Melissa Joan Hart had audiences properly and actually underneath her spell within the ’90s.
The actress rose to fame along with her roles within the sitcoms Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Hart first made her splash into tv on the age of 4, when she appeared in a bath toy industrial.
Her mom Paula grew to become her supervisor, or ‘mumager’, as Hart continued to guide tv commercials.
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The mother-daughter pair later opened their very own Movie and Tv Manufacturing Firm, Hartbreak Movies, in 1993.
Hart guest-starred in exhibits equivalent to Kane & Abel and The Equalizer earlier than attempting her luck in theatre as an understudy on the 1989 Broadway manufacturing of The Crucible.
Clarissa Explains It All
Earlier than we knew her as Sabrina, Hart starred as teen Clarissa Darling on Clarissa Explains It All.
The Nickelodeon sitcom first aired in 1991 and had a five-season run on the community.
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You would possibly bear in mind the character had a pet alligator named Elvis, however what you won’t know is that Hart nearly missed out on this breakout position altogether.
Creator Mitchell Kriegman revealed to Paley Issues in 2017 that Hart “was not likely Clarissa” in his thoughts till he later noticed her on display screen.
The sitcom was a smash hit and shortly grew to become identified for its fourth-wall breaks and Clarissa’s quirky bed room, envied by teenagers the world over.
But it surely was Hart’s wardrobe on the present that made her a ’90s fashion icon.
Hart confessed to Elle in a 2014 interview that she truly saved all her outfits from the sitcom.
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“I’ve them in my theater closet in my basement,” she stated.
Followers of the present would possibly discover it humorous to know there was one color Clarissa was intentionally by no means allowed to put on (for no obvious purpose): purple.
There have been talks of Hart reprising her position in a Clarissa Explains It All reboot, however as of 2019, the actress confirmed to US Weekly that any plans to see Clarissa Darling on display screen once more had been placed on maintain.
By no means say by no means, although!
Sabrina The Teenage Witch
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In 1996, Hart picked up her wand and rode her broom all the way in which onto our screens as she remodeled into Archie Comics’ beloved teen witch, Sabrina Spellman.
Hart performed the position of Sabrina for 3 films and 7 seasons of the TV sequence earlier than it wrapped in 2003.
Her spellbinding portrayal in Sabrina the Teenage Witch secured Hart’s standing as America’s sweetheart of the ’90s.
Throughout a latest look on the Hey Dude… The 90s Referred to as! Podcast, Hart revealed that whereas filming the primary Sabrina movie in 1996, she had a fling along with her co-star Ryan Reynolds.
The Sabrina set was so iconic, Hart could not resist taking some mementos along with her.
In a 2019 interview with Architectural Digest, Hart stated she nonetheless had a number of the props she took from set displayed round her dwelling, together with an umbrella holder and an indication that claims ‘Witches Brew’.
Very like her character, Hart is besties with Soleil Moon Frye, who performed Sabrina’s school roommate Roxie King.
The pair have been even roomates in New York one 12 months over the summer season hiatus of the present.
Drive Me Loopy
On the similar time she was capturing hearts as Sabrina, Hart landed the position of Nicole within the 1999 teen drama Drive Me Loopy.
Hart informed US Journal she would shoot nights on the weekend for the movie earlier than going straight again to taking part in Sabrina come Monday morning.
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It appears romance was within the air on set as Hart started courting her on-screen love curiosity, actor Gabriel Carpenter, about midway by way of manufacturing.
When you’re a Britney Spears fan, the movie title may need rung some bells. Nicely, it is no coincidence – the title Drive Me Loopy was in actual fact impressed by the Britney hit, (You Drive Me) Loopy.
Hart and her co-star Adrian Grenier even starred within the 1999 music video for the music.
Life after Sabrina
The identical 12 months Hart gave up her wand and stated goodbye to taking part in Sabrina, she tied the knot with American musician Mark Wilkerson in 2003.
Avid Sabrina followers may even watch the ceremony, which aired as a miniseries on ABC Household titled Tying the Knot.
After engaged on sitcoms for over a decade, the actress tried her hand at directing on her first quick movie, Mute, in 2005.
She nonetheless took on the occasional performing position, showing in Legislation & Order. She additionally starred within the ABC movies Vacation in Handcuffs and My Pretend Fiance.
In her private life, Hart welcomed her first baby with Wilkerson in 2006 and even ventured into the enterprise world along with her sweet store ‘Sweetharts Sweets’.
In 2009, Hart placed on her dancing sneakers and joined the Dancing with the Stars ninth season lineup, putting ninth general.
The expertise was apparently not so pleasurable, nonetheless, as Hart stated on her podcast The place Ladies Binge final 12 months that she “hated” being on the present.
Melissa and Joey
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In 2010, Hart reunited along with her My Pretend Fiance co-star Joey Lawrence on the sitcom Melissa and Joey.
The on-screen duo had such good chemistry on their first movie that Hart revealed to Leisure Weekly they each actually “needed to spin-off and do one thing in tv” collectively once more.
The sequence aired on ABC Household for 4 seasons earlier than being cancelled in 2015.
Stepping behind the digital camera
Since Melissa and Joey wrapped, Hart has jumped behind the digital camera to focus extra on directing, engaged on titles equivalent to The Watcher within the Woods, Goldbergs and an episode of Younger Sheldon.
She nonetheless makes the occasional look on display screen, taking part in Liz within the Netflix sequence No Good Nick.
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Most not too long ago, Hart starred within the 2022 movie Soiled Little Secret, primarily based on the true story and the guide written by C.J Omolulu.
Whereas it does not appear to be we’re getting a Sabrina reboot starring Hart anytime quickly, the actress handed over her wand to the brand new Sabrina Spellman, actress Kiernan Shipka, who starred within the 2018 Netflix sequence, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
In a promotional video for Netflix, Hart prolonged her “greatest witches” to Shipka and whereas she admitted to E! Information the present does not actually attraction to her, she “love(s) the truth that the character nonetheless lives on”.
The 46-year-old remains to be married to Mark Wilkerson. The couple dwell with their now three youngsters at their Lake Tahoe dwelling.
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