in ''
The Wonder Years
''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy/drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super ...
'', an American television comedy-drama that ran for six seasons on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, from 1988 to 1993. She played Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper, the main love interest of Kevin Arnold (played by
Fred Savage
Frederick Aaron Savage (born July 9, 1976) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the American television series ''The Wonder Years'' (1988 to 1993). He has earned several awards and nominations, such as ...
) on the show. Her first kiss was with Fred Savage in an episode of ''The Wonder Years''. She later said, "My first kiss was a pretty nerve-wracking experience! But we never kissed off screen, and pretty quickly our feelings turned into brother/sister, and stayed that way."
Later acting career
McKellar has said that she found it "difficult" to move from being a child actress to an adult actress.
Since leaving ''The Wonder Years'', McKellar has had several guest roles in television series (including one with former co-star
Fred Savage
Frederick Aaron Savage (born July 9, 1976) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the American television series ''The Wonder Years'' (1988 to 1993). He has earned several awards and nominations, such as ...
on ''
Working''), and has written and directed two short films. She appeared in two
Lifetime TV movies
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
in the ''
Moment of Truth'' series, playing Kristin Guthrie in 1994's ''
Cradle of Conspiracy'' and Annie Mills Carman in 1996's ''
Justice for Annie.'' She briefly returned to regular television with a recurring role in the 2002–03 season of ''
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...
,'' portraying Elsie Snuffin, the half-sister and assistant of Deputy White House Communications Director
Will Bailey.
McKellar was featured in the video for
Debbie Gibson
Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress.
Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...
's eighth single from the ''
Electric Youth'' album, "
No More Rhyme
"No More Rhyme" is the eighth single by American singer-songwriter-actress Debbie Gibson, and the third from her second album '' Electric Youth'' (LP 81932). Produced and arranged by Fred Zarr, the single reached number 17 on the ''Billboard'' H ...
", which was released in 1989. She plays the cello in the beginning of the video.
McKellar appeared in
lingerie
Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fash ...
in the July 2005 edition of ''
Stuff'' magazine after readers voted her the 1990s star they would most like to see in lingerie. McKellar explained that she agreed to the shoot in part to obtain "grittier roles".
In 2006, McKellar starred in a
Lifetime movie and web-based series titled ''Inspector Mom'' about a mother who solves mysteries.
On the August 1, 2007, edition of the ''
Don and Mike Show
The ''Don and Mike Show'' was an American nationally syndicated radio talk show hosted by the shock jocks Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara, which aired from December 1985 through April 11, 2008. The show debuted on WAVA-FM in 1985 as ''The Mornin ...
'', a
WJFK-FM
WJFK-FM (106.7 MHz "106.7 The Fan") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Manassas, Virginia, and serving the Washington metropolitan area. WJFK-FM airs a sports radio format and is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc.
WJFK-FM's studi ...
radio program out of Washington, D.C., McKellar announced that the producers of ''
How I Met Your Mother'' were planning to bring her back for a recurring role (she guest-starred on the show in late 2005 in "The Pineapple Incident" and again in early 2007 in "Third Wheel"). She also made an appearance on the show ''
The Big Bang Theory
''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on C ...
'', in the episode "The Psychic Vortex".
In 2008, she starred in ''
Heatstroke
Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, b ...
'', a
Sci-Fi Channel
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. ...
original movie about searching for alien life on Earth and in 2009 she was one of the stars commenting on the occurrences of the new millennium in
VH1's ''I Love the New Millennium'' and was the math correspondent for ''
Brink
Brink or ''variant'', may refer to:
Places
* Brink, Virginia, United States
* Brink, West Virginia, an unincorporated community, United States
* Brink, Greenbrier County, West Virginia, a ghost town, United States
* Brink (norra delen), a loca ...
'', a program by the
Science Channel
Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, man ...
about technology. In 2013, she played Ellen Plainview in Lifetime's reimagining of the 1956
Alfred Hitchcock film ''
The Wrong Man
''The Wrong Man'' is a 1956 American docudrama film noir directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Henry Fonda and Vera Miles. The film was drawn from the true story of an innocent man charged with a crime, as described in the book ''The True St ...
.''
McKellar has also worked as a
voice actress
Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
, having provided the voice of
Jubilee
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...
in the video game ''
X-Men Legends
''X-Men Legends'' is an action role-playing video game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. It was released on the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles in 2004. Barking Lizards Technologies developed the N-Gage port of ...
'' (2004), and
Invisible Woman
The Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm-Richards) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four and was the first female superhero created by Marvel during ...
in ''
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance'' (2006) and ''
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2'' (2009). She provided the voice of
Miss Martian
Miss Martian (real name: M'gann M'orzz; alias Megan Morse) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
Sharon Leal portrayed the character in the Supergirl (season 2), second season of the Arrowverse series ''Supe ...
in the TV series ''
Young Justice
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes.
The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...
''.
In 2012, she starred in the Lifetime movie ''Love at the Christmas Table'' with
Dustin Milligan
Dustin Wallace Milligan (born July 28, 1985) is a Canadian actor, known for his role as Ethan Ward on the teen drama television series '' 90210'' from 2008 until 2009, Tom Cummings in the Canadian spy thriller television series ''X Company'' from ...
.
In January 2013, she starred in the Syfy movie ''
Tasmanian Devils
The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii'') (palawa kani: purinina) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. Until recently, it was only found on the island states and territories of Australia, state of Tasmania, but it has be ...
'' with
Apolo Ohno.
On August 20, 2013, Canadian singer
Avril Lavigne released the music video for her single "
Rock N Roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
" from her
self-titled fifth album, which features McKellar as "Winnie Cooper".
On March 4, 2014, she was announced to be competing on
season 18 of ''
Dancing with the Stars''. She paired with
Valentin Chmerkovskiy
Valentin Aleksandrovich "Val" Chmerkovskiy ( uk, Валентин Олександрович "Вал" Чмерковський; born March 24, 1986) is a Ukrainian-American professional dancer, best known for his appearances on the U.S. version ...
. McKellar and Chmerkovskiy were eliminated on Week 8, finishing in 6th place.
She had a guest appearance in the ''
Impractical Jokers'' season four episode six titled "The Blunder Years". She made another guest appearance in the season seven episode ten titled "Speech Impediment".
In 2015, she starred in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
original series ''
Project Mc2'' as The Quail.
She has starred in several
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies a ...
movies, including ''Crown for Christmas'', ''My Christmas Dream'', ''Campfire Kiss'', ''Love and Sunshine'', ''Christmas at Dollywood'', and ''You, Me & the Christmas Trees'' as well as the
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (formerly known as Hallmark Movie Channel, and also known as HMM) is an American digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings. The channel was spun off from sister network Hallmark Chan ...
series ''
The Matchmaker Mysteries''.
McKellar is a judge on Fox’s ''
Domino Masters''
which premiered on March 9, 2022.
Books
McKellar has authored several mathematics-related books primarily targeting adolescent readers interested in succeeding at the study of mathematics:
*
*
*
*
Her first book, ''Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail'', was a ''New York Times'' bestseller,
and was favorably reviewed by Tara C. Smith, the founder of Iowa Citizens for Science and a professor of
epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population.
It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evide ...
at the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...
. The book also received a review from Anthony Jones, writing for the ''School Librarian'' journal, who described the book as "a trouble-shooting guide to help girls overcome their biggest maths challenges," noting what he described as "real-world examples of great mathematics in action." In an interview with Smith, McKellar said that she wrote the book "to show girls that math is accessible and relevant, and even a little glamorous" and to counteract "damaging social messages telling young girls that math and science aren't for them".
McKellar's second book, ''Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss'', was released on August 5, 2008. The book's target audience is girls in the 7th through 9th grades. Her third book, ''Hot X: Algebra Exposed!'' covers algebra topics, while the previous two titles were intended as "algebra-readiness books." ''Hot X'' was published on August 3, 2010. Her fourth book, ''Girls Get Curves – Geometry Takes Shape'',
focuses on the subject of geometry, and attempts to make the subject more accessible.
Three of McKellar's books were listed in ''The New York Times'' children's bestseller list.
She received Mathical Honors for ''Goodnight, Numbers''.
Published papers
Awards and honors
McKellar was named ''Person of the Week'' on ''
World News with Charles Gibson
''ABC World News Tonight'' (titled ''ABC World News Tonight with David Muir'' for its weeknight broadcasts since September 2014) is the flagship daily evening television news program of ABC News, the news division of the American Broadcasting ...
'' for the week ending August 10, 2007. The news segment highlighted her book ''Math Doesn't Suck'' and her efforts to help girls develop an interest in mathematics, especially during the middle school years. In January 2014, she received the
Joint Policy Board for Mathematics
The Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM) consists of the American Mathematical Society, the American Statistical Association, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
The Board has ne ...
(JPBM) Communications Award. The citation credited her books, blog, and public appearances for encouraging "countless middle and high school students, especially girls, to be more interested in mathematics."
Personal life
McKellar married composer Michael "Mike" Verta on March 22, 2009, in
La Jolla, California; the couple had dated since 2001. They had their first child, a son named Draco, in 2010. McKellar filed for divorce from Verta in June 2012.
McKellar has
homeschooled
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
Draco his entire life, and many of her math books’ themes are inspired by at-home instruction.
On July 16, 2014, she became engaged to her boyfriend Scott Sveslosky, a partner in the Los Angeles legal firm
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton. On November 15, 2014, they married in
Kauai, Hawaii
Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...
.
Cultural references
McKellar's notoriety for Hallmark mystery movies was spoofed in the 2019 film ''
Knives Out
''Knives Out'' is a 2019 American mystery film written, directed, and co-produced by Rian Johnson. It follows a master detective, Benoit Blanc, investigating the death of the patriarch of a wealthy, dysfunctional family. The film stars an ensem ...
'', complete with the parody title ''Deadly By Surprise''.
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Video Games
Further reading
*
References
External links
*
*
*
Danica McKellar's blogWebsite for ''McKellar Math''Website of ''Math Doesn't Suck''Website for ''Kiss My Math''Interview with McKellar about her theoremat
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
February 2006 Proof and Prejudice: Women in Mathematics Conference at which McKellar was a speaker
with McKellar among the guests
Public School Insights Interview with McKellar about girls and math
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKellar, Danica
1975 births
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American mathematicians
21st-century American screenwriters
21st-century American women writers
21st-century women mathematicians
Actresses from Los Angeles
Actresses from San Diego
American child actresses
American film actresses
American people of Dutch descent
American people of French descent
American people of German descent
American people of Portuguese descent
American people of Scottish descent
American people of Spanish descent
American television actresses
American television writers
American video game actresses
American voice actresses
American women film directors
American women mathematicians
American women television writers
Film directors from Los Angeles
Harvard-Westlake School alumni
Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni
Living people
Mathematics writers
People from La Jolla, San Diego
Screenwriters from California
University of California, Los Angeles alumni