Danica McKellar honors son Draco’s 16th birthday after ditching Hollywood

Danica McKellar shared a touching Instagram tribute to son Draco on his 16th birthday on Monday.

The former “Wonder Years” actress posted over a dozen photos of her only child from over the years, starting with the first-ever image they took together.

In the snapshot, McKellar, now 51, cradled Draco in the hospital bed after she delivered him in September 2010.

Baby Draco was wrapped in a white blanket and wore a white hat as his mom lovingly stared at her newborn.

The final snap in the slideshow included the latest photo of Draco, which showed the teenager towering over his famous mom as they posed for a selfie.

“How is my baby 16?? 🥲❤️,” McKellar began the caption of her post. “Here’s the first picture I ever took with you, and the most recent, and then lots of pictures in between!”

She added, “Draco, I love you so much and I’m so proud of the (tall!) young man you’ve become!! Happy birthday!!!!”

McKellar shares Draco with her ex-husband composer Mike Verta. The pair were married from March 2009 to June 2012, finalizing their divorce a year later.

Over the years, McKellar has spoken about how becoming a mom changed her life.

“You tap into this love that you didn’t even know was possible. I thought I knew what love was, but it’s crazy,” she told People in 2013.

“I love Draco with everything that I am — there’s no question about it.”

When Draco was 13, McKellar told Route magazine that she “refuses to believe that this incredible time in our lives is going to fly by.”

“I still feel like he was two just yesterday, but I also remember all of that stuff in-between – and that helps me to not feel like I missed it, or like it passed me by,” she shared.

McKellar has been raising her son on a rural homestead outside of Nashville, after moving her family from Los Angeles in 2022.

During an appearance on the “Hey Dude.. The ’90s Called” podcast last year, McKellar explained that she traded her Hollywood life for a life of obscurity because she felt “very limited” after the “Wonder Years” ended in 1993.

“Everywhere I went it was, ‘Hey aren’t you that girl you know that played Winnie? Aren’t you that girl from TV?’” she recalled.

McKellar also admitted feeling “insecure” after her time on the ABC series ended, so she enrolled in classes at UCLA, with the goal of pursuing a different field.

That decision, McKellar said, led to her classmates recognizing her academic skills instead of her acting career.

“It was the greatest feeling… It was just me,” she shared.