Who is Melissa Joan Catherine Hart?

Who is Melissa Joan Catherine Hart? The entertainment and acting world knows her as Melissa Joan Hart. Hart  is an American actress, writer, television director, television producer, singer and businesswoman.^[1] Hart is perhaps best known for her title roles in the television series Clarissa Explains It All (1991–1994)^[2] and the live action version of Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996–2003).^[2]
Hart's career has mixed movie work with television including appearances in the popular TV shows Law and Order and That '70s Show. Since 2010, Hart has starred in the ABC Family series Melissa & Joey. Hart has been married to musician Mark Wilkerson since 2003 and together they have had two children.

Early life

Hart was born on April 18, 1976^[2] in Smithtown, New York, on Long Island, the daughter of Paula, a producer and talent manager, and William Hart, a shellfish purveyor, clam hatchery worker, and entrepreneur.^[3] She grew up in Sayville, New York. Her stepfather (since 1994) is television executive Leslie Gilliams, and her stepmother is Lisa Hart. Hart was named after the Allman Brothers song "Melissa", while her middle name, Joan, came from her maternal grandmother. She chose Catherine as her confirmation name when she was in the eighth grade.^[2]
Hart is the eldest of eight children with six sisters, and one brother. Sisters Trisha, Elizabeth and Emily Hart, brother Brian, and half-sisters Alexandra Hart-Gilliams and Samantha Hart have all acted. Her half-sister Mackenzie Hart is not in show business.^[2]

Career

Early beginnings

Hart's career began at age four when she made a television commercial for a bathtub doll called Splashy.^[2] From then on, she appeared regularly in commercials, making 25 of them before the age of five. Other early television work included a small role in the miniseries Kane & Abel in 1985, a guest-starring role in an episode of The Equalizer^[4] in 1986, and a starring role alongside Katherine Helmond in the Emmy Award-winning TV movie Christmas Snow,^[2] also in 1986. She also auditioned for the lead role Jamie Lloyd in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, losing the role to American actress Danielle Harris.
In 1989, she became the understudy for a Broadway production of The Crucible starring Martin Sheen.^[5]

Clarissa Explains It All (1991–1994)

In 1991 Hart landed the starring role on the Nickelodeon series Clarissa Explains It All, a comedy about a teen girl in everyday situations, which was successful during its four-year run.^[6][7] The show brought her four consecutive Young Artist Award nominations, winning three. Her role in the series also led to her starring in the FMV video game Nickelodeon's Director's Lab as a tour guide who takes the player around a movie studio. In 1992, she and Clarissa cast member Jason Zimbler appeared on the game show Nick Arcade as contestants, she is one the few people who played the beta version of Sonic The Hedgehog 2 on the Video Challenge.

Hart also recorded two albums as Clarissa, This is What Na Na Means^[8] and a recording of Peter and the Wolf.^[9]
Hart appeared on Nickelodeon's anthology show Are You Afraid of the Dark? Season 2 episode "The Tale Of The Frozen Ghost" in 1991.^[10]

Sabrina The Teenage Witch (1995–2003)

After the television series ended, Hart attended New York University.^[11] However she did not complete her degree because she soon resumed her acting career when she was given the title role for the 1996 TV movie Sabrina the Teenage Witch.^[12] This was followed by the television series of the same name which lasted seven seasons on ABC and The WB.^[13][14] She later collaborated on an animated version that featured Hart voicing the two aunts Hilda and Zelda. Emily Hart starred in the title role.^[15] In between times, she also guest-starred on the series Touched by an Angel and starred in several TV movies.
In 1998, Hart landed a small part in the movie Can't Hardly Wait,^[16] and then started filming Next to You, starring alongside Adrian Grenier.^[17] Hart asked her friend Britney Spears to do a remix of her song "(You Drive Me) Crazy" and add it to the movie's soundtrack. To capitalize on the song's success as a top-ten hit,^[18] the title of the movie was changed to Drive Me Crazy and Hart joined Spears in the music video for that song.^[19] Around the same time Spears was given a guest role in an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch where she played herself.
Hart appeared in lingerie in a series of photographs and an accompanying article in the October 1999 issue of the men's magazine Maxim.^[20] Hart maintained her acting career in the 2000s including working on the the film Rent Control,^[21] which aired in 2005 on the ABC Family cable network. Hart continued her role on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which finished in 2003,^[14] and also performed several voice-over roles for animation.
In 1999, Hart made her directorial debut in an episode of Disney Channel's So Weird called "Snapshot" which starred her sister, Emily Hart. She later directed an episode of Nickelodeon's Taina in 2001. In 2001–2002, she directed 6 episodes of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, including the season 6 finale.

Post-Sabrina and comeback (2004–present)

After the end of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Hart directed her first movie, a 15-minute live-action short film called Mute (2005), starring her sister Emily. Hart guest-starred on an episode of Law & Order: SVU that aired on October 9, 2007 titled "Impulsive" as a teacher accused of statutory rape.^[22] In late 2007, she directed the "Anger Cage" video for her husband Mark Wilkerson's band Course of Nature. She also starred in the ABC Family Original Movie Holiday in Handcuffs, opposite Mario Lopez. The movie premiered on December 9, 2007, and was the highest rated program in the history of the network, with 6.7 million viewers.^[23] Hart followed this with another ABC movie with a similar premise, My Fake Fiance, in 2009.
In March 2009, Hart opened a candy shop called SweetHarts in Sherman Oaks, California.^[24] Hart commented that it had been her "childhood dream" to own a candy shop.^[25]
It was announced on August 17, 2009 that she would compete in season 9 of Dancing with the Stars.^[26] Hart was paired up with two-time reigning champion, Mark Ballas but she was eliminated from the competition in week six out of a possible 10.^[27]
Hart starred as Kelley in a 2010 horror thriller film entitled Nine Dead,^[28] before returning to sitcoms, starring with Joey Lawrence in a new sitcom, Melissa & Joey.^[29][30] In the series Hart plays a woman who hires Lawrence as a nanny to help care for her incarcerated sister's kids.^[31] Hart also joined the cast of an off-Broadway production of 'Love, Loss, and What I Wore' for a four week run that started in March 2010 and ended April 25, 2010.^[32][33]
In March 2010, Hart took part in an ad campaign for Gain detergent with former Sabrina, the Teenage Witch co-star Soleil Moon Frye.^[34]
On November 22, 2010, Hart participated as a presenter in the International Emmy Awards.^[35]

Personal life

On July 19, 2003, Hart married musician Mark Wilkerson.^[36] The preparations for the ceremony, which took place in Florence, Italy, were documented in a TV miniseries titled Tying the Knot, produced by Hart's production company, Hartbreak Films.^[36] Hart and Wilkerson have two sons: Mason Walter Wilkerson, who was born in January 2006 and Braydon "Brady" Hart Wilkerson, born in March 2008. Both boys were born in Los Angeles, California.^[37][38]
Hart and Wilkerson were featured in People magazine's April 7, 2008 issue, introducing Braydon to the world.^[39] Hart wrote a diary, including video entries, to document potty training her son, Mason, for Pull-Ups brand diapers.^[2]
Hart has been described by The AV Club as a supporter of the Republican party,^[40] and has called herself a fan of Peggy Noonan and Ronald Reagan.^[41] She and her husband live in Westport, Connecticut.^[42]

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Christmas Snow	Amy	TV movie
1995	Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare	Samantha	TV movie
1996	Sabrina the Teenage Witch	Sabrina Spellman	Pilot movie for TV series
1996	Twisted Desire	Jennifer Stanton	TV movie
1997	The Right Connections	Melanie Cambridge	TV movie
1997	Two Came Back	Susan Clarkson	TV movie
1998	Silencing Mary	Mary Stuartson	TV movie
1998	Can't Hardly Wait	Vicki, Yearbook Girl	Uncredited[43][44]
1998	Sabrina Goes to Rome	Sabrina Spellman / Sophia	TV movie
1999	Drive Me Crazy	Nicole Maris
1999	Love, American Style	Annabelle	TV movie, segment "Love In The Old South"
1999	Sabrina, Down Under	Sabrina Spellman	TV movie
2000	Santa Mouse and the Ratdeer	Molly	Voice
2000	The Specials	Sunlight Grrrll
2000	Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker	Delia & Deidre Dennis / Dee Dee	Voice
2001	Backflash	C.J.	Direct-to-video
2001	Recess: School's Out	Becky Detweiller	Voice
2001	Not Another Teen Movie	Slow Clapper's Instructor	Uncredited
2002	Rent Control	Holly Washburn	TV movie
2002	Hold On	Herself	Short film
2006	Dirtbags	Kate	TV movie
2006	Jesus, Mary and Joey	Jackie
2007	Holiday in Handcuffs	Trudie Chandler	TV movie
2008	Whispers and Lies AKA Secrets of Pine Cove	Jill Roperson	TV movie
2009	Nine Dead	Kelly Murphy
2009	My Fake Fiance	Jennifer	TV movie
2010	Candyman: The Tribe	TBA	Direct-to-video
2011	Satin	Lauren Wells
2011	Wanderlust	Hannah	Post-production

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	ABC Weekend Specials	Cindy	Episode: "The Adventures of Con Sawyer and Hucklemary Finn"
1985	Kane & Abel	Florentyna Rosnovski (age 7)	Credited as "Melissa Hart"
1986	The Equalizer	Laura Moore	Episode: "Torn"; credited as "Melissa Hart"
1986	Another World	Roller-Skater
1991–1994	Clarissa Explains It All	Clarissa Darling
1992	Nick Arcade	Herself
1993	Are You Afraid of the Dark?	Daphne	Episode: "The Tale of the Frozen Ghost"
1995	Clarissa, Now	Clarissa Darling	Only one episode produced
1995	Touched by an Angel	Claire Latham	Episode: "Angels on the Air"
1996	Weinerville	Herself	Episode: "Weinerville Election Special"[45]
1996–2003	Sabrina the Teenage Witch	Sabrina Spellman
1997	Boy Meets World	Sabrina Spellman	Episode: "The Witches of Pennbrook"
1997	You Wish	Sabrina Spellman	Episode: "Genie Without a Cause"
1997	Teen Angel	Sabrina Spellman	Episode: "One Dog Night"
1998	Promised Land	Sabrina Spellman	Episode: "Total Security"
1998	Superman: The Animated Series	Saturn Girl	Voice
1999	That '70s Show	Mary	Episode: "Eric gets Suspended"
1999–2000	Sabrina: The Animated Series	Aunt Hilda Spellman / Aunt Zelda Spellman	Voice
2000	Just Shoot Me!	Krissy	Episode: "Fast Times at Finchmont High"
2005	Robot Chicken	Emily the Spy	Episode: "Operation Rich in Spirit"; Voice
2006	Justice League Unlimited	Delia & Deidre Dennis / Dee Dee	Voice
2007	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Sarah Trent	Episode: "Impulsive"
2009	Dancing With the Stars	Herself
2010–present	Melissa & Joey	Mel Burke
2010	When I Was 17	Herself	[46]

 

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Who is Catherine Elizabeth Middleton?

 Who is Catherine Elizabeth Middleton? The royal world of England knows her as Kate Middleton. Middleton is the fiancée of Prince William of Wales. Their wedding is to take place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey with the day declared a bank holiday in the UK. Middleton grew up in Chapel Row at Bucklebury, Berkshire^[1], and after attending Marlborough College, studied at the University of St Andrews, where she met Prince William in 2001. They started a relationship, followed by media attention, triggering complaints by Middleton that the media were harassing her. In April 2007, the press reported that William and Middleton had split up.
They continued to be friends and later in 2007 they reunited. Since then, Middleton has attended many high-profile royal events. She has been admired for her fashion sense and has been placed on numerous "best dressed" lists. Since her relationship with Prince William began, Middleton has received widespread media attention and there was much speculation that they would eventually marry. On 16 November 2010, the office of the Prince of Wales at Clarence House announced their engagement. The date and location of the wedding were announced one week later.

Biography

Early life

Middleton was born 9 January 1982 to a Jewish mother at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.^[2]:32 She is the eldest of three children born to Carole Elizabeth (born 1955, née Goldsmith), an English stewardess, and Michael Francis Middleton (born 1949), who had worked as a steward before becoming a flight dispatcher for British Airways. Her parents married on 21 June 1980 at the Parish Church of Dorney, Buckinghamshire,^[3] and in 1987 founded Party Pieces, a mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations.^[4][5]
Middleton's paternal family came from Leeds, West Yorkshire, and her great-grandmother Olivia was a member of the Lupton family, who were active for generations in Leeds in commercial and municipal work.^[5] Through Olivia Lupton, her ancestors include The Rev. Thomas Davis, a Church of England hymn-writer.^[6][7] Carole Middleton's maternal family, the Harrisons, were working class labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham.^[8] Middleton has two siblings, Philippa Charlotte, known as "Pippa" (born 1983),^[9] and James William (born 1987).^[10] Pippa Middleton, a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, has received press coverage since her sister became famous, with focus on her relationships and lifestyle.^[11]
Middleton's family were in Amman, Jordan, for British Airways from May 1984 to September 1986, where Middleton went to an English language nursery school,^[12] before returning to their home in Berkshire.^[13] After her return from Amman, Middleton was educated at St. Andrew's School in the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire, then briefly at Downe House,^[14] before moving on to Marlborough College, a co-educational independent school in Wiltshire,^[15] followed by the University of St Andrews in Fife, where she met William and graduated with a 2:1 (Hons) in the History of Art.^[16]

Career

Mario Testino

In November 2006, Middleton accepted a position as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw.^[17] In September 2007, it was reported that Middleton was planning to give up her job as an accessory buyer to become a professional photographer. It was announced that she intended to take private classes with photographer Mario Testino, who had taken several well-known photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales and her sons. Middleton and Testino apparently were introduced by Prince William. Testino later denied that Middleton was going to be working for him.^[18]

Fashion icon

Richard Blackwell

Middleton has been featured in several best-dressed lists and was selected by The Daily Telegraph as the "Most Promising Newcomer" in its 2006 list of style winners and losers.^[19] Tatler placed her at number 8 on its yearly listing of the top ten style icons in 2007.^[20] She was featured in People magazine's 2007 and 2010 best-dressed lists.^[21] Middleton was named as one of Richard Blackwell's ten "Fabulous Fashion Independents" of 2007.^[22] In June 2008, Style.com selected Middleton as its monthly beauty icon.^[23] In July 2008, Middleton was included in Vanity Fair's international best-dressed list.^[24] In February 2011, Middleton was named the Top Fashion Buzzword of the 2011 season by the Global Language Monitor.^[25]

Prince William

Middleton's unsubstantiated status as the girlfriend of William brought her widespread media coverage in the UK and abroad and she was often photographed on her daily outings. On 17 October 2005, she complained through her lawyer about harassment from the media, stating that she had done nothing significant to warrant such publicity.^[26] In February 2006, it was announced that Middleton would receive her own 24-hour security detail supplied by the Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department. This fueled further speculation that she and William would soon be engaged, since she would not otherwise be entitled to this service.
No engagement occurred and Middleton was not granted an allowance to fund this security. Media attention increased around the time of Middleton's 25th birthday in January 2007, prompting warnings from both Charles and William and from Middleton's lawyers, who threatened legal action. Two newspaper groups, News International, which publishes The Times and The Sun, and the Guardian Media Group, publishers of The Guardian, decided to refrain from publishing paparazzi photographs of her.^[27] Middleton attended at least one event as an official royal guest, William's Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 15 December 2006.^[28] In December 2007, it was reported that Middleton had moved in with Prince William at Clarence House, the residence of the Prince of Wales in London.^[29] Clarence House later denied this.^[30]
On 17 May 2008, Middleton attended the wedding of William's cousin Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly, which the prince did not attend.^[31] On 19 July 2008, Middleton attended the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor and George Gilman. William was away on military operations in the Caribbean, serving aboard the HMS Iron Duke.^[32] On 28 February 2010, The Times reported that Middleton was pursuing an invasion of privacy suit against photographer Niraj Tanna who took pictures of her over Christmas 2009,^[33] although they were never published in Britain. Middleton has not pursued the claim against the photographer.

Breakup and reconciliation

On 14 April 2007, The Sun newspaper broke a "world exclusive" suggesting that Prince William and Middleton had split up.^[34] Other media outlets such as the BBC confirmed the story as the day progressed. The couple decided to break up during a holiday in the Swiss resort of Zermatt.^[35][36] Clarence House made only one comment about the relationship's end, according to The Times, stating, "We don't comment on Prince William's private life."^[37] Newspapers speculated about the reasons for the split, although these reports relied on anonymous sources.
The original report in The Sun quoted a "close friend of the couple" as saying that Middleton felt William had not been paying her enough attention. The paper highlighted reports that William had been spending time with other young women, and said the Prince, aged 24 at the time of the split, felt he was too young to marry.^[38] A report in the Daily Mail blamed a desire by royal courtiers not to "hurry along" a marriage announcement, and William's desire to enjoy his bachelor status within his Army career. The Mail also suggested that William's friend Guy Pelly encouraged the Prince to take a "careless approach" to relationships. The same article suggested that Middleton had "expected too much" in wanting William to demonstrate his commitment to her.^[39]
In June 2007, Middleton and William insisted they were "just good friends" following reports of a reconciliation.^[40] Middleton and her family attended the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, where she and William sat two rows apart.^[41] The couple were subsequently seen together in public on a number of occasions, and several news sources, including the BBC and the Daily Mail, stated that they had "rekindled their relationship."^[42] Middleton also joined William and Charles on a deerstalking expedition at Balmoral^[43] and attended the wedding of William's cousin, Peter Phillips, even though William, due to a prior commitment, did not. In April 2008, Middleton accompanied William when he was awarded his RAF wings at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.^[44] On 16 June 2008, Middleton attended William's investiture into the Order of the Garter along with the Royal Family.

Engagement and wedding

Main article: Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton

Prince William and Kate Middleton became engaged in October 2010 in Kenya, East Africa, during a 10-day trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate William's passing his RAF helicopter search and rescue course.^[45][46] Clarence House announced the engagement on 16 November 2010.^[47][48] The couple are to marry in Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011.^[49] It is customary for royal men to receive a dukedom when they marry; possible dukedoms for William after his marriage are Windsor, Clarence, Cambridge, Sussex, Kendal, Avondale, and Strathearn.^[50] As the wife of a royal duke and prince, Middleton would assume the title of duchess.^[50]
In Letters Patent dated 21 August 1996 (shortly before the divorce of the Prince and Princess of Wales) it was acknowledged that, "by convention", the wife of a son or grandson of the Sovereign is entitled to the style title or attribute of "Royal Highness".^[51] If William were not given a title, then after the wedding, Middleton would by convention (unless explicitly vetoed by the Queen), be known as Her Royal Highness Princess William of Wales^[52] taking her husband's first name on marriage (as with Princess Michael of Kent).^[53] If, however, William is given a title, Middleton would be known as "Her Royal Highness The Duchess [or other rank if appropriate] of N".

On 16 February 2011, Clarence House announced that Middleton's and William's first royal tour of Canada would take place in July 2011.^[54] She was formally introduced to public life on 24 February 2011, two months before the wedding, when she and William attended a lifeboat naming ceremony in Trearddur, North Wales.^[55]
The couple married on April 29, 2011.

Film

A Lifetime TV movie entitled William and Kate aired in the U.S. on 18 April 2011. Middleton is played by Camilla Luddington and William by Nico Evers-Swindell.^[56]
TLC Channel has had a documentary commissioned on the love story of the couple - 'William and Kate: A Royal Romance' produced by TVF International in 2011.

 

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