Jessica Paré: What Happened After Mad Men
Jessica Paré has actually had a lengthy and successful career before she grabbed the role as Don Draper’s second wife, Megan Draper.
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Word around town, which included fan theories, centered on one and one only. Sharon Tate and her tragic ending. This is what actress Jessica Paré was dealing with as her time as Megan Draper was coming to an end on the hit series Mad Men. While it may not have finally taken that route, her time, as did the show, ended. What has the stunning actress been up to lately?
Before Mad Men
Jessica Paré has actually had a lengthy and successful career before she grabbed the role as Don Draper’s second wife, Megan Draper.
Her actual first role was back in 1990 as a ten-year-old in the series The Baby-Sitters Club. She wasn’t seen again on screen for almost another decade when she was in the TV movie Bonanno: A Godfather’s Story. Paré moved on quickly from there to movies such as Stardom, Possible Worlds, Posers, Napoléon, See This Movie, The Death and Life of Nancy Eaton, and Wicker Park. She was also in the teen drama, Jack & Bobby, about brothers, one of whom grows up to be the President of the United States. The series was set in 2041 and Paré’s character would end up being the First Lady.
Jessica Paré continued to find rolls up to her Mad Men time. She was in The Trotsky, Suck, Hot Tub Time Machine (where she did an infamous nude scene), and Peepers right before Mad Men came knocking.
Jessica Paré On Mad Men
Jessica Paré joined Mad Men at the beginning of season 4 and marries Jon Hamm’s Don Draper by season 5. But it was Jessica Paré’s time near the end that had viewers so concerned, as it seemed series creator Matthew Weiner was evoking memories of Sharon Tate with Paré’s Megan Draper. For those of you who may not be familiar with the name of Sharon Tate, she along with Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, and Abigail Folger (Folger’s Coffee) were murdered by the Charles Manson Family. Another man, Steven Parent, was also killed. He was found shot in his car in the driveway and not slaughtered in the house with the others.
As for Paré and Mad Men, Weiner looked as if he was setting up everything to have Paré’s ending be reminiscent of Tate. Weiner drops many clues and hints along the way from Megan’s pregnancy, a sliding glass door, a star-patterned t-shirt Megan wears, Don and Megan going to see the movie Rosemary’s Baby, and finally Megan living in Hollywood as an actress.
Jessica Paré spoke to Glamour about the many similarities, “There was a lot of talk. I wouldn’t put it past Matthew to have put those things in there intentionally. But I’ve spoken to him about it, and he says it was just a T-shirt, something he liked that he thought Megan would wear. The Laurel Canyon place was really great—it was a pain in the ass to shoot in because it was very small. But I loved it because I had a place in Laurel Canyon for six years and it felt like that, a bit of a cabin.” In the end though, Megan didn’t get that Tate ending, thankfully.
Jessica Paré As A Singer
Jessica Paré is not a professional singer and doesn’t claim to be one. But she does sing. In fact, she sang Zou Bisou Bisou on Mad Men, something that she was also able to record.
“I think I have a bit of a rock fantasy, which I guess a lot of us do,” she says. “So it was definitely a thrill and such a gift to be given the opportunity to actually go and professionally record a song,” the actress-cum-singer said via American Profile.
Speaking of her rock fantasies, she was able to fulfill them when she performed onstage with Jesus and Mary Chain. She told Men’s Journal, “They’re buddies of mine and John’s, and they invited me to a couple of shows with them. I had the best time, but it was terrifying. Give me a camera, a set, and a crew, and it feels quite intimate no matter how many people end up watching it. Getting up in front of thousands of people was terrifying. I really had to talk myself out of a panic attack by saying, “People spent a lot of money on these tickets. They got a babysitter, and they took a car into town, and they paid for dinner and drinks, and they’re here to see their favorite band, and you’re going to sing their favorite song. Do them this solid, and don’t fuck it up.”
She didn’t. She also hopes that eventually, she will find herself one more time in the recording studio.
Jessica Paré Now
For Jessica Paré, her Mad Men career officially ended in 2015. Her acting career hasn’t. She’s been seen in Lovesick, Another Kind of Wedding, and Death of a Ladies’ Man. She has also been on TV series such as Six and lent her voice to the animated series’ Star vs. the Forces of Evil and Big Hero 6: The Series.
Now 39-years-old Jessica Paré has found herself on another hit show, this one a stark contrast to her Mad Men character. For the past three seasons, she has been playing Mandy Ellis, a CIA liaison, on the hit series SEAL Team with David Boreanaz. The series was just recently renewed for a fourth season.
In 2013 Jessica Paré started dating a musician named John Kastner. The two haven’t married, but they do have a son named Blues Anthony Paré Kastner who was born in 2015.
In real life Jessica Paré’s take on marriage is quite humorous. While she believes in it, she really doesn’t, though it helps legally in the long run. “…in society, we still do attach meanings to these labels. I know that I am free to redefine it as I wish, but I’m still working on that. We probably will get married just because it’s easier legally. That doesn’t sound very romantic, but it’s enough for us. We’re committed; we have a life together. It doesn’t get more married than that. Except for the papers,” she explained to Men’s Journal.
The jokes keep coming. When Jessica Paré was asked how she handles driving in Los Angeles since she didn’t start driving until her mid-20’s she said, “I’m happy to say that I’ve totally caught up. I don’t want you to be jealous, but I drive a hybrid Jetta. It’s pretty fucking sweet. And I’m absolutely road ragey and have a total superiority complex—just like every other L.A. driver.”
Beautiful woman, great actress, wonderful singer, and apparently Jessica Paré is a comedian to boot.
