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, two younger brothers, Brian Hart, and Mackenzie Hart.

Elizabeth Hart, Emily Hart, Alexandra Hart-Gilliams, Samantha Hart and Brian Hart have appeared on Melissa's current TV series, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.

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 Theatre production of "The Crucible" on Broadway with Martin Sheen (as understudy to three of the children in the play). Melissa cites Shirley Temple and Audrey Hepburn as early acting inspirations. She still collects Shirley Temple memorabilia. For the past few years, she has been juggling acting and attending New York University. She's now living in the Los Angeles area, starring in the ABC-TV series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, which is produced by Hartbreak Films, the production company run by her and her mother.



Daughter of Paula Hart and William Hart, a lobster wholesaler. Has sung on two rock-pop albums: "This is What Na Na Means" (1994) and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: The Album" (1998), and narrated a classical album for children, a recording of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" (1994). A small role she had in Crocodile Dundee (1986) was cut from the film. Was born at 1:30 p.m. on Easter Sunday. Was born without the teeth on either side of her two front teeth, a condition that was fixed in 1993. Collects Shirley Temple and Audrey Hepburn memorabilia. Full name is Melissa Joan Catherine Hart: Melissa from the The Allman Brothers Band song; Joan from her maternal grandmother; and Catherine is the name she chose for herself as her confirmation name. Started collecting estate jewelry. [October 1999] Attended New York University via correspondence courses since January 1994. She is pursuing a BA in a combination of art and literature classes, but she put her studies on hold for one year because of her hectic filming schedule. [October 1999] Auditioned for the role of Sidney Prescott in Scream (1996/I) . The role eventually went to Neve Campbell. She and her husband Mark Wilkerson are the proud parents of two sons, Mason Walter Wilkerson, who was born on January 11, 2006, and weighed exactly 9 pounds; and Braydon "Brady" Hart Wilkerson, who was born on March 12, 2008, and weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces. Turned down the role in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) that eventually went to Sarah Michelle Gellar and also a part in Urban Legend (1998) and, in a later statement, expressed reservations of becoming another horror movie victim as the rationale behind her decisions. Stepdaughter of Lisa Hart. Aunt of Chris Savage and Jonny Savage. Attended Sayville Middle School until the 8th grade and then moved to New York to concentrate on "Clarissa Explains It All" (1991). Her parents divorced in 1991. Her mother married Leslie Gilliams in 1994. Childhood friend of Soleil Moon Frye. Her younger half brother, Mackenzie, is the only one of her siblings who did not join the acting business. Daughter-In-Law of Jennifer and Walt Wilkerson.