Danica McKellar

Danica McKellar is an actress, author and mathematician best known for playing Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years. McKellar was born in La Jolla, California, and raised in Los Angeles. She began acting as a child and balanced her early career with academics, going on to attend UCLA. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1998.

In 1988, she was cast as Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years. The coming-of-age series became a cultural touchstone, making McKellar a household name and earning her widespread recognition. Following its end in 1993, she went on to make appearances on shows such as The West Wing, NYPD Blue and Inspector Mom.

She later became a staple of made-for-TV movies, landing lead roles in films like The Winter Palace (2022), Swing Into Romance (2023) and Have We Met This Christmas (2025). Outside of acting, McKellar is known for authoring several bestselling math books aimed at encouraging young people, particularly girls, to embrace mathematics, including Math Doesn’t Suck (2008) and Kiss My Math (2009).

McKellar married composer Mike Verta in 2009, and they welcomed son Draco in 2010 before divorcing in 2013. She moved on with attorney Scott Sveslosky in 2014.