‘The Wonder Years’ Actress Danica McKellar Credits Her Parents For Keeping Her ‘Grounded’ As A Child Star

“The Wonder Years” actress Danica McKellar said her parents kept her from experiencing issues other child stars endure by keeping her “grounded” even though she was famous.

McKellar, 48, spoke with Fox News Digital about how her parents ensured she had a normal childhood despite being a working Hollywood star.

“I’m very fortunate to have two parents who never overemphasized the importance of Hollywood or my acting career,” McKellar told the publication ahead of her scheduled appearance at 90s Con in Connecticut over the weekend.

“It was just a fun, cool thing that I did. But family, health, education all came first. Always. Never a question about that,” she said.

Both Danica and her younger sister, Crystal, worked in Hollywood in the 1980s and ’90s. But the former child star said her family prioritized quality family time over glamorous industry events.

For example, when “The Wonder Years” was nominated for an Emmy Award after its first season, McKellar missed the show to go on a previously planned family vacation.

“I remember the first year that ‘The Wonder Years’ was nominated for best comedy series, and the only year that we won, we had a trip scheduled with my dad and my sister and me,” she said. “The three of us were going to go on this river rafting trip on the Rogue River in Oregon, and we did. It conflicted with the Emmys, so we didn’t go to the Emmys, we went on the trip.”

“My dad’s work schedule was tough, so it really wasn’t a question,” McKellar continued. “I was like, ‘Yeah, of course we’re going to do that. That’s more important.’ And I remember watching the Emmys from our tiny little motel room in Oregon the night before we hit the river.”

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The actress recalled watching the ceremony on TV. “So, we were staying in this tiny little place, watching ‘The Wonder Years’ win the Emmy for best comedy series. We were jumping up and down on this tiny bed, can’t believe we didn’t break it, [cheering] ‘Yay, we won!’ And then next morning, we got on the river and had the trip of our lives.”

The “Dancing with the Stars” competitor said moments like that established the importance of family time over work. 

“I had a lot of core memories from that trip, and just the fact that my parents made that decision, and it was a clear choice,” she explained. “That type of thing, that’s just indicative and representative of how they treated me and my sister growing up.”

McKellar said she was treated like any other normal kid when it came to her home life.

“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, Danica is on the show.’ No, I had chores when I came home, and I was a regular kid and that kept me very grounded, and it kept me in touch with where my value is. And that makes a big difference,” she said.

Russia Claims To Have Intercepted Two U.S. Bombers Over Baltic Sea

Russia said one of its fighter jets intercepted two U.S. B-52 bombers over the Baltic Sea on Monday, a potential provocation that comes just days after Russian planes forced a U.S. drone into the Black Sea.

A Russian Su-35 was scrambled toward the U.S. planes, which were headed toward Russia, but returned to its base when the B-52s turned away, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The statement was accompanied by footage said to be shot from the Russian plane’s cockpit that appeared to show one of the two American jets.

“On March 20, radar facilities of the air defense forces of the Western military district on duty over the Baltic Sea detected two air targets flying in the direction of the Russian Federation’s state border,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app. “No violation of the state border of the Russian Federation was permitted.”

The U.S. did not immediately comment on the incident.

The incident came as Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war. It also followed two Russian nuclear bombers flying over the Sea of Japan for several hours just as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was visiting Ukraine.

Last week, a $32 million U.S. MQ-9 Reaper spy drone was harassed by Russian pilots, who dumped fuel on it before one of the Russian fighter jets collided with the surveillance drone’s propeller — causing U.S. forces to bring the drone down in international waters. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu celebrated the pilots’ actions on Friday, claiming they prevented the drone from flying into airspace claimed by Russia.

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The White House called Russia’s actions regarding the drone “reckless” but said it has not determined if the Russian pilots intentionally downed the U.S. drone.

“Incidents happen,” said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “And clearly we do not seek armed conflict with Russia and I believe at this point we should investigate this incident and move on from there.”