Melissa Joan Hart

Melissa Joan Hart is an American actress, director, and producer. She is best known for starring as the title characters in the television sitcoms Clarissa Explains It All, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Melissa & Joey. She has also appeared in feature films such as Drive Me Crazy, Nine Dead, and God's Not Dead 2, and held a main role as Liz in the Netflix series No Good Nick.

Hart was born on April 18, 1976, in Smithtown, New York, to Paula Hart, a producer and talent manager, and William Hart. She grew up in a large family alongside four siblings who also entered acting. Following her parents' divorce in the early 1990s, she relocated to New York City with her family. Hart began her acting career at age four, appearing extensively in television commercials before landing early screen roles, including in the 1986 television film Christmas Snow and stage productions of The Crucible and Beside Herself in 1989.

Hart achieved widespread recognition in 1991 when she was cast as the lead in Nickelodeon's Clarissa Explains It All. The success of the four-year series earned her three Young Artist Awards. After briefly attending New York University, she took on the title role in the 1996 television film Sabrina the Teenage Witch and its subsequent seven-season series adaptation on ABC and The WB. During this period, she starred in the 1999 romantic comedy Drive Me Crazy, voiced characters in Sabrina: The Animated Series, and launched her directing career with episodes of So Weird, Taina, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

Following the conclusion of Sabrina in 2003, Hart directed the short film Mute and several television project episodes, as well as the music video for Course of Nature's "Anger Cage." She starred in high-rated television movies such as Holiday in Handcuffs and My Fake Fiancé, appeared in the film Nine Dead, and competed in season nine of Dancing with the Stars. In 2010, she returned to series television opposite Joey Lawrence in the ABC Family sitcom Melissa & Joey, which aired for four seasons through 2015. During this time, she published her 2013 memoir, Melissa Explains It All: Tales from My Abnormally Normal Life.

In subsequent years, Hart starred in the 2016 film God's Not Dead 2 and joined the Netflix comedy series No Good Nick in 2018. Her directography expanded to include episodes of The Goldbergs and Young Sheldon. She provided voice work for The Casagrandes and appeared as a contestant on season nine of The Masked Singer in 2023. Additionally, Hart has starred in numerous television films, including Dirty Little Secret, Would You Kill for Me? The Mary Bailey Story, The Bad Guardian, and Killing the Competition.