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Published on: 9/27/1999
Last Visited: 6/12/2008
Hart and her mother, Sabrina executive producer Paula Hart, have parlayed the ABC series' success -- now in its fourth season, it is the No. 1 rated prime-time show among 2- to 11-year-olds -- into a growing Hollywood empire.
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The two are partners in Hartbreak Films, which produces Sabrina and stands to make millions off last spring's sale of the series into syndication. (The Wall Street Journal estimated the price at $80 million.) The two also produce an animated Saturday-morning Sabrina spin-off series (featuring the voice of Hart's 13-year-old sister, Emily) and the ratings-winning Sabrina TV-movies.Starting this weekend, Hart can be seen in her first starring role in a feature film, the romantic comedy Drive Me Crazy.
"Everything is a game of Risk or Monopoly or chess," she says of her meticulous career strategizing."You have to pick your moves carefully."And your investments, apparently.Hart has a home in Los Angeles decorated with four Picassos -- three etchings and a sketch that she purchased at a San Francisco art gallery.She also collects estate jewelry and is looking into buying a New York City nightclub.The reason?"I hate the doorman; he never lets me in.I got turned away the other day and I was like, `You know, you're going to be working for me in a month.'" Now, that's power.
A tiny, fast-talking blonde who is more direct than her TV counterpart, Hart arrives at a Culver City, CA, photography studio precisely on time, and without the entourage that typically escorts celebrities."I take care of myself.I'm from New York," she says, a hint of her native Long Island accent (she is from Sayville) in her voice.That she is a self-sufficient adult may come as a shock to fans who know her as a perky teen on TV."I'm not that age, but I look [it], and there are so many more parts for girls 16 to 18 than 23," says Hart, who auditions for as many as 10 films a week.
Of course, she can't play a kid forever.In fact, her mother has urged Hart to turn down teen roles.Paula Hart also tried to switch the TV show's title from Sabrina, The Teenage Witch to simply Sabrina (Archie Comics, which owns the Sabrina character, objected).Paula has also encouraged her daughter to take a decidedly adult posture with the press, one reason Melissa appears nearly naked on the cover of this month's Maxim magazine.
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"She has to grow up," Paula says."I can only keep her as a child so long."Hart, however, is not quite ready to make the transition into adult roles."Why give up on something that's working?"she says.
In Drive Me Crazy, a twist on last year's teen hit She's All That, she plays a high-school senior with a crush on a handsome basketball player (Gabriel Carpenter).In a scheme to win his attention, she pretends to date the school's disaffected rebel (Adrian Grenier), transforming him into a Gap-wearing preppie.Formerly Next to You, the film's title was changed to match the name of the current Britney Spears hit that is featured on the soundtrack.After Hart appeared in the song's video -- and Spears played herself on the September 24 episode of Sabrina -- the two became friends."I try to get her away from her security guards," Hart says with a laugh."I'm like, `Let's go out as girls and just hang out.'"
Hart is also hanging out with costar Carpenter, 21, who won Hart's heart during the making of the film.In a now-notorious incident reported by tabloids, the two were caught by the crew making out in a broom closet on the set."It was just kissing," says Hart, giggling.
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Hart began working at age 4, after she begged her mother to take her to a Romper Room audition.Hart didn't make it on the show, but the experience led to commercial auditions.She landed 22 spots that first year."She's a performer," says her mother."There are certain people who thrive on that.She likes to please people."As Melissa became more involved in the entertainment business, Paula Hart found herself becoming a full-time stage mom.
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