McKellar’s young son, Draco, recently interviewed his mother for ET, asking, “You were about my age when you starred in ‘The Wonder Years’. What do you remember most from those years? ”
McKellar said it was difficult to balance work and studies.
“What I remember most is juggling being an actress and doing my homework,” she said. “It was a lot of back and forth to the school trailer.”
While taking a break from acting for a while, she became a renowned mathematician. McKellar is also the author of 11 children’s books on mathematics.
His son asked why.
“When and why did you decide to quit acting and become a mathematician?” Draco asked.
“I went to UCLA, but when I got to school, everywhere I went, people all over campus were screaming across campus, you know, ‘Hey Winnie!’ or ‘Hey, I loved you in ‘The Wonder Years!’,” McKellar said of his character on the show, Winnie Cooper. “I couldn’t live without it. So I needed to find out how valuable I was outside of Winnie Cooper, and the math was hard and I was doing well. And I love that feeling that my value, the important things had nothing to do with my appearance or television.”
She also told her son that although the acting life is difficult, she would support him if he chose this path.
“Draco, I’ll support you whatever you want to do. I’ll put you in acting classes and help guide you through it,” she said.