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Born on April 18, 1976, in Sayville, Long Island,
New York, Melissa Joan Catherine Hart began her stint as an actress
early on, when she did a bubble bath commercial for Splashy Bath.
By the age of five, Melissa had already completed over 25 commercials.
Melissa grew up with her TV Executive mom Paula Hart, her dad William
Hart, her six younger sisters, Trisha, Elizabeth, Emily, Alexandra,
Samantha, and Mackenzie, and one younger brother, Brian. Unfortunately,
Melissa's parents opted to go their separate ways, and her mom, Paula,
soon remarried TV Executive, Leslie Gilliams. And to add to her already
quite large family, Melissa had the pleasure of welcoming two more
younger half-sisters, Alexandra and Samantha, into her household.
Her mom became her agent from the get go and Melissa began acting
in TV shows, but her first acting gig was actually an appearance on
the wildly popular night time show Saturday Night Live. Between 1985
and 1986, she made several more appearances on the live comedy show.
Before her SNL turn came to an end, Melissa had already been making
appearances elsewhere, including on popular shows such as The Equalizer,
Christmas Snow, as well as a bit part in the mini-series Kane And
Abel.
By the time the late '80s rolled around, Melissa delved into the
world of theater and even starred opposite Martin Sheen in The Crucible
that ran on Broadway, which for a teenage girl, is quite an accomplishment.
After giving her turn as a theater actress a rest, Melissa auditioned
and got the role of Clarissa, the star character of Clarissa Explains
It All.
After her role as Clarissa came to an end, Melissa graduated from
high school and enrolled herself into New York University. Fearing
that acting may only be a temporary outlet for a given time, Melissa
decided that higher education would be necessary. But as fate would
have it, she got the role of Sabrina, The Teenage Witch in the TV
movie. Sure enough, Melissa soon had no time to do anything but act.
But she has managed to attend NYU through correspondence courses
since January 1994. And although she decided to pursue a BA in Arts
& Literature, her newly busy filming schedule forced her to put
her studies on hold for a year.
Whilst starring in the TV movie, Melissa also guest starred on Roma
Downey's dramatic series, Touched By An Angel, and also assumed the
role of a teenage girl who conspires to kill her parents in Twisted
Desire.
After the success of the Sabrina movie, Melissa was asked to star
in the television series of the same name. Although the show got its
start on ABC and was a hit, at the end of the fourth season, the TV
network decided that it wanted to change its time slots on Fridays
and thus dismissed the show. Luckily, the WB came along and scooped
up Sabrina and her magical delights for its fifth season, and the
show is a huge success among teenage girls and adults alike.
In 1999, Melissa created a boatload of controversy by opting to pose
seductively on the cover of Maxim magazine. Although the owner of
Archie Comics (who also owns the rights to her Sabrina character)
demanded an apology for smearing the character's persona through her
actions, Melissa never fulfilled the request.
Along with her mom, Melissa co-owns her own production company, Hartbreak
Films, which produces her TV show and a host of other television movies.
And since the company recently acquired the rights to child star Shirley
Temple's life story, you can be sure that Melissa, who collects the
retired actress' memorabilia, was quite eager to produce the movie
about her life (which will air some time this year).
As for movies, after a bit part in Can't Hardly Wait, which stars
Jennifer Joan Hart, Melissa starred in the romantic movie Drive Me
Crazy, for which Britney Spears had a hit single of the same name.
This year, Melissa can be seen in the upcoming movie Backflash, starring
opposite Jennifer Esposito.
Presently residing in LA, Melissa plays an active role in many charities
that benefit children and hopes to have a positive effect on their
lives. Keep your eye out for this blonde beauty -- her magic is spreading
from television onto the big screen.Melissa
Joan Hart Personal videos and photos - Click here!
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