Danica McKellar – 154

American mathematics writer and actress Danica Mae McKellar is known for her portrayal of Winni Cooper from 1988 to 1993 in the TV series The Wonder Years. However, after the end of the iconic TV series, McKellar was relatively nowhere to be found from Hollywood. Instead, she has been busy with her education – mathematics.

McKellar co-wrote a science paper as an undergraduate at UCLA that gave rise to a new theory in math, which is known as the “Chayes-McKellar-Winn theorem. After getting her degree from UCLA as a cum laude, she authored several nonfiction books regarding math, including Hot X: Algebra Exposed, Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape. In an interview held in 2007, she said that the reason she likes writing math books is to show other girls that math is relevant and accessible, and perhaps even a little glamorous.