Danica McKellar Reveals What Kept Her Grounded as a Young Star

Published: February 17, 2026

By India McCarty

For former child star Danica McKellar, one thing kept her grounded in Hollywood — her education.

“Focusing on education,” she told Fox News when asked how she avoided the pitfalls of young stardom. “When I got done with THE WONDER YEARS, I graduated from high school within a couple months, went to UCLA, got a degree in mathematics, and that’s why I write math books in addition to continuing to be an actress.”

McKellar also credited her parents for keeping her grounded, explaining that she “had no idea really the magnitude of the show.”

“I was wandering back to school, going back and forth between school and set, and so it wasn’t like I was caught up in the Hollywood scene at all — it’s just the opposite,” she said.

During a 2025 appearance on the “Hey Dude…The ’90s Called!” podcast, McKellar shared how focusing on school helped her figure out who she was beyond her famous character, Winnie Cooper.

While attending UCLA, she took a math class where she received the highest score on a test.

“The next day…somebody tapped me on the shoulder and says, ‘Excuse me, are you that girl?’” McKellar recalled, sharing that she expected this person to ask her about THE WONDER YEARS.

Instead, they asked if she was the girl who got the high score on the test, which McKellar called “the greatest feeling.”

“It was just me,” she said. “It had nothing to do with the superficiality of Hollywood or all the great writers and the sound design and all the things they did to make Winnie Cooper [into] Winnie Cooper. This is just me and my brain who did this.”

McKellar has continued to act over the years, most recently, in Great American Family’s HAVE WE MET THIS CHRISTMAS?

“I feel like it’s a privilege to be able to focus on positive programming and help to lift people up and show them that they’re not alone, and show them that there’s a way that people can be good people and not just show stories about people who are cheating each other and lying and all the bad stuff,” she told Fox News of the project.

McKellar wrote the script for the movie, telling Niagara Frontier Publications, “It was a blast. It came very naturally. I’ve written math books for 20 years now, and I’ve done a little bit of creative writing, but whenever something comes together so well, it feels like there’s divine help…it feels like there’s this other thing you tap into — it’s like divine inspiration — and it’s a very exciting experience.”

McKellar was nominated for Movieguide®’s Grace Prize® for Most Inspiring Performance for Streaming (Actress) at this year’s Movieguide® Awards Gala, where she also served as a presenter. The 33rd Annual Movieguide® Awards will stream on Great American Family on March 5.