It's No Wonder That Danica McKellar Wrote "Math Doesn't Suck"

August 14, 2007

Perhaps the best known from her days as Winnie Cooper on TV's The Wonder Years (1988 - 1993), Danica McKellar graduated summa cum laude from UCLA in 1998 — with a degree in mathematics. She even co-authored a mathematics paper with a proof of what is now known as the Chayes-McKellar-Winn theorem. Now McKellar, is in the news because she's written a book with the catchy title Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail.

"When girls see the antics of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, " McKellar said in a widely distributed Associated Press story, "they think that being fun and glamourous also means being dumb and irresponsible." McKellar's rejoinder is that "cute and dumb isn't as good as cute and smart".

McKellar said that she wrote the book to demonstrate to young girls "that being smart is cool" and that "being good at math is cool," all of which would help girls "get what they want out of life." Her book contains tips on ways to relieve math anxiety and doing error-free homework.

It also includes a "troubleshooting guide" to help students get "unstuck" and overcome their biggest challenges, stories from Danica's own life as a terrified math student and confident actress, and math personality quizzes and real-life testimonials.

In 2003, McKellar starred in a west-coast production of the play Proof, taking the lead role of Catherine, a troubled young woman who must discover how much of the brilliance — and madness — of her mathematician father she has inherited.

An in-depth profile of Danica McKellar appeared in the April 2001 issue of Math Horizons. The cover story, "The Number Years," was written by Deanna Haunsperger and Stephen Kennedy

Source: Toronto Star, July 30, 2007; U.S. News & World Report; National Public Radio, Feb. 11, 2006