Melissa Joan Hart Pictures

Melissa Joan Hart (born April 18, 1976) is an American actress, writer, television director, television producer, singer and businesswoman best known for her title roles in the television series Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

Melissa grew up in Sayville, New York. Her acting career started at the age of four, when she did a commercial for a bathtub toy called Splashy. Her mother, Paula Hart, has been her agent from the beginning. Melissa has five younger sisters, Trisha Hart, Elizabeth Hart, Emily Hart, Alexandra Hart-Gilliams, and Samantha Hart and two younger brothers, Brian Hart and Mackenzie Hart--all of whom except for the latter have appeared on Melissa's TV series "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (1996).

Melissa performed in two plays as the youngest member of New York's Circle Repertory Lab Company: "Beside Herself" in 1989 (starring Lois Smith and William Hurt) and "Imagining Brad" in 1990. She was also in the National Actors Theater production of "The Crucible" on Broadway with Martin Sheen (as understudy of three of the children in the play). Melissa cites Shirley Temple and Audrey Hepburn as early acting inspirations and still collects memorabilia of the former. For the past few years, she has been juggling acting and attending New York University. She's now living in the Los Angeles area.