The Untold Truth Of Danica McKellar

If you are a child of the late 1980s/early 1990s, then Danica McKellar was either the girl that you desperately wanted to make friends with or even more desperately wanted to hold hands with. Indeed, the actor became something of a young national sweetheart in her early teens thanks to her performance as the object of Kevin Arnold's doe-eyed affections, Winnie Cooper, in "The Wonder Years."

Of course, just to make every older millennial feel that little bit more ancient, McKellar now has a child who's older than she was while starting out in the nostalgic ABC dramedy. However, her more recent screen career has proven that she is still very much as inherently charming as she was back in the day.

Yes, although she might not be as prominent on our screens these days, McKellar has undoubtedly been keeping busy since waving goodbye to her most beloved character. And that's not just in Hollywood, either. From math books to marriages, here's a look at the star's untold truth.

"You don't have to choose between being fabulous and fun and being smart," Danica McKellar told CNBC show "On the Money" in 2020 before adding, "They go hand in hand." And the former Hallmark Channel regular has done her best to prove this throughout her career, balancing both the worlds of academia and acting with apparent ease.

McKellar has often used such words to inspire the next generation of fun-loving female brainboxes. In the '00s, she spoke about how to reach more women into math and science while testifying in front of a Congressional subcommittee. The star has also written several New York Times best-selling books targeted toward teenage girls with attention-grabbing titles such as "Kiss My Math" and "Math Doesn't Suck."

The "Project MC2" actor explained, "You don't have to be limited by the stereotypes in your head about who's going to be good at math ... It exercises the problem-solving part of your brain, which will help you better able to pursue your dreams, whatever they might be." In 2003, the star was able to pursue both of her dreams in one go when she took on the role of a young mathematician in a staging of David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Proof."

Danica McKellar and composer Michael Verta waited eight years to get married, having first started dating in 2001. But their walk down the aisle appeared to jinx things as the pair, who share a son named Draco, ended up heading for the divorce courts in 2012 with Verta telling TMZ, "I am saddened by the end of my marriage. However, we are committed to raising our son together and we are focused on remaining the best parents we can be."

But this didn't deter McKellar from getting hitched again. In fact, she said "I do" a second time just two years later, on this occasion to attorney Scott Sveslosky at a beachside ceremony in the Hawaiian resort of Kauai. The pair invited just 25 of their nearest and dearest to the event. And "The Wonder Years" star gushed to People that the day couldn't have gone any better. "It was absolutely magical," she said. "The forecast predicted rain, but there was not a drop of water in the clear sky. The sun came peeking up over the mountains just as I was walking down the aisle, alongside both my parents." McKellar told the magazine that her son as well as Sveslosky's son played big roles in the ceremony, participating in both the vows and sand pouring ceremony. 

The writers for "The Wonder Years" didn't make Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper wait too long to share their first kiss. The young lovebirds embraced in the 1988 pilot episode after the latter learns that her brother has died while serving in Vietnam. It's a moment that remains memorable for Danica McKellar as it was the first time she had ever locked lips with someone else in real life.

Luckily, the star, who was only in her early teens at the time, was more than happy to pucker up to Fred Savage in front of the cameras. As she told People more than three decades later, "I was so excited, jumping out of my skin. I was trying to remain calm and play the scene correctly, but I was about to have my first kiss ever." Unfortunately, the milestone was slightly ruined by the whoops and hollers that followed. McKellar recalled, "And it was just so humiliating. Like, I'm trying to have a private moment here!" And the fact that both McKellar and Savage's mothers were also watching the kiss being filmed probably didn't help, either.

Given the allegations that have surfaced about Fred Savage, it seems unlikely that the actors who played Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper will get back together on the small screen in the future. However, as regular Hallmark Channel viewers may already know, Danica McKellar has already been involved in at least one other on-screen "The Wonder Years" reunion.

In 2021, McKellar shared the screen with Jason Hervey, aka Kevin's older brother Wayne, in festive movie "You, Me and the Christmas Trees." She told Us Weekly the pair instantly picked up where they'd left off when they were back on set together so many years later. "It was like Déjà vu, she said. "It just brought [me] right back." 

Now a producer, Hervey hadn't acted on screen since playing Jimmy in kids movie "The Last Great Ride" way back at the turn of the century. But he was more than happy to make an unlikely comeback after being courted by his former co-star. McKellar added, "I was like, 'He'd be perfect for this role. And I think it would be so much fun.' And he was game ... He made time in his schedule for it, and it happened. It was great. It's funny when you have a crazy idea [and then] suddenly it's happening. It was awesome."

One of the most memorable "punishments" on the long-running TBS comedy series "Impractical Jokers" was when poor James "Murr" Murray had to interview his childhood crush Danica McKellar... as an oiled-up, speedo-wearing, bodybuilder competitor. "The Wonder Years" star may have looked perturbed during the stunt but that just proves her strong acting credentials as she was actually in on the joke, too. And remarkably, she's since become pals with her not-so-secret admirer.

Yes, some forced half-naked squatting in a conference room might not sound like a solid basis for a friendship. But in a 2016 chat with Channel Guide, Murr revealed he'd recently enjoyed a New York picnic with McKellar, adding, "As her and I were walking through Central Park, fans kept coming up and they'd see me and then they'd see her, and their minds were blown that the two of us were hanging out outside of that punishment."

The funnyman also recalled the moment when he learned he was about to meet his one-time pin-up in the most embarrassing of circumstances. "I was very proud of [the other "Impractical Jokers" stars for orchestrating the prank], but I was absolutely mortified and in shock," he said. "I couldn't believe that they actually got her there, or that she knew the show, or was a fan of the show." Not only did they actually get her there, but they made sure he was in a pair of American flag briefs. That's life as an impractical joker for you.

Even if you haven't seen Danica McKellar on screen since her days in "The Wonder Years," chances are you've still heard her familiar voice. For the actor has built up an impressive body of work as a voiceover artist.

McKellar first went into the recording booth in 1992 for an episode of cartoon "Captain Planet and the Planeteers" and has since guested on the likes of "King of the Hill," "Shimmer and Shine" and "Generator Rex," land recurring roles on "Static Shock," "Game Over" and "DC Super Hero Girls," and lend her voice to feature films including "Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo" and "Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam." And then in 2017 she took over from the late Janet Waldo as the voice of Judy Jetson.

But McKellar's most cherished behind-the-scenes role appears to be the narrator on "The Library That Dolly Built," a documentary on country legend Dolly Parton's children's literacy initiative. In an enthusiastic Facebook post, McKellar wrote, "I got to meet Dolly Parton last month and it absolutely blew my mind. I was given the honor of narrating her upcoming documentary, and the producers SURPRISED me at the recording studio with a visit from Dolly herself!! I've loved her since I was a child, watching her on TV with my grandmother ... and I know my Grammy is watching down on me, so excited about this."

Don't expect Danica McKellar to start pretending she's still the twenty-something you saw in the fourth season of "The West Wing." In an interview with The Girlfriend from AARP, she revealed that she truly does believe that life begins at 40. McKellar said, "In your 20s, it's cliché to say, but you don't know who you are. You don't really know what you like, where your personal boundaries are, how to stand up for yourself. You're insecure. You start figuring that all out in your 30s and then by the time you hit your 40s, it's amazing. I legitimately don't care as much what other people think or if other people agree with me."

"The Wonder Years" star may feel like her journey has only just begun four decades in, but thanks to her years-long career, she started raking in money long before she hit the big 4-0 in 2015. Per Celebrity Net Worth, McKellar's work as a television star and author has contributed to her net worth of $6 million. As she said on the "HerMoney" podcast, she's been mindful about money and putting cash away ever since she was a kid playing Monopoly with her family. "And I still to this day, if I'm making extra movies one year, I have a separate account that I just put money into and I pretend that it's not there," she said. No wonder she's been doing well for years.