Jessica Pare

Interview, Nov, 2000 by Ted Loos

WATCH OUT FOR THIS NEW STARLET. SHE TWINKLES

In the new indie film, Stardom, a naive Canadian tomboy gets plucked from hockey-playing obscurity to become the supermodel of the media-mad world. But try pointing out the obvious similarities between the character and Jessica Pare, the virtually unknown young Montreal native, who plays her. "Everybody says, 'Isn't there an interesting parallel here?'" recounts a bemused Pare. "I'm like, 'You know, I never thought of that before!'"

Funny thing is, Pare--a Liv Tyleresque stunner who has huge blue eyes and charm to spare--has never actually modeled herself. "When I was sixteen, I went to an agency and they told me I was too fat," she says, three years later.

Somewhere there's an unemployed modeling scout. Although she had previously only acted in a TV movie, with Stardom Pare recently made a decided impression on Toronto festival audiences. In the film, our heroine is romanced by a series of self-immolating older men, including Dan Aykroyd (her first screen kiss!) and Frank Langella (her first fight scene!).

Pare has a more age-appropriate on-screen lover in the upcoming Lost and Delirious. You might not guess, however, that the paramour is played by Coyote Ugly's Piper Perabo. "It's a love story, not a lesbian story," says Pare. So there.

Ted Laos is a freelance journalist in New York