Wonder Years Star Danica McKellar Reflects on Decision to Step Back from Acting in Chat with Son

Kevin Mazur/Getty Danica McKellar

Danica McKellar is getting real with her son Draco McKellar Verta about why she stepped back from acting.

"I went to UCLA [after The Wonder Years ended], but when I got to school, everywhere I went, people all over campus would shout across campus, you know, 'Hey Winnie!' I couldn't get away from it," the actress, 47, told her 11-year-old in a chat for Entertainment Tonight.

The former child star decided to embrace another one of her natural talents — math.

"I needed to find out how I was valuable outside of [my character] Winnie Cooper," she said, "and math was challenging and I did well at it."

McKellar graduated summa cum laude with a BS in mathematics in 1998. She has since published 11 children's books on the topic and become an advocate for women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

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ABC Archives/Getty The Wonder Years

That said, McKellar's shift in focus still allowed her time to grace screens, with one-off roles in shows including The West Wing, NCIS and How I Met Your Mother as well as starring in a slew of Hallmark films. More recently, she can be heard voicing Miss Martian on HBO Max's Young Justice.

RELATED: Danica McKellar Says Besides The Wonder Years She Would've Liked to Star on Who's the Boss?

As for Draco (whom McKellar shares with ex-husband Mike Verta), the actress said she would not push him into a career in acting but would "support" whatever path he wants to take.

She did affirm, "I would put you in acting classes and I would help guide you through it."

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And while she'd be an encouraging mom no matter what Draco does, McKellar has been nurturing her son's math skills from a young age. She told PEOPLE when he was just under 2 years old that she was already "working on some things" with the toddler.

"He knows his colors and his shapes. He still gets seven when he counts the toes on one foot – he really likes seven right now!" she shared. "He likes it when I recite Pi. And I'm trying to teach him the quadratic formula, he hasn't quite gotten it yet. It's sung to the tune of 'Pop Goes the Weasel.'"

For McKellar, it all leads back to how her own love of math helped build her self-esteem.

"Math for me [gave me the most confidence]. After The Wonder Years ended, here I was, this ex-child actress. You have to find your identity somewhere," she explained. "For me, I found it in feeling smart and good about myself."