MOST TALENTED AND LUCKIEST CELEBRITIES
MELISSA JOAN HART
Name: Melissa Joan Hart. Birth Name: Melissa Joan Catherine Hart. Height: 5'.3''. Nationality: American. Date: April 18, 1976. Birth Place: Smithtown, Long Island. Occupation: Actress, producer. Education: Attended New York University. Relationship: Adrian Grenier (actor; had relationship 1998 during filming of Next to You), James Fields (actor; 1993-1998). Father: William Hart (shellfish supplier). Mother: Paula Hart (agent; TV producer). Sister: Emily Hart (born 1986). Brother: Brian Hart (born 1984). Half Sister: Alexandra Hart Gilliams (born 1993), Samantha Gilliams (born 1996). Step Father: Leslie Gilliams (TV exec). Claim to fame: as Sabrina Spellman in TV Series: Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996). Awards: Melissa won Young Artist Award for Best Youth Comedienne in a TV Show in 1995 for CLARISSA EXPLAINS IT ALL and Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Leading Young Performer in 1998 for SABRINA, THE TEENAGE WITCH.
BIOGRAPHY SYNOPSIS:
From the East Coast of the USA. The first child of William and Paula Hart.
Melissa hails from Smithtown Long Island, New York. Born with the name;
"Melissa Joan Catherine Hart" on the 18th April 1976, 1:30 PM on an Easter
Sunday, she is the oldest of her 6 siblings. The name "Melissa" was inspired
from a Allman Bothers song. Lyrical content of the song seemed to have been
the influence, perhaps it was just the simple statement of the name "Melissa"
throughout the song that persuaded Melissa's parents to choose it. Two middle
names then came into play, Joan and Catherine. The decision to middle name the
little Hart, "Joan" was named after her maternal grandmother. "Catherine" was
named at a later date. Her childhood years have been spent with patience, hard
work and growing hopes of a successful future in TV and entertainment. There
was no specific goal except for success. The young Melissa Hart started
showing her face on the TV at the age of 4. Now revealing blonde haired, and
green/blue eyes One of her first pieces of work involved starring in a TV
commercial for Connecticut Gas in 1980. The formula for the child star during
the 70's to 80's shared one common maxim - get the kid to do something out of
the ordinary to get the attention. Just like Jodie Foster on Taxi Driver.
However, whether Paula Hart knew about this and avoided it, or had no idea
about the possible returns in this form of talent showcasing is unclear. The
1980's was the start of Melissa Hart's career - Melissa was under a less is
more approach - slowly grow and glow, or flare out fast but burn out fast. It
happened to child star Gary Coleman (Different Strokes). What if that happened
to Melissa? Prior to any considerable form of public exposure, Paula Hart
(Melissa's mother) has been looking out for young Melissa - finding
opportunities for Melissa to gain public recognition. After the damage being
done to various other young aspiring stars, it shows that the cut throat ways
of the TV studios and Hollywood has no moral ground however young its hopefuls
might be. Paula Hart not only playing mother, but agent for Melissa. Had this
been faith in Melissa to be a huge success in the future right from the start
- or by offering a choice for her (when she grows) between conventional career
to an extraordinary one, however, whatever the outcome - it was better than
having no choice or future at all. Having accumulated up to 20 commercials
since 4 to age 5, the baby future star of Sabrina had moved on to more
sophisticated but less frequent roles in the TV studios. Major studios such as
ABC and NBC has welcomed Melissa, and her mother to another step up the
ladder. Productions such as The Adventures of Con Sawyer, Hucklemary Finn in
1984 - 1985. Further mid 80's work got her to appear on Kane and Abel and
1986's Christmas Show. Closing towards the end of the 80's, Melissa grew and
grew, shedding off another layer of baby youth. Only after the appearances in
NBC and ABC productions had established that Melissa's main craft was of
acting for now. There has not been any real story about her development of
acting, or that of any acting schools. But this did not stop Melissa and Paula
from entering even more demanding roles. 1989 - 1990, Melissa performed in a
play "Beside Herself" "Imagining Brad" and the more familiar "The Crucible"
along side thespian Martin Sheen. It seemed to be a brave move to pitch a
young, and untrained and suddenly assumed as actress into the professional
world of theatre. Perhaps, Paula wanted and tried to guide Melissa through the
more "talent" based road to success. The baby girl in Melissa was fading day
by day - the image that got her started in TV was dying.
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