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Danica McKellar
Actress & Mathematician
Danica McKellar
Actress & Mathematician
Biography
Danica McKellar was first introduced to us as “Winnie Cooper” on the iconic television classic, The Wonder Years. In addition to her passion for acting, which has resulted in a lifelong career including appearances on The West Wing and The Big Bang Theory, Danica is a New York Times bestselling author with her groundbreaking books - Math Doesn’t Suck, Kiss My Math, Hot X: Algebra Exposed, and Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape - which teach tweens and teens how to master tough mathematical concepts.
A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA, Danica earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics while also contributing original research – she co-authored a paper in the field of statistical mechanics titled, “Percolation and Gibbs States Multiplicity for Ferromagnetic Ashkin-Teller Models on Z2,” which she presented at the 87th biannual Statistical Mechanics conference at Rutgers University. Her theorem, since dubbed “The Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorem,” was published in Britain’s esteemed Journal of Physics, and has been featured on the front page of the Science section of The New York Times.
Danica is recipient of the UCLA Award for Graduate Achievement, and the 2014 Communications Award from the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics, which includes the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America. She testified before a Congressional subcommittee about the importance of women in math and science. Danica was named “Person of the Week” by ABC World News for tackling math education and simultaneously breaking the stereotype of the “math nerd” with her highly entertaining and illuminating books.
Danica has been a regular guest on NPR's esteemed Science Friday and produced her own show on Nerdist Channel, MATH BITES. She voices the role of “Miss Martian" on Cartoon Network's sci-fi series Young Justice. Danica captivated viewers with her movement and technique on Dancing with the Stars (ABC) making her way to the quarterfinals.
As of late, Danica has been especially busy starring in movies for Hallmark Channel where she has drawn among the highest ratings. She recently shot another movie for Lifetime and is getting ready to release her fifth book. Danica is the apotheosis of pop culture meets nerd culture. Her message to girls? Smart is sexy!
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