Danica McKellar Talks Leaving Hollywood For A Low-Profile Life After Success On 'The Wonder Years'

Danica McKellar, best known for her role as Winnie Cooper on the beloved series "The Wonder Years," has shed light on why she chose to walk away from Hollywood.

The actress, who first found fame as a child star through the show, explained that she needed to step away in order to discover herself beyond her early success.

Her decision took her to university, where she graduated with honors. Danica McKellar eventually returned to acting and has since gone on to star in several Lifetime and Hallmark films.

During her appearance on "Hey Dude.. The '90s Called" podcast, Danica McKellar opened up about leaving Hollywood for a while after he success on "The Wonder Years."

"I needed to figure out who else I was besides Winnie Cooper," the actress said of her decision, per Page Six. "It was a blessing to be on a show that's that popular, but it was very limiting as a teenager when you're 18."

She claimed that her popularity followed her even after the show, but all of that didn't matter due to her battle at the time to figure out who she was.

"Everywhere I went, it was, 'Hey, aren't you that girl you know that played Winnie? Aren't you that girl from TV?'" the mathematician revealed.

She added, "It's like constant, you're trying to figure out who you are as a teenager and everyone else is telling you who you are."

Reflecting on that period, the 50-year-old admitted that one of the strongest feelings she experienced was insecurity, as her career failed to take off despite her early popularity.

"You have a lot of success early on, and then you don't have that anymore, and you're like, 'Who, who am I now? Where do I get my validation?'" McKellar shared about her feelings. "I had to get away from it and find out who else I was."

The uncertainty and self-doubt eventually pushed her to enroll in classes at UCLA, where she pursued a degree in Mathematics.

"I took all my makeup off and I would wear a backpack and a T-shirt and throw my hair in a ponytail," she recalled of her time at UCLA.

Fortunately for McKellar, she found the sense of validation she had been searching for while pursuing higher education.

The actress recalled scoring well on a calculus test, which made her classmates recognize that she was more than just an actress. At that moment, she said, it gave her a feeling she described as the "greatest feeling."

"It had nothing to do with the superficiality of Hollywood or all the great writers or the sound design and all the things they did to make Winnie Cooper [into] Winnie Cooper," McKellar reflected. "It was just me and my brain who did this."

Ultimately, McKellar graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics.

The former child star turned her passion into advocacy, encouraging middle and high school students to build confidence in math by authoring several approachable books.

Some of the books written by the actress include "Math Doesn't Suck," "Kiss My Math," "Hot X: Algebra Exposed," and "Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape."

Several years later, McKellar reversed her decision to step away from Hollywood. Even though she had earned a degree and built a life outside of acting, she missed the "connection with people," a feeling that ultimately drew her back to the screen.

Since then, McKellar has made multiple TV cameos and worked as a voice actress in several animated films, including "Young Justice," "Justice League," and "Generator Rex."

She has also become a familiar face in Lifetime and Hallmark productions, starring in titles like "Love at the Christmas Table," "Inspector Mom," "The Wrong Woman," and "Perfect Match."

This Christmas, she will appear in a new film premiering as part of Great American Media's holiday programming event.

The movie, titled "Have We Met This Christmas?," features McKellar as Katie Sloane, an ambitious real estate executive who suffers from amnesia after a car accident and unexpectedly falls in love with a man from her forgotten past.