Actress McKellar: Smarts, Looks Add Up

Danica McKellar poses for photographers before the Oligo Tissew Fall 2007 fashion show during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif., in this March 22, 2007 file photo. McKellar has a message for girls: cute and smart is better than cute and dumb. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles-File) (Matt Sayles - AP)

NEW YORK -- Danica McKellar has a message for girls: Cute and smart is better than cute and dumb.

McKellar, who played Winnie on the 1990s television show "The Wonder Years," is coming out with a book, "Math Doesn't Suck," to encourage girls to get into math.

"When girls see the antics of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, they think that being fun and glamorous also means being dumb and irresponsible," the 32-year-old McKellar told Newsweek for editions to hit newsstands Monday.

"But I want to show them that being smart is cool," she said. "Being good at math is cool. And not only that, it can help them get what they want out of life."

McKellar should know. The actress once struggled with the subject around the seventh grade, but a teacher helped her through. McKellar eventually majored in math in college.

The book includes tips to avoid mistakes on homework, ways to overcome test-day anxiety and profiles of three beautiful mathematicians.

"I want to tell girls that cute and dumb isn't as good as cute and smart," she said.

(This version CORRECTS that McKellar majored in math in college, instead of becoming a mathematician.)