Danica McKellar became a breakout star for her portrayal of the beloved Winnie Cooper in “The Wonder Years.” But when the hit show came to an end in 1993, the teenaged McKellar temporarily stepped out of the spotlight to pursue a wildly different path.
Danica McKellar on leaving acting after ‘The Wonder Years’
McKellar recently opened up about why she left acting after finding massive success in “The Wonder Years.”
“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!’ I couldn’t get away from it,” the actress told her 11-year-old son, Draco, in a chat for Entertainment Tonight. “I needed to find out how I was valuable outside of Winnie Cooper.”
So McKellar ultimately decided to pursue her love of math. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in mathematics in 1998, and has gone on to publish 11 children’s books about math, per People.
“After ‘The Wonder Years’ ended, here I was, this ex-child actress,” McKellar previously told People. “You have to find your identity somewhere. For me, I found it in feeling smart and good about myself.”
McKellar — who today appears in a number of films for the Hallmark Channel — also recalled the struggle of balancing schoolwork and acting, telling her son: “I’m not gonna ever push you in that direction, because it’s a tough life,” per Entertainment Tonight.
But if her son — who’s only seen one episode of “The Wonder Years” — did want to pursue an acting career like his mom, McKellar said she would be supportive, putting him in acting classes and helping him through it.
“I will support you whatever you wanna do,” she said, according to Entertainment Tonight.