Melissa Joan Hart: biography
Melissa Joan Hart is an American actress who became famous for the roles in the TV series Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Later, she co-starred with Joey Lawrence in Melissa & Joey.
Childhood and youth
Melissa Joan Catherine Hart was born in Smithtown, New York, on April 18, 1976, the Easter night. She is a popular American actress, TV director, producer, singer, and businesswoman.
The would-be celebrity’s mother, Paula Joan Voje, promoted beginning artists, and the father, was a carpenter. After the divorce, the man started his own oyster delivery business. Melissa’s grandfather from the maternal line, Stanley John, was a Navy and a religious man; he tried to instill the same quality in his grandchildren. The grandmother was a Russian Jew.
Melissa was the eldest child in the family; she has three younger sisters and a brother. The girl was named after a song by the American rock group Allman Brothers.
When the young talent turned 14, the parents divorced. The mother and the kids moved to New York; Paula married a TV channel director four years later. Three daughters were born in the new marriage.
Melissa started her career early. Paula often took her to auditions in New York; she was happy to see her daughter succeed at four commercial auditions from the first time. Little Hart debuted in a commercial for bathtub toys. By five, the girl had taken part in 25 ads.
In the mid-1980s, Melissa came to the screen: she appeared in the movie Christmas Snow.
Hart was working hard; she managed to maintain the balance between show-business and ordinary teenage life. When the young woman did not go to New York castings she attended a state school and clubs; she played the flute and joined girl scouts. Melissa did not dream of becoming an actress, though: she wanted to be a journalist and entered New York University to reach her goal.
Movies
Melissa frequently participated in castings for Nickelodeon. In 1989, the actress got the lead role in the TV series Clarissa Explains It All that changed her life forever. Hart moved to Orlando, Florida for some time and worked on 65 episodes (five seasons). At that moment, the artist had just turned 13. She did not go to a middle school: she worked with private tutors to receive her education.
The project finished in 1994. Hart returned to New York, closer to the family and New York University. Two years later, she gained another lead role: Sabrina Spellman in the TV series Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Once again, the actress’s career made her part from her family: Melissa moved to Los Angeles. However, she continued her university education and used a distant learning program. Simultaneously, the artist worked on many minor roles in other movies. However, it was Sabrina that brought her success.
In 1996, Melissa was offered the role of Sidney Prescott in the horror Scream, but she rejected it. After Sabrina, the actress came back to the family.
In 2009, Hart participated in the ABC reality show Dancing with The Stars. The two-time reigning champion Mark Ballas became her partner. The couple left the show at week six.
The next year, Hart played the lead role in the family comedy Melissa & Joey with Joey Lawrence. She also tried herself as a director and contributed to an episode in the second season.
Melissa has had many TV projects with her siblings; their mother produced them.
In addition to TV work, Hart appeared at the theater stage: she played in Beside Herself with William Hurt and Calista Flockhart. In 2013, the actress published her memoirs Melissa Explains It All: Tales from My Abnormally Normal Life.
At the beginning of her career, Melissa Joan Hart stood out for her modest behavior. However, in October 1997, Details put the photo of Hart, as well as Yasmine Bleeth, Alyssa Milano, Peta Wilson, Garcelle Beauvais, Carmen Electra, Jamie Luner, and Jeri Ryan, on its cover; the models were wearing lingerie.
Despite ptosis affecting the right eye and congenital lack of two front teeth, the actress has many fans. Her sizes are attractive: Melissa’s height is 157 cm., and her weight is 55 kg.
In her interviews, Hart mentioned she did not mind shooting topless for Playboy, but she was not ready for something more intimate.
Personal life
In July 2003, Melissa Joan Hart married the American actor and musician Mark Wilkerson whom she had met a year before. Three sons were born in this marriage.
Childbirth brought the actress 20 kg. The woman came back to her old forms 14 months later thanks to exercises; she did not have any plastic surgery.
Melissa often posts family photos on her official Instagram page. She emphasizes that she likes being a mother for her sons more than any other role in movies and series.
Present days
In 2017, Paula Hart’s movie A Very Merry Toy Store with Melissa was premiered.
Apart from her acting career, Hart, her mother, and stepfather own a producing company Hartbreak Films and a pastry shop Sweet Harts at Sherman Oaks, California. The actress is working on her own jewelry line and collects Audrey Hepburn’s items and paintings. There are three works by Pablo Picasso in Hart’s collection.
Melissa is fond of snowboarding, hockey, and watching TV, especially basketball games. The woman also likes cinematography, playing the guitar and flute, and painting.
Filmography
- 1986 – Christmas Snow
- 1991-1994 – Clarissa Explains It All
- 1996-2003 – Sabrina the Teenage Witch
- 1999 – Sabrina Down Under
- 2000 – Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
- 2001 – Recess: School's Out
- 2004 – Britney Spears: Greatest Hits - My Prerogative
- 2007 – Holiday in Handcuffs
- 2010-2015 – Melissa & Joey
- 2014-2016 – The Mysteries of Laura
- 2016 – God's Not Dead 2
- 2016 – Broadcasting Christmas
