Danica McKellar Shares Her Unique Experience with Eating Placenta in an Honest Moment
Danica McKellar, renowned for her role as Winnie Cooper in the beloved series The Wonder Years, has candidly discussed her experience with placenta consumption following childbirth, admitting to feeling “embarrassed” by her affinity for the taste.
During an interview on The Bobby Bones Show, which aired on March 10, McKellar recounted her postpartum journey. "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,” she shared, referring to host Bobby Estell.
Reflecting on the experience, she added, “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.”
McKellar, now 51, is the mother of 15-year-old Draco, whom she shares with her ex-husband, composer Mike Verta. The couple divorced in 2012, after which McKellar married attorney Scott Sveslosky in 2014.
A 2017 report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlighted that the practice of placenta ingestion has been promoted for its purported physical and psychological benefits, despite a lack of scientific evidence substantiating these claims. Celebrities such as Alicia Silverstone, Hilary Duff, Kim Kardashian, and Mandy Moore have also participated in this practice, typically in pill form.
McKellar’s insights come just two months after she posted a makeup-free selfie on Instagram, celebrating her natural beauty as she turned 51. “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.
Having gained fame in The Wonder Years, McKellar has since appeared in The West Wing and How I Met Your Mother while authoring several educational children’s books, including 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.
