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Hart was born in Smithtown, New
York, on Long Island, to Paula and William Hart, and grew up in Sayville,
New York. Her stepfather (since 1994) is television executive Leslie
Gilliams, and her stepmother is Lisa Hart. Hart was named after the Allman
Brothers song "Melissa", while her middle name, Joan, came from her
maternal grandmother. Hart chose Catherine as her confirmation name when
she was in eighth grade.
Hart has three sisters, three half-sisters and one brother, all younger
than she is. Her oldest sister, Trisha Hart, has worked as a producer.
Sisters Elizabeth and Emily, brother Brian, and half-sister Alexandra
Hart-Gilliams have all acted. Her two youngest half-sisters are not in
show business.
Hart's career began when as a three-year-old she made a television
commercial for a bathtub toy called 'Splashy'. From then on, she appeared
regularly in commercials, making 25 of them before the age of five. Other
early television work included a small role in the miniseries Kane & Abel
in 1985, a guest-starring role in an episode of The Equalizer in 1986, and
a starring role alongside Katherine Helmond in the Emmy Award-winning TV
movie Christmas Snow, also in 1986.
In 1989, she auditioned for a Broadway production of The Crucible starring
Martin Sheen, becoming an understudy to three of the young girls in the
play. This paved the way for her to land the title role in the TV show
Clarissa Explains It All. The Nickelodeon series, a comedy about a teen
girl in everyday situations, became a big hit during its four-year run.
The show made her a household name among American teenagers and brought
her four consecutive Young Artist Award nominations, of which she won
three.
Hart also recorded two albums as Clarissa, This is What 'Na Na' Means and
a recording of Peter and the Wolf (Sony Classical SK 64079). The former, a
rock/pop album in the style of a garage band, was mostly a novelty product
and did not receive much attention from critics or the public. The latter
album won a Parents' Choice award.
After the television series was canceled, Hart attended New York
University. She did not complete her degree, however, since she soon
resumed her acting career when she got the lead role for the 1995 TV movie
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. This was followed by the television series of
the same name which lasted seven seasons. In between, she also
guest-starred on the series Touched by an Angel and starred in several TV
movies.
In 1998, Hart landed a small part in the movie Can't Hardly Wait, and then
started filming Drive Me Crazy, starring alongside Adrian Grenier. Hart
asked friend Britney Spears to do a remix of her song "(You Drive Me)
Crazy" and add it to the movie's soundtrack. To capitalize on the song's
success as a top-ten hit, the title of the movie was changed to Drive Me
Crazy and Hart joined Spears in the music video for that song. Around the
same time Spears also did a guest role, playing herself, on an episode of
Sabrina.
Hart appeared in lingerie in a series of photographs and accompanying
article featured in the October 1999 issue of the men's magazine Maxim.
Hart continued her acting career in the 2000s. Her work included the film
Rent Control, which was produced in 2002 and later aired in 2005 on the
ABC Family cable network. Hart continued her role on Sabrina the Teenage
Witch, which finished in 2003, and also performed several voice-over roles
for animation.
In 2005, Hart directed her first movie, a 15-minute live-action short
called Mute, starring her sister Emily. Hart had already gained experience
directing several episodes of her Sabrina the Teenage Witch television
series.
Hart will guest star on an episode of Law & Order: SVU in November 2007 as
a teacher accused of raping one of her students (played by Kyle Gallner).
On July 19, 2003, Hart married musician Mark Wilkerson, a member of the
band Course of Nature. The preparations for the ceremony, which took place
in Florence, Italy, were documented in a TV miniseries titled Tying the
Knot, produced by Hart's production company, Hartbreak Films.
Hart and Wilkerson have a son, Mason Walter Wilkerson, who was born on
January 11, 2006 in Los Angeles. Hart and Wilkerson are expecting their
second child around Feb.-Mar. 2008. |
|
Holidays in Handcuffs (2007)
(TV) .... Trudie
Jesus, Mary and Joey (2006) .... Jackie
... aka Welcome Back Miss Mary (USA: cable TV title)
Dirtbags (2006) (TV) .... Kate
"Robot Chicken" .... Emily the Spy (1 episode, 2005)
- Operation Rich in Spirit (2005) TV Episode (voice) .... Emily the
Spy
"Justice League" .... DeeDee (1 episode, 2005)
... aka JL (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka Justice League Unlimited (USA: long title)
- The Once and Future Thing: Time, Warped: Part 2 (2005) TV Episode
(voice) .... DeeDee
Jack Satin (2005) .... Lauren Wells
Britney Spears: Greatest Hits - My Prerogative (2004) (V) ....
Nicole Maris (segment "[You Drive Me] Crazy")
"Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" .... Sabrina Spellman (163 episodes,
1996-2003)
... aka Sabrina (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka Sabrina Goes to College (USA: promotional title)
- Soul Mates (2003) TV Episode .... Sabrina Spellman
- What a Witch Wants (2003) TV Episode .... Sabrina Spellman
- A Fish Tale (2003) TV Episode .... Sabrina Spellman
- You Slay Me (2003) TV Episode .... Sabrina Spellman
- Spellmanian Slip (2003) TV Episode .... Sabrina Spellman
(158 more)
Hold On (2002)
Rent Control (2002) .... Holly Washburn
... aka Aunt Agatha's Apartment (Australia)
Not Another Teen Movie (2001) (uncredited) .... Slow Clapper's
Instructor
... aka Sex Academy (Europe: English title: new title)
The Voyage to Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) (TV) .... Host
Recess: School's Out (2001) (voice) .... Becky Detweiller
Backflash (2001) (V) .... C.J.
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000) (V) (voice) .... Delia &
Deidre Dennis/Dee Dee
... aka Batman of the Future: Return of the Joker (Europe: English
title: cut version)
... aka Batman of the Future: Return on the Joker (UK: TV title)
... aka Return of the Joker (USA: informal English title)
The Specials (2000) .... Sunlight Grrrll
"Just Shoot Me!" .... Krissy (1 episode, 2000)
- Fast Times at Finchmont High (2000) TV Episode .... Krissy
Santa Mouse and the Ratdeer (2000) (TV) (voice) .... Molly
"Sabrina the Animated Series" .... Aunt Hilda Spellman / ... (65
episodes, 1999-2000)
... aka Sabrina (USA: short title)
- Key to My Heart (2000) TV Episode (voice) .... Aunt Hilda
Spellman/Aunt Zelda Spellman
- La Femme Sabrina (2000) TV Episode (voice) .... Aunt Hilda
Spellman/Aunt Zelda Spellman
- The Bat Pack (2000) TV Episode (voice) .... Aunt Hilda
Spellman/Aunt Zelda Spellman
- Wiccan of the Sea (2000) TV Episode (voice) .... Aunt Hilda
Spellman/Aunt Zelda Spellman
- Strange New World (1999) TV Episode (voice) .... Aunt Hilda
Spellman/Aunt Zelda Spellman
(60 more)
"That '70s Show" .... Mary (1 episode, 1999)
- Eric Gets Suspended (1999) TV Episode .... Mary
Sabrina, Down Under (1999) (TV) .... Sabrina Spellman
Drive Me Crazy (1999) .... Nicole Maris
Love American Style (1999) (TV) .... Annabelle (segment "Love In The
Old South")
Time Out with Britney Spears (1999) (V) (uncredited) .... Girl
Standing ('Crazy' video)
"Superman" .... Saturn Girl (1 episode, 1998)
... aka Superman: The Animated Series (USA: informal alternative
title)
- New Kids in Town (1998) TV Episode (voice) .... Saturn Girl
Sabrina Goes to Rome (1998) (TV) .... Sabrina/Sophie
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: Spellbound (1998) (VG) (voice) ....
Sabrina Spellman
America's Teenagers Growing Up on Television (1998) (TV) .... Host
Can't Hardly Wait (1998) (uncredited) .... Vicki, Yearbook Girl
Silencing Mary (1998) (TV) .... Mary Stuartson
... aka Campus Justice
"Teen Angel" .... Sabrina Spellman (1 episode, 1997)
- One Dog Night (1997) TV Episode .... Sabrina Spellman
"You Wish" .... Sabrina Spellman (1 episode, 1997)
- Genie Without a Cause (1997) TV Episode .... Sabrina Spellman
"Boy Meets World" .... Sabrina Spellman (1 episode, 1997)
- The Witches of Pennbrook (1997) TV Episode .... Sabrina Spellman
Two Came Back (1997) (TV) .... Susan Clarkson
The Right Connections (1997) (TV) (as Melissa Hart) .... Melanie
Cambridge
"Clueless" .... Sabrina Spellman (1 episode, 1997)
- Mr. Wright (1997) TV Episode .... Sabrina Spellman
Twisted Desire (1996) (TV) .... Jennifer Stanton
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996) (TV) .... Sabrina Spellman
"Touched by an Angel" .... Claire Latham (1 episode, 1995)
- Angels on the Air (1995) TV Episode .... Claire Latham
Clarissa (1995) (TV) .... Clarissa Darling
... aka Clarissa, Now (USA)
Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare (1995) (TV) .... Samantha
"Clarissa Explains It All" .... Clarissa Darling (65 episodes,
1991-1994)
... aka Clarissa (USA: short title)
- The Last Clarissa (1994) TV Episode .... Clarissa Darling
- Clarissa Gets Arrested (1994) TV Episode .... Clarissa Darling
- UFO (1994) TV Episode .... Clarissa Darling
- Ferguson Explains It All (1994) TV Episode .... Clarissa Darling
- Dear Clarissa (1994) TV Episode .... Clarissa Darling
(60 more)
"Are You Afraid of the Dark?" .... Daphne (1 episode, 1993)
- The Tale of the Frozen Ghost (1993) TV Episode .... Daphne
Christmas Snow (1986) (TV) (as Melissa Hart) .... Amy
"Another World" .... Roller-Skater (1 episode, 1986)
... aka Another World: Bay City
- Episode dated 22 April 1986 (1986) TV Episode .... Roller-Skater
"The Equalizer" .... Laura Moore (1 episode, 1986)
- Torn (1986) TV Episode (as Melissa Hart) .... Laura Moore
"Kane & Abel" (1985) (mini) TV Series (as Melissa Hart) ....
Florentyna Rosnovski (Age 7)
"ABC Weekend Specials" .... Cindy (1 episode, 1985)
- The Adventures of Con Sawyer and Hucklemary Finn (1985) TV Episode
.... Cindy |
