Jessica Steen

Last updated
Jessica Steen
Jessica Steen The Heart Truth.jpg
Steen at The Heart Truth celebrity fashion show in 2012
Born (1965-12-19) December 19, 1965 (age 58)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
OccupationActress
Years active1981–present

Jessica Steen (born December 19, 1965) is a Canadian actress in both film and television, noted for her roles in Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future , Homefront , Earth 2 , Armageddon , Left Behind: World at War , NCIS , Flashpoint and the CBC series Heartland .

Contents

Personal life

Jessica Steen was born in Toronto, Ontario, the daughter of Joanna Noyes, an actress, and Jan Steen, a director and actor.[ citation needed ] She is of Dutch and Scottish ancestry.

Aside from her entertainment career, Steen is an environmentalist and animal rights supporter. She supports David Suzuki, the World Society for the Protection of Animals and the Western Canadian Wilderness Committee, among others. She is a certified diver, and is skilled at several circus arts – including stilt-walking, and fire-twirling.

Career

At the age of eight, Steen was cast in her first role in the Canadian children's television series, The Sunrunners, co-starring with her mother. In the 1986 TV movie Young Again, she portrayed Tracy Gordon, the daughter of a character portrayed by Lindsay Wagner.

In 1987, she was the only female regular on the syndicated series Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future , which lasted one year. For her performance in the Captain Power episode, "Judgment", she was nominated for the Gemini Award in the "Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Continuing Dramatic Role" category in 1988. In 1987, she played Tracy Steelgrave on THE WISEGUY. In 1989, Steen broke onto the big screen with the movie musical Sing .[ citation needed ]

While in Toronto, Steen garnered roles on Canadian series and American made-for-TV movies until 1991, when she elected to move to New York City. Six weeks after arriving there, she was chosen to replace actress Noelle Beck, who was on maternity leave, on the soap opera Loving . Her portrayal of Patricia Alden Sowolsky Hartman McKenzie caught the attention of ABC's casting department and led to her being cast in the series Homefront . Set in a small Cleveland suburb immediately after World War II, Homefront was critically acclaimed for its writing, ensemble cast, and historical insights. The series lasted two seasons.

Steen at the Armageddon premiere, 1998 Jessica Steen.jpg
Steen at the Armageddon premiere, 1998

In 1994, she was cast as Dr. Julia Heller, a genetically enhanced doctor, in the NBC science fiction series Earth 2 . While the show was canceled in 1995, the attention brought by the show allowed Steen to land guest appearances on other series, including The Outer Limits , ER , Murder One , The Pretender , The Practice , Due South , and Touched by an Angel . In 1994, she won the "Best Actress" Gemini Award, Canada's version of Emmy Awards, for her portrayal of Nora in the TV movie, Small Gifts.[ citation needed ]

In 1997, she was cast as District Attorney Elizabeth Gardner in the movie Trial & Error , working with Jeff Daniels and Michael Richards, to whom she gave his first screen kiss. She prepared for the role with the help of a friend who was going through law school and by watching the closing arguments of Marcia Clark during the O. J. Simpson trial. Her performance earned a rave review from Roger Ebert on his syndicated show, Siskel & Ebert .[ citation needed ]

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer recommended her for the role of the shuttle pilot in 1998's Armageddon because he remembered her portrayal of Cpl. Jennifer 'Pilot' Chase in Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future . In 2004 Steen played Dr. Elizabeth Weir in "Lost City", the two-part finale of season 7 of Stargate SG-1 . In Stargate Atlantis the part was instead played by Torri Higginson. She played lead roles in Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice and the Disney TV movies Smart House and Principal Takes a Holiday .

She played Myra Teal in a 2002 episode ("Mr. Monk and the Billionaire Mugger") of Monk . She played a recurring character on the CBS crime drama NCIS , that of Special Agent Paula Cassidy, from 2004 to 2007. In the fall of 2007 she landed featured multi-episode roles on two Canadian series, jPod and Heartland , both based on popular books of the same names.

Between 2009 and 2012, Steen appeared in eleven episodes of the acclaimed Canadian TV police drama Flashpoint (which was also broadcast on CBS in the U.S) as Strategic Response Unit Constable Donna Sabine. She was nominated for a Gemini Award for her appearances in Clean Hands and The Perfect Family (Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series) in 2010, ultimately losing to Catherine Disher of The Border. She was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award in the category of Best Performance in a Guest Role, Dramatic Series for Flashpoint episode A New Life in 2013. She lost to Gordon Pinsent for his guest performance in Republic of Doyle.

She also played Sheriff's Deputy Kathleen Hudak in the Supernatural Season 1 episode "The Benders", a murdered cop/bodyguard in the Season 7 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Toe Tags), and was cast as Commissioner Eva Braden in the dark comedy Bullet in the Face.

Between 2018 and 2020, Steen made several appearances in various Hallmark and Lifetime made-for-TV movies: A Midnight Kiss, Matching Hearts, Chateau Christmas, The Babysitter aka The Baby Monitor Murders, and Stolen by My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story.

As of 2021, Steen continues to appear in the supporting role of Lisa Stillman on the CBC television series Heartland the longest-running one-hour scripted drama in the history of Canadian television. The character first appeared in the 2007 Season 1 episode "Breaking Free", married series patriarch Jack Bartlett in the 2014 Season 7 episode "Be Careful What You Wish For", and has been absent from roughly half of the episodes due to her world-traveling career as a horse breeder.

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
1981 Threshold Tracy Vrain
1983Gentle SinnersDonna
1986A Judgment in StoneMelinda Coverdale
1986 Flying Carly Simmons
1987 John and the Missus Faith
1989 Sing Hannah Gottschalk
1990Still Life: The Fine Art of MurderNellie Ambrose
1996Dog WatchJanetVideo
1997 Trial and Error Elizabeth Gardner
1998 Armageddon Co-Pilot Jennifer Watts
1999Question of PrivilegeAndrea Roberts
2000The Ride HomeClaraShort film
2001 Apocalypse IV: Judgment Victoria Thorne
2002 Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice Jessie DageVideo
2003Flip PhoneSueShort film
2005 Chaos Karen Cross
2005 Left Behind: World at War Carolyn Miller
2008Transit LoungeRobertaShort film
2013The Sound of Willie Nelson's GuitarKarenShort Film
Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1983 Hangin' In DarcyEpisode: "I've Got a Secret"
1983 SCTV Channel College StudentEpisode: "It's a Wonderful Film"
1984When We First MetGail PennoyerTV movie
1984 The Edison Twins ElaineEpisode: "Enemy of Weston"
1985Workin' for PeanutsMellisa StottsTV movie
1985Home FreeDaughterTV movie
1985 The Littlest Hobo Leslie 'Torque' DavidsonEpisode: "Torgue"
1985 Striker's Mountain Lowni StrikerTV movie
1985 Night Heat Michelle ParkerEpisode: "The Source"
1986 Night Heat Angela RiveraEpisode: "Fighting Back"
1986 Kay O'Brien LindsayEpisode: "Little White Lies"
1986 The Truth About Alex KayTV movie
1986 The Edison Twins ElaineEpisode: "What Goes Up"
1986 The Campbells Amanda SimsEpisode: "Blinded by Love"
1986 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color Tracy GordonEpisode: "Young Again"
1986Easy PreyWendy RobinsonTV movie
1987 CBS Schoolbreak Special KateEpisode: "The Day They Came to Arrest the Book"
1987 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Sally CarlyleEpisode: "Man on the Edge"
1987 Wiseguy Tracy SteelgraveEpisode: "Pilot"
1987–1988 Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future Corporal Jennifer 'Pilot' Chase22 episodes
1989C.B.C.'s Magic HourJennifer McPhailEpisode: "High Country"
1989The Rocket BoyThe Rocket Boy's GirlfriendTV movie
1990 Christmas in America Eileen MorganTV movie
1990Knights of the Kitchen TableMarla McDermottTV movie
1990 Street Legal Karen MacNeilEpisode: "Softsell"
1991The Great PretenderKate HightowerTV movie
1991 Tropical Heat Patricia Poston Phd.Episode: "Dead Men Tell"
1991 Loving Patricia 'Trisha' Alden Sowolsky Hartman McKenzie5 episodes
1991–1993 Homefront Linda Metcalf42 episodes
1993 Herman's Head HeatherEpisode: "When Hairy Met Hermy"
1994Small GiftsNoraTV movie
1994To Save the ChildrenKathi DavidsonTV movie
1994–1995 Earth 2 Dr. Julia Heller21 episodes
1996 ER Karen HardyEpisode: "True Lies"
1996 The Outer Limits Gina BeaumontEpisode: "The Refuge"
1997 Murder One Paige Weikopf4 episodes
1997 Touched by an Angel Sarah BinghamEpisode: "Full Moon"
1998 Principal Takes a Holiday Celia ShineTV movie
1999 The Pretender RachelEpisode: "The Assassin"
1999 Due South Constable Maggie MacKenzieEpisode: "Hunting Season"
1999 Smart House Sara BarnesTV movie
1999 The Practice Brianna HatfieldEpisode: "Marooned"
1999 The Outer Limits Stephanie SawyerEpisode: "Essence of Life"
2000 On Hostile Ground Allison BeauchampTV movie
2000 The Outer Limits KathrineEpisode: "The Grid"
2001 The Practice Dr. Sarah FordEpisode: "Inter Arma Silent Leges"
2002Society's ChildTerry BestTV movie
2002Untitled Secret Service ProjectMaureen GageTV movie
2002 Monk Myra TealEpisode: "Mr. Monk and the Billionaire Mugger"
2002 The Pact Det. Anne-Marie MarroneTV movie
2003The Paradise VirusSusan HolmeTV movie
2003 L.A. Dragnet Amy WenzelEpisode: "The Cutting of the Swath"
2003 Mutant X Dr. Sara StantonEpisode: "The Taking of Crows"
2003–2007,
2015
NCIS NCIS Special Agent Paula Cassidy6 episodes
2004 Stargate SG-1 Dr. Elizabeth WeirEpisode: "Lost City: Part 1"
Episode: "Lost City: Part 2"
2004 Nip/Tuck Amy ConnorsEpisode: "Kimber Henry"
2005 Charmed Ruth BrodyEpisode: "Ordinary Witches"
2005 Kojak KateEpisode: "Pilot"
2005 Eyes Holly GibsonEpisode: "Shots"
2005 Killer Instinct Dr. Francine Klepp7 episodes
2006 Supernatural Deputy Kathleen HudakEpisode: "The Benders"
2006 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Donna BassetEpisode: "Toe Tags"
2006 Rapid Fire LindaTV movie
2007–present Heartland Lisa Stillman91 episodes
2008CanooksKatherine 'Kat' BainesWeb Series/Those Damn Canadians
2008 jPod Freedom3 episodes
2008 Vipers Dr. CollinsTV movie
2009 My Nanny's Secret JuliaTV movie
2009–2012 Flashpoint Donna Sabine11 episodes
2012 Republic of Doyle Sonja Sterling3 episodes
2012 Bullet in the Face Eva Braden6 episodes
2018 Grey's Anatomy Dr. Rebecca FroyEpisode: "Beautiful Dreamer"
2018A Midnight KissBarbara PearsonHallmark Movie
2019 Charmed Elder Devorah Silver2 Episodes
2020Stolen by My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley StoryJudge Marianne AhoLifetime TV Movie
2020The Babysitter aka The Baby Monitor MurdersJenniferLifetime TV Movie
2020Matching HeartsBarbaraHallmark TV Movie
2020 Sacred Lies Arwen ReedEpisode: "Chapter Nine: Bloodlines"
2020Chateau ChristmasReneeHallmark TV Movie
2021 Maid Doreen2 episodes

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