Out of all the Great American stars, Danica McKellar has one of the most familiar faces. The 49-year-old began acting when she was just nine years old, and grew up in many people’s living rooms, playing Winnie Cooper on the iconic television series “The Wonder Years” starting when she was 13.
But there is plenty you may not know about this former child star.
For one thing, it’s been 31 years since “The Wonder Years” went off the air, and McKellar has since carved out a niche for herself in the family friendly film genre. But there was a time when acting was the last thing she wanted to do.
“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!’” McKellar said in 2022 interview. “I couldn’t get away from it. 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.”
Instead of majoring in film like everyone expected, the California native went on to earn her Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics in 1998, graduating summa cum laude and co-authoring a scientific paper that earned her major accolades in the field. Since then, she has published 11 children's books on the topic, with an emphasis on encouraging girls to pursue education in STEM fields.
And while she made the decision to return to acting after graduating, nowadays, she’s putting her education prowess to work by homeschooling her 14-year-old son, Draco.
“There are more and more reasons that maybe homeschooling is a good choice,” she said last year. “I’ve had a good experience with it…You just have more control over what your child is exposed to. And in all kinds of ways socially, academically, you name it, you can be a little more in control.”
McKellar also credits homeschooling with helping her stay connected to her son despite her busy acting schedule.
“With all the travel, it works so well to be flexible like that,” she said. “It’s a lot of multitasking. I will say it, I’m a busy person. I’m a working mom, but I want to make sure I’m the important time to Draco.”
The added flexibility was also a plus when McKellar and her family moved from California to Tennessee a couple of years ago for what she calls a “total quality of life improvement.” Part of that, was deepening her newfound faith after becoming a Christian in 2022.
“What I’ve been experiencing over the last couple of weeks is the feeling of finding that love and joy and freedom from my relationship that I’ve been developing with the Lord,” she said at the time. “This feeling of freedom and joy is available to everyone … It’s just a decision.”
In fact, McKellar frequently opens up about how her relationship with God has changed her life—both through her social media channels and as a regular on Great American’s Faith & Home. Faith & Home brings together the best of cooking, crafting, and faith-inspired content on Great American Pure Flix all designed to enrich your home and heart.
That’s part of why she loves making movies for Great American Family as well, as she believes the movies help bring people joy and hope.
“I feel like these movies, Christmas or just even the rom-coms that happened throughout the year, what we're doing is we're modeling,” McKellar explained. "We're modeling what human behavior can be. That's how I see it. Making choices, doing the right thing … and trying to just model behavior and give hope and an example.”
Here are some more interesting facts about Danica:
If you haven’t yet had a chance to watch McKellar’s Faith and Home videos on Pure Flix and are in the mood for some encouragement, this is a great place to start!
Mark your calendars for October 3! “Swing Into Romance,” starring Danica, David Haydn-Jones, and DWTS pro Gleb Savchenko, will be streaming on Pure Flix.
McKellar plays former dancer Christine Sims (McKellar) who returns to her hometown and discovers her family's store is in trouble. In an effort to save the business, she needs to dust off her dancing shoes, face her ex-fiancé, and maybe find love.
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