The Wonder Years’ Danica McKellar has opened up about eating her placenta after giving birth, revealing she was “embarrassed” to love the taste.
McKellar, 51, who starred as Winnie Cooper on the 1980s to 1990s coming-of-age TV series, shared her postpartum experience while being interviewed by Bobby Bones for the Tuesday, March 10, episode of “The Bobby Bones Show” podcast.
“My doula said, ‘Do you want to taste the placenta?’ I’d just given birth, and I’m like, ‘Sure.’ I mean, you’re not in your right mind. She gave me a piece of it. Bobby, it was like the best filet mignon that I have ever tasted. But more,” the former child star told Bones (real name Bobby Estell).
McKellar continued, “I was embarrassed about how much I loved it. It was bizarre. I thought, ‘What is this, some sort of weird satanic … Am I a cannibal?’ [But] we are meant to have that.”
The actress is mom to one child, son Draco, 15, whom she shares with her ex-husband, music composer Mike Verta. (The pair split in 2012 and McKellar married attorney Scott Sveslosky in 2014.)
According to a 2017 report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Placenta ingestion has recently been promoted to postpartum women for its physical and psychological benefits, although scientific evidence to support this is lacking.”
No subsequent research has publicly confirmed any health benefits, however stars who have also eaten their placenta include Alicia Silverstone, Hilary Duff, Kim Kardashian and Mandy Moore — albeit in the form of pills.
McKellar’s candid reflection comes two months after she shared a makeup-free selfie via Instagram as she embraced her natural beauty.
“This is 51! No makeup, no filters, just front-facing lighting and a healthy lifestyle to look — and more importantly — *feel* the best I can,” she wrote alongside the photo on January 3. “Today, I spent time with family (puzzling!), worked out, cold plunged in the ocean, and we’re about to have dinner. Feeling blessed beyond words today!!”
After McKellar’s rise to fame through The Wonder Years, the actress extended her small screen presence with appearances in The West Wing, How I Met Your Mother and several Hallmark films. She also went on to write multiple educational children’s books including 2010’s “Hot X: Algebra Exposed!” and “Maths Doesn’t Suck: How to Survive Year 6 Through Year 9 Maths Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail.”
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