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Danica Mae McKellar (born January 3, 1975)[1] is an American actress, mathematics writer, and education advocate. She is best known for playing Winnie Cooper in the television series The Wonder Years.
Danica McKellar | |
|---|---|
 McKellar at the 2018 National Book Festival | |
| Born | Danica Mae McKellar January 3, 1975 La Jolla, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles (BS) |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, mathematics writer, education advocate |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Spouses | Michael "Mike" Verta
(m. 2009; div. 2012)Scott Sveslosky (m. 2014) |
| Children | 1 |
McKellar has appeared in various television films for the Hallmark Channel. She has also done voice acting, including Frieda Goren in Static Shock, Miss Martian in Young Justice, and Killer Frost in DC Super Hero Girls. In 2015, McKellar joined part of the main cast in the Netflix original series Project Mc2.
In addition to her acting work, McKellar later wrote seven 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.[2][3][4]
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McKellar was born in La Jolla, California.[5] She moved with her family to Los Angeles when she was eight. Her mother, Mahaila McKellar (née Tello), was a homemaker; her father, Christopher McKellar, is a real estate developer; her younger sister, Crystal (b. 1976), is a lawyer.[6] She is of Scottish, French, German, Spanish, and Dutch descent on her father’s side, and of Portuguese descent, by way of the Azores and the Madeira islands, on her mother’s side.[7]
In 1998, McKellar earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics (summa cum laude) from UCLA, where she was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority.[8][9] As an undergraduate, she coauthored a scientific paper with Professor Lincoln Chayes and fellow student Brandy Winn titled "Percolation and Gibbs states multiplicity for ferromagnetic Ashkin–Teller models on ."[10] Their results are termed the "Chayes–McKellar–Winn theorem".[11][12] Later, when Chayes was asked to comment about the mathematical abilities of his student coauthors, he was quoted in The New York Times, "I thought that the two were really, really first-rate."[13] As a result of her past collaborative work on research papers, McKellar is currently assigned the Erdős number four, and the Erdős–Bacon number six.[14]
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The Wonder Years and early acting career
At age seven, McKellar enrolled in weekend acting classes for children at the Lee Strasberg Institute in Los Angeles.[15] In her teens, she landed a prominent role in The Wonder Years, an American television comedy-drama that ran for six seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1993. She played Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper, the main love interest of Kevin Arnold (played by Fred Savage) on the show. Her first kiss was with Fred Savage in an episode of The Wonder Years.[16][17] 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."[18]
Later acting career
 | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (September 2020) |
McKellar has said that she found it "difficult" to move from being a child actress to an adult actress.[18] Since leaving The Wonder Years, McKellar has had several guest roles in television series (including one with former co-star Fred Savage on Working), and has written and directed two short films. She appeared in two Lifetime films 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, 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's eighth single from the Electric Youth album, "No More Rhyme", which was released in 1989. She plays the cello in the beginning of the video.[19]
McKellar appeared in lingerie in the July 2005 edition of Stuff magazine[20] 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".[18]
In 2006, McKellar starred in a Lifetime film and web-based series titled Inspector Mom about a mother who solves mysteries.[21][22]
On the August 1, 2007, edition of the Don and Mike Show, a WJFK-FM 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, in the episode "The Psychic Vortex".[23]
In 2008, she starred in Heatstroke, a Sci-Fi Channel film 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, a program by the Science Channel about technology. In 2013, she played Ellen Plainview in Lifetime's reimagining of the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock film The Wrong Man.
McKellar has also worked as a voice actress, having provided the voice of Jubilee in the video game X-Men Legends (2004), and Invisible Woman in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (2006) and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (2009). She provided the voice of Miss Martian in the TV series Young Justice.
In 2012, she starred in the Lifetime film Love at the Christmas Table with Dustin Milligan.
In January 2013, she starred in the Syfy film Tasmanian Devils with Apolo Ohno.
On August 20, 2013, Canadian singer Avril Lavigne released the music video for her single "Rock N Roll" from her self-titled fifth album, which features McKellar as "Winnie Cooper".[24]
On March 4, 2014, she was announced to be competing on season 18 of Dancing with the Stars. She paired with Valentin Chmerkovskiy.[25] 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 original series Project Mc2 as The Quail.
She has starred in several Hallmark Channel films, 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 series The Matchmaker Mysteries.
McKellar is a judge on Fox’s Domino Masters[26] which premiered on March 9, 2022.[27]
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McKellar has authored several mathematics-related books primarily targeting adolescent readers interested in succeeding at the study of mathematics:
- McKellar, Danica; Mary Lynn Blasutta (2008). Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail. New York: Plume. ISBN 9780452289499.
- McKellar, Danica (2009). Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss. New York: Plume. ISBN 9780452295407.
- McKellar, Danica (2010). Hot X: Algebra Exposed. New York: Plume. ISBN 9780452297197.
- McKellar, Danica (2012). Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape. New York: Hudson Street Press. ISBN 9781594630941.
- McKellar, Danica (2018). Ten Magic Butterflies. New York: Random House Children's Books. ISBN 9781101933824.
- McKellar, Danica (2018). Do Not Open This Math Book. New York: Random House Children's Books. ISBN 9781101933985.
- McKellar, Danica (2019). Bathtime Mathtime. New York: Random House Children's Books. ISBN 9781101933961.
- McKellar, Danica (2020). The Times Machine. New York: Random House Children's Books. ISBN 9781101934029.
- McKellar, Danica (2022). Double Puppy Trouble. New York: Random House Children's Books. ISBN 9781101933862.
- McKellar, Danica (2022). Goodnight, Numbers. New York: Random House Children's Books. ISBN 9780593643556.
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,[2] and was favorably reviewed by Tara C. Smith, the founder of Iowa Citizens for Science and a professor of epidemiology at the University of Iowa.[28] 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."[29] 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".[30]
McKellar's second book, Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss,[31] 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![32] covers algebra topics, while the previous two titles were intended as "algebra-readiness books."[33] Hot X was published on August 3, 2010. Her fourth book, Girls Get Curves – Geometry Takes Shape,[34] focuses on the subject of geometry, and attempts to make the subject more accessible.[35]
Three of McKellar's books were listed in The New York Times children's bestseller list.[36][37] She received Mathical Honors for Goodnight, Numbers.[38]
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Chayes, L; McKellar, D; Winn, B (1998). "Percolation and Gibbs states multiplicity for ferromagnetic Ashkin–Teller models on " (PDF). Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General. 31 (45): 9055–9063. Bibcode:1998JPhA...31.9055C. doi:10.1088/0305-4470/31/45/005.
McKellar was named Person of the Week on World News with Charles Gibson 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.[39] In January 2014, she received the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (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."[40]
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McKellar married composer Mike Verta on March 22, 2009, in La Jolla, California; the couple had dated since 2001.[41] They had their first child, a son, in 2010.[42][43] McKellar filed for divorce from Verta in June 2012.[44]
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.[45]
McKellar is a Christian and regularly attends church services.[46] She cites Candace Cameron Bure as having been a major influence in her life after Bure gave her a copy of the Bible.[46]
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McKellar's notoriety for Hallmark mystery films was spoofed in the 2019 film Knives Out, complete with the parody title Deadly By Surprise.[47]
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Sidekicks | Lauren | |
| 2001 | Good Neighbor | Molly Wright | |
| XCU: Extreme Close Up | Sarah | ||
| Speechless... | Dana Woodman | Short film | |
| 2002 | Sex and the Teenage Mind | Debbie | |
| Black Hole | Rachael | ||
| Reality School | Sexy Sally | Short film | |
| Jane White Is Sick & Twisted | Tiffany | ||
| The Year That Trembled | Pam Hatch | ||
| Hip, Edgy, Sexy, Cool | Sissie | ||
| 2004 | Raising Genius | Lacy Baldwin | |
| Intermission | Sleepwalker | Short film | |
| Quiet Kill | Pet Shop Girl | ||
| 2007 | Hack! | Emily | |
| 2008 | Heatstroke | Caroline | |
| 2009 | 21 and a Wake-Up | Jenny Valentine | |
| 2010 | Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo | Madelyn Dinkley | Voice, direct-to-video[48] |
| Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam | Sally | Voice, direct-to-video[48] | |
| 2012 | Flatland 2: Sphereland | Aero | Direct-to-video |
| Mancation | Rebecca | ||
| 2014 | Where Hope Grows | Susan Malcolm | |
| 2017 | The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania! | Judy Jetson | Voice, direct-to-video[48] |
| 2018 | The Fiddling Horse | Leslie Heart | |
| 2018 | Lego DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High | Frost | Voice, direct-to-video[48] |
| 2018 | DC Super Hero Girls: Legends of Atlantis | Frost | Voice, direct-to-video[48] |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985–1987 | The Twilight Zone | Nola (age 10), Deidre Dobbs | 2 episodes |
| 1988–1993 | The Wonder Years | Winnie Cooper | Main role |
| 1989 | The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! | Patty | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 1990 | Camp Cucamonga | Lindsey Scott | Television film (NBC) |
| 1992 | Captain Planet and the Planeteers | Lisa | Voice, episode: "A Formula for Hate" |
| 1994 | Babylon 5 | Aria Tensus | Episode: "The War Prayer" |
| Moment of Truth: Cradle of Conspiracy | Kristin Guthrie | Television film (NBC) | |
| Walker, Texas Ranger | Laurie Maston | Episode: "Stolen Lullaby" | |
| Sirens | Alison Trent | Episode: "Victims" | |
| 1996 | Justice for Annie: A Moment of Truth Movie | Annie Mills Carman | Television film (NBC) |
| 1998 | Love Boat: The Next Wave | Mary Dutton | Episode: "How Long Has This Been Going On?" |
| Working | Jolie | 2 episodes | |
| 1999 | Random Play | Daughter | Episode: "1.4" |
| 2000–2004 | Static Shock | Frieda Goren | Voice, recurring role (15 episodes)[48] |
| 2001 | The Division | Wendy | Episode: "Don't Ask" |
| Even Stevens | Sandrine | Episode: "Sibling Rivalry" | |
| The Weakest Link | Herself | TV Child Stars Special Edition | |
| 2002 | Justice League | Sapphire Stagg | Voice, episode: "Metamorphosis"[48] |
| 2002–2003 | The West Wing | Elsie Snuffin | Recurring role (season 4) |
| 2004 | King of the Hill | Misty | Voice, 1 episode |
| Game Over | Elsa, Renee | Voice, recurring role (season 1)[48] | |
| Century City | Sally | Episode: "Without a Tracer" | |
| Eve | Claudia | Episode: "Friend or Foe?" | |
| 2005 | NCIS | Erin Kendall | Episode: "Witness" |
| Jack & Bobby | Keirsten | Episode: "And Justice for All" | |
| NYPD Blue | Rosemary | Episode: "Moving Day" | |
| Strong Medicine | Natalie Pascal | Episode: "Feeling No Pain" | |
| Path of Destruction | Katherine Stern | Television film (Sci-Fi Channel) | |
| How I Met Your Mother | Trudy | Episode: "The Pineapple Incident" | |
| 2006 | Inspector Mom | Maddie Monroe | Television film (Lifetime) |
| Cyberchase | Wanda | Voice, episode: "Designing Mr. Perfect" | |
| 2006–2007 | Inspector Mom | Maddie Monroe | Recurring role (Season 1) |
| 2007 | Random! Cartoons | Katerina "Kat" Metropoulos | Voice, episode: "Girls on the Go: The First Date"[48] |
| How I Met Your Mother | Trudy | Episode: "Third Wheel" | |
| 2010 | The Big Bang Theory | Abby | Episode: "The Psychic Vortex" |
| 2010–2013, 2019–2022 |
Young Justice | Miss Martian, Marie Logan, Tuppence Terror, Angel O'Day, Moira Malone, Reach Commercial Singer | Voice, main role[48] |
| 2010-2013 | Generator Rex | Claire | Voice, 3 episodes[48] |
| 2010 | G.I. Joe: Renegades | Sister Leia | Voice, episode: "Brothers of Light"[48] |
| 2012 | The Nerdist: Tribute to Science | Herself | Talk show |
| Love at the Christmas Table | Katherine "Kat" Patton | Television film (Lifetime) | |
| 2013 | Tasmanian Devils | Alex | Television film (Syfy) |
| The Secret Life of the American Teenager | Herself | Episode: "Interference" | |
| Nerdist: Course of the Force | Bounty Hunter | Episode: "Michael Rooker & CM Punk: Lighstaber Hunt" | |
| The Wrong Woman | Ellen Plainview | Television film (Lifetime) | |
| 2014 | Transformers: Rescue Bots | Hayley | Voice, 2 episodes[48] |
| Dancing with the Stars | Herself | Contestant on season 18; finished in sixth place | |
| Phineas and Ferb | Becky | Voice, episode: "Doof 101/Father's Day" | |
| 2015 | King of the Nerds | Herself | Judge |
| 2015, 2017–2018 |
Impractical Jokers | Herself | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Perfect Match (aka A Perfect Wedding) | Jessica Summers | Television film (Hallmark Channel) |
| Miss America 2016 | Herself | Judge | |
| Crown for Christmas | Allie Evans | Television film (Hallmark Channel) | |
| 2015–2017 | Project Mc2 | The Quail | Main role (Seasons 1–2,4–5) Netflix original series |
| 2015–2018 | DC Super Hero Girls | Frost | Voice, recurring role (Seasons 1-5)[48] |
| 2016 | My Christmas Dream | Christina | Television film (Hallmark Channel) |
| Wedding Bells | Molly | Television film (Hallmark Channel) | |
| 2016–2018 | Shimmer and Shine | Layla, Generic Female Genie | Voice, 3 episodes[48] |
| 2017 | Mommy, I Didn't Do It | Ellen Plainview | Television film (Hallmark Channel) |
| Campfire Kiss | Dana | Television film (Hallmark Channel) | |
| Coming Home for Christmas | Lizzie | Television film (Hallmark Channel) | |
| 2018 | Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Taylor Martin | Voice, episode: "Hypno! Part Deux!"[48] |
| Very, Very, Valentine | Helen | Television film (Hallmark Channel) | |
| Love in Design | Hannah | Television film (Hallmark Channel) | |
| Christmas at Grand Valley | Kelly | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) | |
| 2019 | Love and Sunshine | Ally Craig | Television film (Hallmark Channel) |
| The Matchmaker Mysteries: A Killer Engagement | Angie Dove | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) | |
| Christmas at Dollywood | Rachel | Television film (Hallmark Channel) | |
| 2020 | Matchmaker Mysteries: A Fatal Romance | Angie Dove | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) |
| Christmas She Wrote | Kayleigh King | Television film (Hallmark Channel) | |
| 2021 | Matchmaker Mysteries: The Art of the Kill | Angie Dove | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) |
| 2021–2022 | Home Economics | Allison | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | You, Me & the Christmas Trees | Olivia Arden | Television film (Hallmark Channel) |
| 2022 | The Winter Palace | Emily Miller | Television film (Great American Family) |
| Domino Masters | Herself | Judge[26] | |
| The Wonder Years | Winnie Cooper | Episode: "Love & War" | |
| Christmas at the Drive-In | Sadie Walker | Television film (Great American Family) | |
| 2023 | Swing into Romance | Christine Sims | Television film (Great American Family) |
| A Royal Date for Christmas | Bella Sparks | Television film (Great American Family) |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Role | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "No More Rhyme" | Girl Playing Cello | Debbie Gibson |
| 2013 | "Rock n Roll" | Winnie Cooper | Avril Lavigne |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | X-Men Legends | Jubilee[48] |
| EverQuest II | Lolla Cotgrove / Pona | |
| 2006 | Marvel: Ultimate Alliance | Invisible Woman[48] |
| 2009 | Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 | Invisible Woman |
| 2013 | Young Justice: Legacy | Miss Martian, Batgirl[48] |
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