Jessica Paré life and biography

Jessica Paré is a Canadian film and television actress. She has appeared in the films Stardom (2000), Lost and Delirious (2001), Wicker Park (2004), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), and co-starred in the vampire horror-comedy Suck (2009). She plays Megan on the fourth season of the American TV series Mad Men.

Pare grew up in Montreal neighborhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grace to parents who were both actors. Pare used to watch her father rehearse, and even helped him with his lines. It wasn’t long before she caught the acting bug herself, and began starring in plays at Villa Maria, the private Catholic girls' high school she attended in Montreal. The bilingual actress went on to study drama at TheatreWorks before landing a bit part in the made-for-TV movie Bonanno: A Godfather's Story. Her small success convinced Pare to drop out of high school to pursue an acting career full time.

Perhaps the only thing harder than making it as an actress in Hollywood is making it as an actress in Canada. With a film industry that doesn’t revolve around a star system, most Canadian actresses are often interchangeable. That’s why, when the stunning young ingenue Jessica Pare was cast in the lead of Denys Arcand’s Stardom (she originally auditioned for a bit part), the Canadian press salivated over the possible emergence of a true Canadian leading lady. Although the film starring Pare as a hockey player-turned-supermodel had the honor of closing the 2000 edition of Cannes and opening the Toronto International Film Festival, it was received tepidly by critics. Still, Pare’s status as the Canadian “It Girl” was solidified, as every entertainment magazine from Halifax to Vancouver felt compelled to name her Canada’s next big thing.

Jessica Pare spent the next few years, on the cusp of stardom, starring alongside Piper Perabo in Lost and Delirious, while earning smaller roles in films like Bollywood/Hollywood and Wicker Park, opposite Josh Hartnett. Pare also appeared in a variety of television projects including Random Passage, Lives of the Saints and Jack and Bobby. But the breakthrough that many anticipated, including Pare herself, never happened. Instead, Pare spent the majority of her 20s living in relative anonymity in Los Angeles, looking for a way to revive her career, and save her marriage to writer Joe Smith.

2009 was a turning point in Jessica Pare's career. Although her marriage was in tatters, her career began to pick up steam, first with a lead role in the vampire comedy Suck, then with a smaller role in the Jay Baruchel-starring film The Trotsky. Both films played at the Toronto International Film Festival that year, and Pare suddenly found herself in demand again, even earning a 2010 Canadian Comedy Award for best female performance in a film. Pare's new-found funny bone led her to a role in Hot Tub Time Machine, the highest profile film of her career. Although her part was small, she became the most memorable part of the film when she exposed her chest to Craig Robinson in a hot tub.

When Jessica Pare landed the coveted role as the new secretary on AMC’s cultural juggernaut Mad Men, she wasn’t sure how big a role her character would play. No one was, except the show’s creator Matthew Weiner, who auditioned the actress three times before casting her. After watching the season four finale -- in which Don Draper suddenly proposed to his new love interest -- Weiner’s diligence finally made sense, as Pare’s character figures to be an integral part of the Mad Men universe in season five and perhaps beyond.

Suddenly one of the most talked-about young actresses in the business, Jessica Pare’s career has new life. Shortly after the finale, she was at the top of Google trends, and every major news outlet was requesting interviews with the overnight sensation. Pare herself is trying to stay humble amidst all the insanity, but after a decade’s worth of struggling, the sudden success must feel like sweet vindication for the talented actress.

Filmography:
-Bonanno: A Godfather's Story (1999), Rosalie Profacies
-Stardom (2000), Tina Menzhal
-En Vacances (2000), Carole Beaumont
-Lost and Delirious (2001), Victoria "Tori" Moller
-Random Passage (2002), Annie Vincent (age 15) – TV miniseries
-Napoléon (2002), Eléonore Denuelle – TV miniseries
-Bollywood/Hollywood (2002), Kimberly Stewart
-Posers (2002), Adria
-The Death and Life of Nancy Eaton (2003), Nancy Eaton – TV miniseries
-Wicker Park (2004), Rebecca
-Lives of the Saints (2004) Rita Amherst – TV miniseries
-See This Movie (2004), Samantha Brown
-Jack & Bobby (2004–2005), Courtney Benedict – TV series
-Protect and Serve (2007), Hope Cooke – TV pilot
-Life (2007) – TV series, in the episode "The Fallen Woman"
-Caniformia (2009), The Waxing Lady
-Shoe at Your Foot / Every Jack Has a Jill (French: Jusqu'à Toi) (2009), Liza
-Suck (2009), Jennifer
-The Trotsky (2009), Laura
-Peepers (2010), Helen
-Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), Tara
-Red Coat Justice (2010), Amethyst
-Mad Men (2010), Megan Calvet – TV series
-"Beholder" (2011), Sasha – Short film
-The Mountie (2011), Amethyst
-"Sorry, Rabbi" (2011, Marie-Helene – Short film

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