What Is Jessica Paré's Net Worth and Salary?
Jessica Paré is a Canadian actress who has a net worth of $3 million. Jessica Paré began appearing in theater productions as a child. She went on to study with TheatreWorks, a touring educational theater company. She made her professional debut in the television movie, "Bonanno: A Godfather's Story" and then went on to appear in a string of feature films throughout the early 2000s, including, "Stardom," "Lost and Delirious," "Bollywood/Hollywood," and "Wicker Park." She also appeared in multiple mini-series, which led to more work on television. She appeared in such television projects as "Random Passage," "Napoleon," "Lives of the Saints," "Jack and Bobby," and "Life." Paré continued to appear in various film projects until 2010, when she was cast in the role that would gain her the most widespread recognition, Megan Calvet (later Draper), on the hit series, "Mad Men." During her time on "Mad Men," Jessica's salary per episode was $20,000.
Early Life
Jessica Paré was born on December 5, 1980 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is the daughter of Anthony Paré and Louise Mercier. Her father was the former chair of the education department at McGill University, while her mother was a conference interpreter. She grew up in the Montreal neighborhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce with her three brothers.
Jessica was raised speaking both French and English. Both of her parents were also interested in the arts. Her father was involved in acting and occasionally toured with a theatre company, while her mother also acted in amateur productions. She attended Villa Maria, a private Catholic high school and also studied drama at TheatreWorks.
Jessica appeared in over a half dozen amateur theatre productions while still a teenager. She had roles in "Robin Hood" and "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." She later attended Dawson College, enrolling in the fine arts program.
Career
Paré landed a small role in the television film "Bonanno: A Godfather's Story" during her final year of high school. Coupled with all of her experience in theatre, she became convinced to pursue a career in acting. Jessica landed small roles in episodes of other television series and in films around this time. She appeared in an episode of "Big Wolf on Campus" and in the film "En Vacances." She dropped out of Dawson College to pursue acting for a few years, though she had a hard time landing consistent work and sometimes worked as a photographer's assistant.
In 2000, when auditioning for a small part in the independent film "Stardom," the director, Denys Arcand, instead chose her to star in the film. She played a naïve ice hockey player who was then propelled to international stardom when she became a supermodel. The film closed the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and received mixed reviews from critics. Despite the mixed reviews, it catapulted Paré into stardom in the Canadian film industry. She was voted one of the 25 Most Beautiful People of 2012 by "People" magazine, and she remains one of only a few Canadian citizens to have been granted this designation.
In 2001, Paré had a starring role in "Lost and Delirious," a film about two lovers set in a girls' boarding school. The film received mixed reviews at the Sundance Film Festival, though Paré's performance was widely praised. She then appeared in the television miniseries "Random Passage" in 2002. The series was based on the award-winning novels by author Bernice Morgan. The same year, Jessica also appeared in "Napoléon" as the emperor's mistress. She additionally had a cameo appearance as a pop singer in Deepa Mehta's "Bollywood/Hollywood" the same year. In 2003, she starred in the thriller film "Posers" and also appeared in the CTV film "The Death and Life of Nancy Eaton," playing the title role of the murdered heiress Nancy Eaton.
Paré made her Hollywood debut in the film "Wicker Park" in 2004. She also starred in the television miniseries "Lives of the Saints" and appeared in the mockumentary "See This Movie." The same year, she appeared in The WB teen drama series "Jack & Bobby." In 2007, she shot the pilot for the CBS show "Protect and Save." She also co-starred in the independent French-Canadian romantic comedy "Jusqu'à toi" and had a small role in "The Trotsky" in 2008.
Jessica appeared in "Suck," a vampire horror-comedy, which premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. She received a nomination at the 2010 Canadian Comedy Awards for her role in the film. In 2010, she also appeared in the film "Hot Tub Time Machine" as well as in the comedy "Peepers."
Additionally, Paré landed what would become one of her most prominent roles to date when she joined the cast of the AMC television series "Mad Men." She played the character of Megan Calvet, Don Draper's second wife. She had a very prominent scene in the opening episode of the fifth season of the show when she sang a version of the 1960 Gillian Hills hit "Zou Bisou Bisou." The track was subsequently released to download or purchase on vinyl.
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In 2011, Jessica appeared in "Beholder," a short film directed by Nisha Ganatra. She also starred in "The Mountie," a western film about the North-West Mounted Police in Canada. In 2012, she appeared on stage with The Jesus and Mary Chain and sang "Just Like Honey" for two concerts in Buffalo, New York, and Toronto. She also filmed the romantic comedy film "Standby," in which she played the female lead. The film was released in 2014.
In 2017, Jessica landed a main cast role in the series "SEAL Team." She remained on the show through 2022. She has additionally appeared in episodes of "Six," "Atypical," and "Big Hero 6: The Series."
Personal Life
In 2007, Paré married writer and producer Joseph M. Smith. They divorced in 2010. She later began dating musician John Kastner in 2013. In March 2015, the couple had a son together whom they named Blues Anthony Paré Kastner. The couple later broke up, and Jessica began dating Jacob Housten in 2019. They remained together until 2021. Paré is a member of the Catholic faith and also considers herself to be a feminist.
