When The Wonder Years was canceled in 1993, it had been on the air for six dramatic seasons. Fans loved the sweet friendship between Fred Savage and Danica McKellar's characters Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper. While McKellar has acted a lot since, many still remember her as this cute child character. The Wonder Years was such a popular series about a teenager growing up and learning about life that there was a reboot in 2021.
Danica McKellar has a net worth of $8 million. While this might not be as high as other former child stars, it's still a lot of money. Did the actress earn a lot of her fortune from the charming and memorable TV series The Wonder Years?
How Much Money Did Danica McKellar Make On The Wonder Years?
Although Kevin and Winnie didn't get a happy ending, their scenes together were always really charming. And that was partly thanks to Danica McKellar's talents as an actress. She made sure that Winnie was both smart and relatable.
While Danica McKellar's The Wonder Years salary isn't available, she must have made a good chunk of her $8 million net worth from the show. After all, she played Winnie Cooper for six seasons.
Since she appeared in 114 episodes, it seems impossible for McKellar not to have earned a fortune.
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Although the actress continued to act after The Wonder Years, it seems unlikely that all of her projects paid her big bucks. Some of her credits include the 1990 TV movie Camp Cucamonga, the 1992 movie Sidekicks, and two episodes of the '90s TV show Working.
McKellar starred in many TV shows and movies that people may not have heard of. The Wonder Years is definitely the series that she is most famous for. However, she has appeared in a few popular TV shows, both dramas and sitcoms. She played Elsie Snuffin in 8 episodes of The West Wing. She also guest-starred as Trudy on How I Met Your Mother and, in 2021 and 2022, played Alison in two episodes of Home Economics.
In the past few years, the actress has moved on to Hallmark movies. It seems likely that she has made a lot of money from these projects. This can definitely be a great career choice for many actors. Some of her movies include Christmas Dollywood, Coming Home For Christmas, and Christmas She Wrote.
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In 2022, McKellar left Hallmark for GAC Media, just like Candace Cameron Bure did. It seems that Bure is earning a lot of money from GAC Media and McKellar must be as well.
In an interview with Us Weekly, McKellar said, “Part of it was because I had the opportunity to do a multi-picture deal, which I hadn’t done at Hallmark, and also not just multi-picture, but also really being a producer, really helping to develop these stories from the beginning."
McKellar also began writing and publishing books. This has added to her net worth as well. One of her titles is "Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail Paperback." While her book deal figures aren't available, she must have been paid well because she's a celebrity.
Did Danica McKellar Like Starring On The Wonder Years?
Winnie Cooper is one of the best child characters in a TV series. She and Kevin Arnold like each other a lot, although they're definitely too young to really understand how complicated love can get.
While Danica McKellar was absolutely perfect for this part on The Wonder Years, did she actually like starring on this popular show?
When chatting about The Wonder Years in an interview for Entertainment Tonight with her child Draco, McKellar focused on the practical side of being a child actor. She said, "What I remember the most is juggling being an actress and doing my schoolwork. It was a lot of going back and forth to the school trailer."
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The actress explained that when she began attending college at UCLA, people recognized her everywhere that she went. She found it tough to constantly be recognized and for people to call her Winnie instead of Danica.
She shared that she wanted to change careers for a while because it was time to find meaning in her life. She began working in the field of mathematics, which is definitely different from acting.
McKellar said, "So I needed to find out how I was valuable outside of Winnie Cooper, and math was challenging and I did well at it. And I love this feeling that my value, the important stuff had nothing to do with how I looked or television," according to Entertainment Tonight.
It's cool to hear that The Wonder Years star wanted to explore who she was. It sounds like she appreciates the love that people have for Winnie. But at the same time, it's understandable that she was a regular college student who wanted to find her passion in life. Since she started acting so young, it sounds like she needed to take a minute to stop and think about what she really wanted to do next. And while she did start acting again and seems to enjoy starring in holiday movies, McKellar has shown the world her other talents like writing books and doing Math.
When interviewed by The List about The Wonder Years reboot, McKellar sounded totally fine with a new version of the show. She said that both versions can stand on their own. She also praised the idea behind the original. Her comments suggest that she still thinks highly of the show.
McKellar told The List that she liked that The Wonder Years was about serious topics along with things that teenagers think about. She said, "On our show, I remember there's tons of things going on, like with the Vietnam War and all the rest of it. But Fred Savage's character would be worried about, 'Should I call that girl or not?' And that's the headline news, and it's such a fun premise for a show."
