Woman of the Week – Danica McKellar

Yes, you probably know her as Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years. However, Danica McKellar has spent her years after writing books to encourage students to pursue STEM careers and take interest in learning.

She was born in California in 1975 and raised in Los Angeles. She took acting classes as a child, which led to her being cast in commercials at nine years old. At 13, she was cast on The Wonder Years. She was on the show until it ended in 1993.

She then took a break from acting to attend college. She enrolled at the University of California to study mathematics. She signed up for a complex analysis class her senior year, which led to her finding a mentor in professor Lincoln Chayes. Chayes was impressed with her math skills and paired her with another student, Brandy Winn, to help with a research project. The work results in a new mathematical proof called the Chayes-McKellar-Winn theorem.

Mathematicians prove many theorems in their careers, but rarely do they get one named after them. The full name of this theorem is actually Percolation and Gibbs States Multiplicity for Ferromagnetic Ashkin-Teller Models on Two Dimensions, or Z2. But as magazines and outlets wrote about the work, it became shortened to just the researcher’s last names, McKellar noted in an NPR interview.

She graduated from college in 1998 and went back to acting. She made numerous appearances on television shows, including as the voice for M'gann M'orzz in the animated series Young Justice.

After a few years back on screen, she decided to pursue a graduate degree. In 2005, she earned her Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Chicago. Once she returned to school, her passion for mathematics was reignited. She started a website, where she wrote to young girls with advice and persuaded them to discover and pursue math. She then took this idea and published a book. In 2007, she published Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail.

Her lighthearted tone was appealing to a large audience, so she continued to write books. Eventually, she published a whole series of New York Times best sellers, including Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss (2008); Hot X: Algebra Exposed! (2010); and Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape (2012).

Today, she continues to speak in classrooms and present her work to students and teachers alike. She also does periodic acting engagements.