Melissa Joan Hart (born April 18, 1976) is an American actress, producer and director. She had starring roles as the titular characters in the sitcoms Clarissa Explains It All (1991–1994), Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996–2003), and Melissa & Joey (2010–2015). She has also appeared in films Drive Me Crazy (1999), Nine Dead (2009) and God's Not Dead 2 (2016).
Hart was born in Smithtown, New York, the first child of Paula Voje, a producer and talent manager, and William Hart, a carpenter, shellfish purveyor, oyster hatchery worker, and entrepreneur. Her maternal grandfather, Stanley John Voje, was a Navy veteran and Catholic. Hart grew up in Sayville, New York.
Hart's parents had four other children after Melissa: Trisha, Elizabeth, Brian, and Emily, who are all in acting. Her parents divorced in the early 1990s, and she moved with her mother and siblings to New York City. In 1994, her mother married television executive Leslie Gilliams, who is best known for his appearance on season 5 of MasterChef. Hart has three half-sisters: Alexandra, Samantha, and Mackenzie.