Melissa Joan Hart Says Early Acting Career Earnings Helped Support Her 7 Siblings

Melissa Joan Hart attends Variety's 2024 Power of Women: New York event in New York City on May 2, 2024. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Actress Melissa Joan Hart, who gained fame in her early teens with roles on popular ‘90s shows, including “Clarissa Explains It All” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” has disclosed that the income she made as a child actor was used to support her family, including her seven siblings.

“I felt like I had to behave to be a role model for them,” the actress said during a recent appearance on the “Pop Culture Moms“ podcast, published on Aug. 13.

Hart, 48, began her acting career by appearing in television commercials when she was just 4 years old. The actress went on to land a leading role in Nickelodeon’s “Clarissa Explains It All,” which premiered in March 1991 when the actress was 15. After the show’s conclusion in October 1994, Hart garnered a role in the hit series “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” portraying the titular character for seven seasons, from 1996 to 2003.

“The money that I made on commercials and ‘Clarissa’ or any of my acting jobs, it always went to the family,” explained Hart, the eldest of all her siblings.

“I got to go pick out a Barbie and, like, as I got older, some people were like, ‘Oh, that’s not right. You should have kept your money.’ And I was like, ‘Well, what would I have done [with it]?’” she continued. “I would rather put food on the table and make sure my siblings had good clothes and bicycles for Christmas, you know, things like that. So I definitely felt like I wanted to be responsible for them.”

Lessons on Motherhood

Hart, a New York native, grew up in Sayville, a hamlet perched on the South Shore of Long Island. The actress’s parents, who divorced in the early ‘90s, share four other children: Trisha, Elizabeth, Brian, and Emily—all of whom went on to pursue their own acting careers.

After her parents’ separation, Hart relocated to New York City with her siblings and mother, who later remarried and welcomed three more children.

During the podcast episode, Hart reflected on her teenage years, sharing that she was often tasked with babysitting her siblings.

“There were times when my mom had her sixth child and we were living in New York City, and I was probably almost 18 at this point. And she went on vacation with my stepdad—who wasn’t my stepdad yet—they were going to get engaged,” Hart recalled.

“So she left to go to Mexico, and I had a 6-month-old, a 7-year-old, 9-year-old, 13-year-old, and a 15-year-old in the house. And I had to take care of them for four days, and I don’t remember how I did it,” she continued.

Hart noted that her mother trusted her to care for her siblings. “My mom would never have left if she didn’t know I could do that,” she shared.

The actress has since welcomed children of her own with her husband, musician Mark Wilkerson. The couple, who wed in 2003, share three sons: Mason, 18; Braydon, 16; and Tucker, 11.

Speaking to “Pop Culture Moms,” Hart said her upbringing and experiences caring for her siblings were instrumental in helping her prepare for motherhood.

“I’m like, ‘I think I can get through anything.’ And I was a better mom for it, too, because I helped with my siblings,” she said.

In addition to her earlier roles, Hart is known for starring in “Melissa & Joey,” opposite actor Joey Lawrence. She has also appeared in the television series “No Good Nick” and various holiday telefilms, including “Feliz NaviDAD” (2020), “Dear Christmas” (2020), and “Mistletoe in Montana” (2021).

More recently, Hart starred in the telefilms “Dirty Little Secret” (2022) and “Would You Kill for Me? The Mary Bailey Story” (2023). Her latest movie, “The Bad Guardian,” debuted on Lifetime earlier this year.