Actress Danica McKellar, best known for playing Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years, has opened up about the faith journey that led her to Christianity, crediting longtime friend Candace Cameron Bure with helping point her toward Jesus.
McKellar recently reflected on the experience, explaining that although Christianity had been around her for much of her life, she previously carried reservations about organized religion and had never fully understood what a personal relationship with Jesus meant.
Her journey began to change in 2022 when she contacted Bure with questions about biblical forgiveness. Bure responded by sending her a Bible and later inviting her to church.
McKellar eventually attended a Passion Play at Bure’s church around Palm Sunday. She said that after the service she experienced a profound moment of understanding that she believes was the work of the Holy Spirit.
“I just was flooded with understanding,” she recalled.
Describing the realization to Bure, McKellar compared it to the romantic movies they often appear in, where someone suddenly realizes the person they were searching for had been there all along.
She said her realization was essentially: “It’s been Jesus this whole time, and I just didn’t recognize it.”
Since then, McKellar has spoken publicly about reading the Bible, attending church, praying and developing a personal relationship with Jesus. She previously thanked Bure publicly for helping her on the journey, saying her newfound faith had brought a major change to her life.
Looking back, McKellar says she can now identify moments in her personal and professional life where she believes God was guiding her, including situations that initially appeared disappointing but later seemed to serve a greater purpose.
Her testimony, which began publicly in 2022, is receiving renewed attention after she recently reflected on how dramatically her understanding of God has changed over the past four years.
From questions about Christianity to openly declaring her relationship with Jesus, McKellar says she now realizes He had been there all along.
