Time for another cool and smart girl crush of mine. My generation knows Danica McKellar for Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years, but it wasn’t her acting that made her one of my heroes. It was her excelling in mathematics and writing two books about girls and math that got her there.

She graduated from UCLA, summa cum laude, with her Bachelors of Science in Mathematics, but the awesome part is that she co-authored a math proof (PDF), which is very rare for an undergrad. I won’t even pretend I know what they’re talking about in the paper. Way over my head. But thanks to that, she has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6:

A person’s Erdős–Bacon number is the sum of one’s Erdős number—which measures the “collaborative distance” in authoring mathematical papers between that individual and Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős—and one’s Bacon number—which represents the number of links, through roles in films, by which the individual is separated from American actor Kevin Bacon. The lower the number, the closer an individual is to Erdős and Bacon.

Wow, how geeky cool is that?

Her most recent mathematics involvement is her latest book, Kiss My Math. It was written for middle-school aged girls to help show them that math isn’t going to stop them from being anything they want to be. That math isn’t just for the stereotypical nerd, and that it’s important to learn, no matter what field they want to get into. She tackles pre-algebra, offering problems to work and help understanding how they can do it. It’s a follow up to her first book, Math Doesn’t Suck, which in an introduction to middle school math in general, and shows girls that they don’t have to hide their smarts; that they need to use them. An excerpt:

Let’s get a few things straight: Acne sucks. Mean people suck. Finding out that your boyfriend kissed another girl? That would totally suck. Too much homework, broken promises, detention, divorce, insecurities: suck, suck, suck, suck, suck.

But math is actually a good thing. Here are a few reasons why: Math builds confidence, keeps you from getting ripped off, makes you better at adjusting cookie recipes, understanding sports scores, budgeting and planning parties and vacations, interpreting how good a sale really is, and spending your allowance. It makes you feel smart when you walk in a room, prepares you for better-paying jobs, and helps you to think more logically.

Most of all, working on math sharpens your brain, actually making you smarter in all areas. Intelligence is real, it’s lasting, and no one can take it away from you. Ever.

And take it from me, nothing can take the place of the confidence that comes from developing your intelligence—not beauty, or fame, or anything else “superficial.”

That’s exactly what girls need to hear. When Baby Grrl gets old enough, I will definitely keep these books in mind. I want her to know that she doesn’t have to act dumb or dumb herself down for a boy or for anyone. I remember often doing that in class when I was young, because no one liked the smart kids. I wish I could go back in time and give myself a talking to, but I’ll have to live with trying to raise Baby Grrl, knowing what I would have liked to know back when I was a kid.

Anyway, for parents of girls to math geeks, there are plenty of people who are fans of Danica. I’ll be watching to see if she releases another math book!

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