A blonde, blue-eyed and clean-cut child performer, Hart has been emerging from her teen years with great style and promise as a sitcom star. After making her debut as a four-year-old in a toy commercial, she appeared on such series as "The Lucie Arnaz Show", "The Equalizer", "Saturday Night Live" (in 1984) and in the TV longforms "Kane and Abel" (CBS, 1985) and "Christmas Snow" (NBC, 1986). In 1989, Hart temporarily abandoned TV and tried the New York stage, making her Broadway debut opposite Martin Sheen in a revival of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" and off-Broadway in Circle Repertory Company productions of "Imagining Brad" and "Beside Herself".
But Hart moved back to the small screen when offered the starring role on the Nickelodeon teen-oriented series "Clarissa Explains It All" (1991-1994). Playing a smart, goofy, wise-mouthed kid, she became a teen idol and even after the series ended, continued to market popular "Clarissa"-related board games, books, videos and albums. Her new-found popularity resulted in guest spots on the shows "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?", "Touched by an Angel", "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" and in the frenetic comedy "Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare" (ABC, 1995).
"Clarissa" was no sooner wound up when Hart and her mother developed another successful, youth-oriented sitcom, spun off from the TV-movie "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (Showtime, 1996). The series (ABC, 1996-2000; The WB, 2000- ), which showcased Hart as a ditsy, perky high school student whose two zany aunts encourage her magical powers, has been favorably compared with the earlier "Bewitched" both in content and in its lighthearted, nonsensical spirit. Shortly before the "Sabrina" series debuted, Hart deviated from type with the TV-movie "Twisted Desire" (NBC, 1996), playing a teenage vamp who convinces her boyfriend to kill her parents. She provided the story for and starred in the NBC drama "Surviving Mary" (1997), about a college student investigating sex attacks on a college campus.
- Also Credited As:
Melissa Joan Catherine Hart
- Born:
April 18, 1976 in Sayville, New York
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Job Titles:
Actor, Director, Producer
Family
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Brother: Brian Hart. Born c. 1984
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Father: William Hart. Divorced from Hart's mother
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Half-sister: Alexandra Hart-Gilliams. Born c. 1993
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Half-sister: Samantha Gilliams. Born in 1996
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Mother: Paula Hart. Divorced from Hart's father; partner in Hartbreak Films; married Leslie Gilliams in 1994
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Sister: Elizabeth Hart. Born c. 1980
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Sister: Emily Hart. Born c. 1986
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Sister: Trisha Hart. Younger
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Son: Braydon Hart Wilkerson. Born March 12, 2008; father, Mark Wilkerson
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Son: Mason Walter Wilkerson. Born Jan. 11, 2005; father, Mark Wilkerson
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Step-father: Leslie Gilliams. Married Paula Hart in 1994
Significant Others
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Companion: Adrian Grenier. had relationship during filming of "Drive Me Crazy" in 1998
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Companion: Bryan Kirkwood. born c. 1975; dating since c. October 1999; acted opposite Hart on "Sabrina"
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Companion: James Fields. together from c. 1993 to 1998; born c. 1974
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Companion: Mark Wilkerson. dating as of 2002; engaged as of December 2002
Education
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New York University, New York, NY, 1995
Milestones
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1980 Acting debut in doll commercial at age four
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1985 TV movie debut, as Florentyna on "Kane and Abel" (CBS)
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1989 Acted onstage with New York's Circle Rep company
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1996 Starred in the sitcom "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (ABC, 1996-2000); retitled "Sabrina" when moved to The WB in fall 2000
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1996 Created role of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" in a Showtime movie
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1996 Dramatic acting debut, in TV movie "Twisted Desire" (NBC)
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1997 Provided the story for and starred in the NBC drama "Surviving Mary"
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1999 Starred in the teen comedy "Drive Me Crazy"
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2000 Made TV directorial debut with a January episode of "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"; went on to direct additional episodes
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2000 Played Sunlight Grrrl in the superhero comedy "The Specials"
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2001 With mother, served as producer of the ABC biopic "Child Star: The Story of Shirley Temple"; Hart's younger sister Emily Ann played the title role as a teenager
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2002 Appeared in the straight-to-video crime drama "Backflash"
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2003 Announces plans to have her real-life wedding filmed and turned into a reality series for ABC
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2003 Marriage to musician Mark Wilkerson was documented in a TV miniseries titled "Tying the Knot"; produced by Hart's production company, Hartbreak Films
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2005 Helmed the 15-minute short, "Mute" starring her younger sister, Emily
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2007 Directed the "Anger Cage" video for her husband Mark Wilkerson's band Course of Nature
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2007 Starred in the ABC Family Original Movie, "Holiday in Handcuffs" opposite Mario Lopez
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Starred on popular teen series "Clarissa Explains It All" (Nickelodeon)