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Danica McKellar Profile |
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Birth Date: January 3, 1975
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Birth Place: La Jolla, California, USA
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Birth Name: Danica Mae McKellar
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Height: 5'4"
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Biography |
Danica McKellar is an American actress and mathematical
education advocate. She is best known for her role as Winnie
Cooper in the television show The Wonder Years, and now as
author of the two New York Times bestsellers, "Math Doesn't
Suck," and "Kiss My Math" that encourage and empower
middle-school girls with mathematics know-how.
McKellar moved with her family to Los Angeles, when she was
eight. McKellar and sister Crystal McKellar both maintained
professional acting careers as kids, but with a strong
emphasis on education as a priority. As a result, Crystal
became a lawyer, and Danica majored in mathematics in
college.
In response to a fan letter, McKellar states on the "Fan
Email" section of her web site that, with regards to her
ancestry, she is "a big mix of Western Europe." Her mother's
ancestry is Portuguese via the Azores and Madeira islands
(previously uninhabited islands in the Atlantic settled by
the Portuguese in the 15th century), and her father's
ancestry is Scottish, German, French, and Dutch. |
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Other
Information |
DSister of Crystal McKellar, whom she considers her best
friend.
Graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with a BS in mathematics
in June 1998.
Had a 1998 paper published in Britain's "Journal of Physics
A: Mathematics & General" with UCLA professor Lincoln Chayes
and student Brandy Winn that provided a mathematical proof
for a theorem dealing with magnetism in two dimensions. Her
Erdos number is, at most, four; her Bacon number, by
comparison, is two.
Is fluent in French.
Was a member of the Alpha Chi chapter of Alpha Delta Pi
sorority at UCLA.
Attended Jason Marsden's nuptials, October 2004.
She is of Scottish and Portuguese descent.
Celebrity Judge for UCLA Spring Sing 2005.
Played the role of "Catherine" in a San Diego production of
David Auburn's play "Proof". Catherine is an unlikely
mathematical genius who writes a groundbreaking proof at a
very young age; McKellar is also an unlikely mathematical
genius (she was the only undergraduate invited to speak at
Rutgers University's biannual Statistical Mechanics) who
wrote a proof at a very young age.
Daughter of Mahaila McKellar and Christopher McKellar.
Stepsister of Christopher McKellar Jr. and Connor McKellar. |
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since December 11, 2008