A former Hallmark star recently opened up about her decision to leave Hollywood for a period of time after being a child actor. “MatchMaker Mysteries: The Art of the Kill” star Danica McKellar, who is now a prominent actress with Great American Family, spent five years playing Winnie Cooper on “The Wonder Years.” After it wrapped, she felt she needed to try new things and discover who she was away from the show.
Danica McKellar Felt Playing Winnie Cooper Was ‘Very Limiting’
On September 23, McKellar chatted about it all on an episode of the podcast “Hey Dude… The 90s Called!”
As People noted, McKellar started on “The Wonder Years” when she was just 13 years old. The show aired from 1988 to 1993.
When “The Wonder Years” ended, McKellar explained, “I needed to figure out who else I was besides Winnie Cooper.”
Her character was deeply loved on the show, and people came to see her as only Winnie Cooper. McKellar recalled that “every day, all day long,” she would be asked, “Aren’t you that girl, Winnie? Aren’t you that girl from TV?”
McKellar felt that playing Winnie had become “very limiting,” although she says it was a “blessing” to be on a show that did so well.
“You’re trying to figure out who you are as a teenager, and everyone else is telling you who you are, and it’s like a thing that doesn’t exist anymore,” McKellar explained.
Insecurities set in after the show ended, and McKellar struggled to figure out who she was outside of playing Winnie. She decided to go to UCLA after “The Wonder Years” wrapped.
The Great American Family Star ‘Fell in Love’ With Math in College
Interestingly, McKellar initially thought she would flounder in her first college calculus math class. Although she thought she bombed her first midterm in that class, she ended up having the top score, a 22 out of 40. She said that changed things for her.
McKellar had struggled with “imposter syndrome” of feeling that she didn’t belong in that class with “all these other people [who] are probably really smart.” However, that midterm did away with those worries.
“The next day, I kid you not, somebody tapped me on the shoulder and says, ‘Excuse me, are you that girl? Are you that girl who got the 22?’”
McKellar said that was the “greatest feeling,” because “It had nothing to do with the superficiality of Hollywood or all the great writers and…all the things they did to make Winnie Cooper [into] Winnie Cooper.”
Rather, she added, “This is just me and my brain who did this.”
She thrived in college. McKellar said she planned to double major in film and math, but ultimately chose to focus on math. “I just fell in love with math, and I thought I might become a professional mathematician, but then I missed the connection with people.”
After graduation, she dipped her toe back into the entertainment world. A few years later, she began writing math books as well. In the years since then, she has pursued both acting and her love of math to great success. McKellar noted that her 12th math book is due to be released in November.
