Jessica Paré

A French-Canadian starlet, Jessica Paré achieved "Stardom" (2000) in Canada with her turn as an unlikely hockey-playing supermodel. She delivered a strong performance as a boarding school student conflicted about her sexuality in the coming-of-age drama "Lost and Delirious" (2001) opposite Piper Perabo, and crossed over to American fame as Josh Hartnett's fiancée in "Wicker Park" (2004).

Dividing her time between American and Canadian projects, Paré was a series regular on "Jack & Bobby" (The WB, 2004-05) and booked a flashy supporting role as a groupie in "Hot Tub Time Machine" (2010). She had her biggest break, however, as the scene-stealing Megan Calvert, the second wife of Don Draper on "Mad Men" (AMC, 2007-15). A secretary-turned- stepmother and junior copywriter, Paré's Megan dazzled audiences with a slinky performance of the song "Zou Bisou Bisou," igniting a furor that promised to propel the glamor girl to even greater heights.

A hardworking actress, Jessica Paré enjoyed a quiet but steady professional ascent that promised to increase her profile beyond North America.

Born Dec. 5, 1982 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Jessica Paré grew up bilingual, speaking both French and English. Her parents both moonlighted as actors, whereupon she grew up fascinated by the theater, eventually studying drama at TheatreWorks, where she gained valuable stage experience. Her professional debut came with an appearance on the kids' series "The Baby-Sitters Club" (The Disney Channel, 1990), but it would be nearly 10 years later before she began to pursue screen work in earnest, starting with a role in "Bonanno: A Godfather's Story" (Showtime, 1999). After a guest spot on the fantasy comedy "Big Wolf on Campus" (Fox Family Channel, 1999-2002), she landed her first lead role as a hockey player-turned-supermodel in the Dan Aykroyd satire "Stardom" (2000).

True to the film's title, Paré was propelled to Canadian stardom and impressed critics with a strong turn opposite Piper Perabo in the boarding school lesbian romance "Lost and Delirious" (2001). She essayed memorable turns in the miniseries "Random Passage" (CBC, 2002) and "Napoléon" (A&E, 2002) as well as the title role in "The Death and Life of Nancy Eaton" (CBC, 2003).

Paré's big screen Hollywood debut came as Josh Hartnett's fiancée in the doppelganger mystery "Wicker Park" (2004), while at the same time she landed a series regular role on the drama "Jack & Bobby" (The WB, 2004-05) as a young woman destined to become First Lady. The actress played a party girl in the comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine" (2010), but enjoyed her biggest profile boost with a role on "Mad Men" (AMC, 2007-15).

As Megan Calvert, Paré played Don Draper's (Jon Hamm) French-Canadian secretary, who turns out to be his shrewd, intelligent equal and a growing part of his life. Becoming Draper's second wife and a junior copywriter, Paré's Megan made a cultural splash when she performed the song "Zou Bisou Bisou" at a party for her stoic yet embarrassed husband. So alluring was her performance that its clip quickly went viral, became the water cooler topic the next day, and was released as a single.

By Jonathan Riggs