Danica McKellar

Danica McKellar

31 quotes

Since 1975, American actress, mathematics writer, and education advocate Danica McKellar has given the world some of its most quotable lines. Known for playing Winnie Cooper in the television series The Wonder Years, their words carry the weight of lived experience. Discover 39 of Danica McKellar's most memorable quotes, ranging across Home, Education, Teacher, Movies, and Cool. Perhaps their most recognizable line: "I exercise at home - light cardio and yoga."

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“It's really cool when a guy tips 20 per cent quickly and effortlessly so that when the check comes, he opens it and signs his name and done.”

— Danica McKellar

Cool

All Quotes by Danica McKellar

“I exercise at home - light cardio and yoga.”

— Danica McKellar

Home

“I recognize that I have a unique position to be a role model to young girls because I am doing something that they consider glamorous, which is acting, and yet I took a time to really get my education and study mathematics, and I think math is the cat's meow.”

— Danica McKellar

Education

“What I got which was unusual, especially as a child actress, was parents who believed that Hollywood was not that important. They told us education, family, health, all come first and they meant it.”

— Danica McKellar

Education

“I know we can't always know what medical surprises may happen during childbirth. But my hope is to go fully natural - no epidural, no interventions. Wish me luck.”

— Danica McKellar

Hope

“Teenage girls these days are more and more getting lured into thinking they should dumb themselves down, and that's going to attract the wrong kind of guy, and it's serious. It's serious business.”

— Danica McKellar

Business

“One of the most amazing things about mathematics is the people who do math aren't usually interested in application, because mathematics itself is truly a beautiful art form. It's structures and patterns, and that's what we love, and that's what we get off on.”

— Danica McKellar

Amazing

“I didn't think that college math was for me. I didn't think I'd be able to hack it. And that perception of math not being for girls, not being for girls who see themselves as socially well adjusted has got to change.”

— Danica McKellar

Change

“It's really cool when a guy tips 20 per cent quickly and effortlessly so that when the check comes, he opens it and signs his name and done.”

— Danica McKellar

Cool

“I used to love to go to the movies - I'd see two in a row. A few times I even snuck into the second movie after it started... now that I think about it, that's kind of like shoplifting! Needless to say, I still love going to the movies, but I don't sneak in anymore.”

— Danica McKellar

Movies

“Look at Jessica Simpson. She's famous for being dumb. I guess it started with Marylyn Monroe, and she actually wasn't that dumb, but that's how she was perceived - and that's what got popular.”

— Danica McKellar

Famous

“My main concern with the condition of mathematics in high school is that there's a lot of fear involved! Math is not, generally speaking, presented in a fun way. The concepts, as I see them, are fun, and that's the way I'd like to convey them myself.”

— Danica McKellar

Fear

“People talk about 'getting rid of the old image', and I guess there's some merit in that. But the truth is that people loved 'The Wonder Years' - I can't turn my back on it.”

— Danica McKellar

Truth

“In high school, a teacher once suggested that I be a math major in college. I thought, 'Me? You've got to be joking!' I mean, in junior high, I used to come home and cry because I was so afraid of my math homework. Seriously, I was terrified of math.”

— Danica McKellar

Home

“If a guy is skilled at anything, that's attractive. There's something very primal about that and, sure, it can be as simple as figuring out the tip quickly. It's really cool when a guy tips 20 percent quickly and effortlessly so that when the check comes, he opens it and signs his name and done.”

— Danica McKellar

Cool

“Find your self-respect now. Don't dumb yourselves down. Think of yourself as capable and worthy of finding a guy who is going to respect you, too. It's so important, I mean, and the confidence you get from feeling smart and tackling something like mathematics, which is a challenge, right? Math is hard.”

— Danica McKellar

Respect

“I wasn't in school often enough to really belong to a 'clique,' but my friends all studied hard and got pretty good grades. They were good people with self-respect. I still like to be friends with people I admire something about I really believe that we become like the people we're surrounded by, so I choose my friends carefully!”

— Danica McKellar

Good

“I played Winnie Cooper on 'The Wonder Years' from ages 12-18, and did a few other movies during some of the summers.”

— Danica McKellar

Movies

“My husband is a composer, so he plays piano all the time and I sit there and clap telling my unborn child, 'Hear me clap, hear the music.' I know music, in general, is supposed to be good for babies to hear.”

— Danica McKellar

Music

“I tell students that even if they don't like math right now, they can use math as a brain-sharpening tool - a tool that not only builds the foundation for a great career, but that also builds self-confidence, no matter what they choose to do with their lives.”

— Danica McKellar

Great

“When I was little, we had a Golden Book that had all these Disney characters in one portrait on the first page. My dad used to read from it every night. We'd play this game of find Pluto or find Donald Duck. He'd read us stories and do all the voices. Those are great memories.”

— Danica McKellar

Dad