Jessica Steen


Jessica Steen is a Canadian film and television actress, noted for her roles in Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Homefront, Earth 2, Armageddon, , NCIS, Flashpoint and the CBC series Heartland.

Personal life

Jessica Steen was born in Toronto, Ontario, the daughter of Joanna Noyes, an actress, and Jan Steen, a director and actor. 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, fire-twirling, and fire-eating.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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 and the Disney TV movies Smart House and Principal Takes a Holiday.
She played Myra Teal in a 2002 episode of Monk. She played a recurring character on the CBS crime drama NCIS, that of Special Agent Paula Cassidy, from 2004–07. 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.
In 2009, Steen appeared in six episodes of the Canadian TV police drama Flashpoint as Strategic Response Unit Specialist Donna Sabine, filling in for Julianna 'Jules' Callaghan, who was shot. She is currently playing the same character during a 2011 episode where she gets married and her husband's friend is shot the same day, though the shot was intended for her. She reprised the role in the final episode of the third season and appeared in the finale of Flashpoint. In the fall of 2010, she was nominated for a Gemini Award for the season two episodes.
She also played Sheriff's Deputy Kathleen Hudak in the Supernatural season 1 episode "The Benders".
, 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

YearTitleRoleNotes
1983Hangin' InDarcyEpisode: "I've Got a Secret"
1983SCTV ChannelCollege StudentEpisode: "It's a Wonderful Film"
1984When We First MetGail PennoyerTV movie
1984'ElaineEpisode: "Enemy of Weston"
1985Workin' for PeanutsMellisa StottsTV movie
1985Home FreeDaughterTV movie
1985'Leslie 'Torque' DavidsonEpisode: "Torgue"
1985Striker's MountainLowni StrikerTV movie
1985Night HeatMichelle ParkerEpisode: "The Source"
1986Night HeatAngela RiveraEpisode: "Fighting Back"
1986Kay O'BrienLindsayEpisode: "Little White Lies"
1986'KayTV movie
1986'ElaineEpisode: "What Goes Up"
1986'Amanda SimsEpisode: "Blinded by Love"
1986Walt Disney's Wonderful World of ColorTracy GordonEpisode: "Young Again"
1986Easy PreyWendy RobinsonTV movie
1987CBS Schoolbreak SpecialKateEpisode: "The Day They Came to Arrest the Book"
1987Alfred Hitchcock PresentsSally CarlyleEpisode: "Man on the Edge"
1987WiseguyTracy SteelgraveEpisode: "Pilot"
1987–1988Captain Power and the Soldiers of the FutureCorporal Jennifer 'Pilot' Chase22 episodes
1989C.B.C.'s Magic HourJennifer McPhailEpisode: "High Country"
1989'The Rocket Boy's GirlfriendTV movie
1990Christmas in AmericaEileen MorganTV movie
1990Knights of the Kitchen TableMarla McDermottTV movie
1990Street LegalKaren MacNeilEpisode: "Softsell"
1991'Kate HightowerTV movie
1991Tropical HeatPatricia Poston Phd.Episode: "Dead Men Tell"
1991LovingPatricia 'Trisha' Alden Sowolsky Hartman McKenzieTV series
1991–1993HomefrontLinda Metcalf42 episodes
1993Herman's HeadHeatherEpisode: "When Hairy Met Hermy"
1994Small GiftsNoraTV movie
1994To Save the ChildrenKathi DavidsonTV movie
1994–1995Earth 2Dr. Julia Heller21 episodes
1996ERKaren HardyEpisode: "True Lies"
1996'Gina BeaumontEpisode: "The Refuge"
1997Murder OnePaige Weikopf4 episodes
1997Touched by an AngelSarah BinghamEpisode: "Full Moon"
1998Principal Takes a HolidayCelia ShineTV movie
1999'RachelEpisode: "The Assassin"
1999Due SouthConstable Maggie MacKenzieEpisode: "Hunting Season"
1999Smart HouseSara BarnesTV movie
1999'Brianna HatfieldEpisode: "Marooned"
1999'Stephanie SawyerEpisode: "Essence of Life"
2000On Hostile GroundAllison BeauchampTV movie
2000'KathrineEpisode: "The Grid"
2001'Dr. Sarah FordEpisode: "Inter Arma Silent Leges"
2002Society's ChildTerry BestTV movie
2002Untitled Secret Service ProjectMaureen GageTV movie
2002MonkMyra TealEpisode: "Mr. Monk and the Billionaire Mugger"
2002The PactDet. Anne-Marie MarroneTV movie
2003'Susan HolmeTV movie
2003L.A. DragnetAmy WenzelEpisode: "The Cutting of the Swath"
2003Mutant XDr. Sara StantonEpisode: "The Taking of Crows"
2003–2007,
2015		NCISNCIS Special Agent Paula Cassidy6 episodes
2004Stargate SG-1Dr. Elizabeth WeirEpisode: "Lost City: Part 1"
Episode: "Lost City: Part 2"
2004Nip/TuckAmy ConnorsEpisode: "Kimber Henry"
2005CharmedRuth BrodyEpisode: "Ordinary Witches"
2005KojakKateEpisode: "Pilot"
2005EyesHolly GibsonEpisode: "Shots"
2005Killer InstinctDr. Francine Klepp7 episodes
2006SupernaturalDeputy Kathleen HudakEpisode: "The Benders"
2006Donna BassetEpisode: "Toe Tags"
2006Rapid FireLindaTV movie
2007–presentHeartlandLisa Stillman80 episodes
2008CanooksKatherine 'Kat' BainesEpisode: "Pilot"
Episode: "The City LA"
2008jPodFreedom3 episodes
2008VipersDr. CollinsTV movie
2009My Nanny's SecretJuliaTV movie
2009–2012FlashpointDonna Sabine10 episodes
2012Republic of DoyleSonja Sterling3 episodes
2012Bullet in the FaceEva Braden6 episodes
2018Grey’s AnatomyDr. Rebecca FroyEpisode: "Judgement Day"