{"id":44308,"date":"2025-05-13T13:13:33","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T17:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=44308"},"modified":"2025-05-13T13:13:33","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T17:13:33","slug":"danica-mckellar-reveals-why-she-escaped-hollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/05\/danica-mckellar-reveals-why-she-escaped-hollywood.html","title":{"rendered":"Danica McKellar Reveals Why She Escaped Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Kathy Hutchins \/ Shutterstock.com | Inset: FOX News Digital<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Wonder Years\u2019<\/em> Danica McKellar is celebrating her new path and opening up about her Hollywood experiences. Speaking with Closer Weekly<\/em><\/a>, McKellar shared about how the end of the hit show and her breakout role as Winnie Cooper left her with some big decisions to make. Would she continue her career in acting or would she pursue a college degree? \u201cWhen I finished The Wonder Years<\/em>, I went to UCLA to get a degree in mathematics. I stopped acting for four years,\u201d she said. \u201cI just needed to find out who else I was. For me, the way I could find out was just to do something else and really exercise my brain and let go of all the glamour and superficiality of Hollywood. That was really empowering to me.”<\/p>\n

The hiatus would also bring a lot of spiritual healing for McKellar, who began attending Al-Anon meetings while she was dating someone in recovery. \u201cThat\u2019s when I heard things like \u2018Let go and let God\u2019 for the first time. It opened something in me. I started to realize I didn\u2019t have to control everything,\u201d she said. McKellar would continue to pursue and be intrigued by a life of faith, although she wouldn\u2019t fully embrace Christianity for many years. \u201cI\u2019ve been around Christianity my whole life in some way, shape or form, but it never really clicked. And my good friend Candace Cameron Bure, she brought me to church. And all I can say is that something happened,\u201d she told Fox and Friends<\/em> in an interview about coming to Christ three years ago.<\/p>\n

After college, McKellar decided to get back into acting, but she struggled with doubt. \u201cI worried I made a mistake. I felt like I was behind and had to catch up. What if I couldn\u2019t go back?\u201d she admitted to Closer<\/em>. She began small with roles in indie films, eventually landing a role on The West Wing<\/em> for a couple of seasons. It was a confirmation to McKellar that she was on the right path. \u201cThat show was a turning point,\u201d she said. \u201cIt reminded me that I still had something to offer in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKellar hasn\u2019t left behind her love of math either. She is now the author of 12 math books for kids, with her latest book, I Love You 100: A Counting Book Full of Love<\/em><\/a>, now available for preorder. Now 50, McKellar says she knows she made the right choice. \u201cLooking back, I know everything unfolded the way it needed to. I had to step away from Hollywood to come back on my own terms and that made all the difference.\u201d Aside from co-parenting her 14-year-old son with ex-husband Mike Verta and her successful math books, McKellar also continues acting through The Great American Family Channel, where she also acts as a producer. \u201cThe way we experience our lives is exactly because of what we choose to focus on,\u201d she said. \u201cWe all get dealt a hand. Some parts are good, some are challenging. But the story we tell ourselves about that hand, that\u2019s what defines our life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Wonder Years\u2019 Danica McKellar is celebrating her new path and opening up about her Hollywood experiences. Speaking with Closer Weekly, McKellar shared about how the end of the hit show and her breakout role as Winnie Cooper left her with some big decisions to make. Would she continue her career in acting or would…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":44311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nDanica McKellar Reveals Why She Escaped Hollywood<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Danica McKellar reflects on life after "The Wonder Years": faith, math, and returning to Hollywood on her own terms.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/05\/danica-mckellar-reveals-why-she-escaped-hollywood.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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