Danica McKellar

Danica Mae McKellar (born January 3, 1975) is an American actress, author, mathematician and education advocate. She is best known for her role as Winnie Cooper in the television show The Wonder Years, and later as author of the two New York Times bestsellers, Math Doesn't Suck, and Kiss My Math, which encourage middle-school girls to have confidence and succeed in mathematics. Born in La Jolla, California, McKellar moved with her family to Los Angeles when she was eight. Her mother Mahalia is a homemaker; her father Christopher is a real estate developer. Her family is "a big mix of Western Europe": Her mother's ancestry is Portuguese (via the Azores and Madeira islands); her father's ancestry is Scottish, Irish, French, German and Dutch. McKellar and her sister Crystal McKellar (who is loosely named after their dad) both maintained professional acting careers as children, but with a strong emphasis on education as a priority. As a result, Crystal became a corporate lawyer (her family nicknamed her "Legally Blonde" because of her hair color), while Danica majored in mathematics. Danica and Crystal also have two half-brothers, Chris Junior and Connor McKellar.