She's been the girl next door on "The Wonder Years," a political speechwriter on "The West Wing" and a soccer mom who solves crimes in the LMN "Inspector Mom" movies. But in real life, Danica McKellar takes another role even more seriously — she's on a mission to help young girls overcome their fear of mathematics and discover the fun side of this subject.

Unlike many of her Hollywood counterparts, McKellar took a hiatus from acting in her teen years to attend UCLA and earn a bachelor's degree in mathematics. She coauthored a math proof (a prestigious achievement for an undergrad) and was featured in the Science section of The New York Times for her accomplishments. Now, McKellar has released a book, "Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle-School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail."

According to the new author, "A lot of kids are intimated by math, but especially a lot of girls, because they just aren't encouraged as much as boys are. I just want girls to fulfill whatever their potential is. And a lot of them have a lot of innate ability but are turned off by the idea of math, so they don't pursue it." McKellar actually struggled a little with this area in her early adolescent years till a teacher found a way to make it engaging for her, and now she's paying that help forward.

McKellar's aim with this book is to make math accessible to young readers who may think numbers are just "boy stuff." In her book, she slips math into topics and activities that her female readers can connect to, like shopping, makeup and boys, along with personality quizzes and horoscope readings; she gives girls an alternative approach to math that makes it accessible and relevant to even the most stubborn holdouts. Her logic: Who could resist a math book that makes them feel more like they're reading CosmoGirl?

What drives the thirtysomething to inspire these young minds? McKellar says she doesn't want girls to grow up modeling themselves after some of today's tabloid queens; she's trying to prevent them from believing that being successful, famous and glamorous means acting dumb and irresponsible. "I want to see girls be empowered," adds McKellar. "I believe that growing into a fabulous woman requires smarts. You've got to develop your brain, and a lot of girls aren't being taught that. They haven't been developing their brains as much as they could, and I would like to put forth an alternate role model for them, and an alternate way of thinking about being fabulous."

To read more about Danica McKellar, click here.