Melissa Joan Hart's Transformation Since Sabrina, The Teenage Witch Ended

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Melissa Joan Hart first found fame on the children's sitcom "Clarissa Explains It All," which aired on Nickelodeon for three years between 1991 and 1994. Her arguably most famous role came in 1996 though, when she began playing the titular character, Sabrina Spellman, in "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." Since then, the actor has had an incredible transformation in both her personal and professional lives. 

"Sabrina" ran until 2003 and saw Hart capture the nation's hearts (pun intended) as a smart high schooler who finds out on her 16th birthday that she comes from a magical family — and that she too has powers. "Ugh, the best years of my life. We did 'Sabrina' for seven years. We got to go to Australia together to do 'Sabrina Down Under,' we went to Rome together to do 'Sabrina Goes To Rome,' we went and did a special episode at Animal Kingdom in Florida. We just had a blast," Hart told Entertainment Weekly (via Refinery29) in 2017. The star was just 20 when the beloved kids' show began and around 27 when it ended, and her transformation into a mom of three, Lifetime star, and successful director since is nothing short of stunning.

"Sabrina the Teenage Witch" aired its final episode on April 23, 2003, just three months before Melissa Joan Hart became a married woman. The star wed musician Mark Wilkerson in Italy and gave the whole world a front row seat to their nuptials via the ABC Family (now known as Freeform) special "Tying the Knot: The Wedding of Melissa Joan Hart." The star was already a familiar ABC face, as "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" originally aired on ABC before moving to the now defunct The WB. "We can start the rest of our lives together," Hart told People about marrying so soon after the end of her career-defining TV show. She was also experimenting with her look after years as one of the most famous blond actors on TV. That summer, Hart dyed her locks red.

In early 2006, Hart (who had gone back to blond) became a mom when she and Wilkerson welcomed their first child, a son named Mason Walter Wilkerson. "When I first got pregnant, I freaked out. I thought, 'The press will have a field day with this; an underage actress having a baby.' Then I had to remind myself: I'm turning 30," she told Entertainment Weekly. "I guess I still see myself as this little 16-year-old. And it took some adjusting," she added. 

The star also became more serious about directing, having directed nine episodes of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." She sat in the director's chair again for the short film "Mute," which starred her sister. Hart admitted she believed she was a better director than actor, sharing, "I've never trusted myself with anything in this business until I found directing."

Despite Melissa Joan Hart's love of directing, she hadn't turned her back on acting. The star moved into TV movies in 2007 and starred alongside former "Saved By The Bell" actor Mario Lopez in Freeform's festive offering "Holiday in Handcuffs." The following year, she welcomed her second child, a son named Braydon Hart Wilkerson. But having two children didn't slow this superwoman down. 

She appeared in the romantic Freeform movie "My Fake Fiancé" alongside Joey Lawrence (more to come on him) and took the next step in her career on "Dancing With The Stars" alongside professional dancer Mark Ballas. "I've always wanted to be a dancer. It was never really, 'I want to be an actress,' even though I love being an actress and that is my career... This is everything I've always dreamed of in a condensed amount of time," she told "Access Hollywood" (via Today).

Around the same time, Hart hit the headlines for her dedication to her health. The star told People she was subjected to nasty jibes about her body while expecting her second child, which inspired her to pose in a bikini for the cover. "[I'm in] the best shape of my life," she told the outlet, sharing she'd gradually lost around 35 pounds over two years and had been working out more while embracing a balanced diet.

In 2010, Melissa Joan Hart teamed up with Joey Lawrence for the sitcom "Melissa & Joey." The series saw the two in a will-they-won't-they romance, as Lawrence's character (Joe Longo) became a nanny to Hart's single mom character Mel Burke's niece and nephew. Like "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," the series was produced by Hartbreak Films, the production company Hart started with her mom, Paula Hart, in 1993. The Freeform show was crowned favorite cable TV comedy at the 2015 People's Choice Awards and aired over 100 episodes before wrapping in 2015. Amid her new wave of success, Hart released "Melissa Explains It All: Tales from My Abnormally Normal Life" in 2013, a memoir from a former child star you need to read ASAP.

Two years into "Melissa & Joey's" run, Hart gave birth to her third child — another boy! She and Mark Wilkerson welcomed Tucker Wilkerson, and Hart was open about the chaos having three sons brought to her life. "They're only little once, and there'll be some day where I'm not picking up Legos and Silly Putty isn't stuck to my couch and I can actually have a clean house. But those are the days that I'll miss my kids," she told Us Weekly in 2016. The actor also got candid about the intense mom guilt she felt being away from her boys while working.

The star had developed a strong relationship with Lifetime and appeared in the 2017 holiday movie "A Very Merry Toy Store" and the 2018 offering, "A Very Nutty Christmas." But she hadn't turned her back on sitcom work. She also appeared in the Netflix series "No Good Nick," which aired a single season in 2019.

Melissa Joan Hart added another string to her bow in 2022 when she launched the podcast "What Women Binge" alongside her friend Amanda Lee. The series aired its final episode in 2024 and saw the duo discuss topics they felt were binge-worthy. But that wasn't her only new career challenge. Hart also gave the world a glimpse at her singing voice under a lamp costume on "The Masked Singer" in 2023. She overcame a major fear, as she admitted in her "Unmasked" interview that she'd been terrified to sing in front of people.

Hart had also become a Lifetime darling. Not only was she starring in the network's movies (including "Christmas Reservations" and "Dear Christmas"), she was also directing for the company. "I love working with Lifetime. My directorial debut for a feature was their 2014 movie 'The Santa Con,' so we had this great relationship. Every year they'd come to Hartbreak and say, 'What do you have now?'" she told Glamour in 2020. 

The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award winner also admitted it didn't bother her when people assumed she hadn't been working because she's been behind the camera. "I know I'm working and paying my mortgage and am fulfilled creatively," she said. In 2022, Variety confirmed she'd signed a multi-year deal with Lifetime that would see her work on holiday projects and beyond.

Melissa Joan Hart celebrated her 50th birthday in 2026 and confronted aging with confidence. She acknowledged the milestone on Instagram via a montage of photos from her childhood through to present day, and touched on the many things she'd learned along the way. "After five decades of discovering who I am, I discovered what's truly important to me!" she wrote on the clip alongside photos of herself having fun with friends and family.

It's no wonder Hart was so excited to head into a new transformation era, because she was in one of the best health phases of her life. Shortly before her big birthday, the actor told People she'd cut sugar and alcohol out of her diet. "In doing that, I lost a lot of weight and kind of feel great," she said. Hart explained she'd embarked on what she described as "a health journey, like a longevity journey," which also included more exercise, proving it's never too late to get into exercising in your 50s and beyond. That confirmed this hardworking, down-to-earth star is just as inspiring in her 50s as she was in her 20s, and she's living proof that it's possible to have it all.