DANICA MCKELLAR Biography - Actors and Actresses

 
 

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DANICA MCKELLAR

Name: Danica Mae McKellar                                                           
Born: 3 January 1975 La Jolla, California, United States                             
                                                                                     
Danica Mae McKellar (born January 3, 1975), is an American actress and               
mathematician. As a result of this unusual combination of interests, McKellar       
has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6. She is best known for her role as Winnie Cooper   
in the television show The Wonder Years, and now as author of the nationally         
bestselling book, "Math Doesn't Suck," which encourages and empowers middle-school   
girls with mathematics know-how.                                                     
                                                                                     
Born in La Jolla, California, McKellar moved with her family to Los Angeles when     
she was eight. McKellar and sister Crystal McKellar have maintained a friendly       
competition to see who gets more acting jobs.                                       
                                                                                     
McKellar had a leading role in The Wonder Years, an Emmy Award winning American     
television dramedy created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens that ran for six         
seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1993. The pilot aired on January 31st, 1988 after       
ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII.                                                   
                                                                                     
McKellar played Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper, Fred Savage's main love interest on       
the show. In an episode entitled "The Accident" and in the final episode, it is     
stated that every important event in Kevin's life somehow involved Winnie. She       
lives on the same block as Kevin. Their first kiss plays an important part of       
the pilot episode, as does her older brother's death while serving as a soldier     
in the Vietnam War. In one episode her parents decide to get separated because       
of their grief over the death of their son. According to the epilogue in the         
final episode, Winnie studies art history in Paris. Kevin and Winnie write one       
letter to each other every week for eight years until her return. Despite their     
life-long romance, they never marry.                                                 
                                                                                     
McKellar's first kiss was with Fred Savage in an episode of The Wonder Years.       
She later said, "My first kiss was a pretty nerve-wracking experience! But we       
never kissed off screen, and pretty quickly our feelings turned into brother/sister, 
and stayed that way."