Melissa Joan Hart's childhood career paid for family's life: 'I wanted to be responsible'

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Melissa Joan Hart says 'Thank God' she didn't do Playboy

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Melissa Joan Hart "wanted to be responsible" for her siblings as a child actor.

Hart revealed most of the money she earned at the beginning of her career actually went to her family. The now 48-year-old actress' career began in the '90s with shows like "Clarissa Explains It All" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch."

"I felt like I had to behave to be a role model for them," Hart said of her seven siblings during an appearance on the Pop Culture Moms podcast. "You know, the money that I made on commercials and ‘Clarissa’ or any of my acting jobs, it always went to the family."

"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,’" she added.  "And I was like... 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."

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Melissa Joan Hart's Hollywood success as a child actor paid for her sibling and family's lifestyle. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Hart explained most of her siblings had lived with her at some point, and she even paid for her brother's phone bill until he was 28. Helping take care of her siblings made her a better mom, the actress noted.

The "Drive Me Crazy" star recalled being left alone to care for all of her siblings at age 17 when her mom went on vacation.

"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 ... 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."

— Melissa Joan Hart

"She left to go to Mexico, and I had a six-month-old, a seven-year-old, nine-year-old, thirteen-year-old and a fifteen-year-old in the house," Hart said. "I had to take care of them for four days and I don't remember how I did it."

Melissa Joan Hart gained fame in the '90s with a role in "Clarissa Explains It All." (Getty Images)

"I know that my 15-year-old sister disappeared," the actress admitted. "She went to a friend's house and didn't come home, but I figured where she was. The other one I had to get on a bus in the morning and then the other two I had to walk across the street. Then I had to bottle-feed the other one all morning, change diapers and order pizza. I don't remember how I did it."

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Melissa Joan Hart often helped out with her siblings and even paid for her brother's phone bill. (Getty Images)

Hart explained that despite her young age, she felt like an adult.

"My mom would never have left if she didn't know I could do that," Hart emphasized. "I had already finished my show ‘Clarissa.' I had lived on my own for four years in Orlando."

"My 17 was probably the equivalent of like someone else's 24."

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Caroline Rhea and Melissa Joan Hart photographed on set of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." (Getty Images)

Hart began appearing in commercials at the age of four and would land her first lead role in the Nickelodeon show "Clarissa Explains It All" in 1991.

She went on to star in "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and "Melissa & Joey."

Hart married musician Mark Wilkerson after meeting at the Kentucky Derby in 2002. The couple married in 2003 and share three children together; Mason, Braydon and Tucker.

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