# Jessica Parker Kennedy
**Jessica Parker Kennedy** (born 1984) is a Canadian actress of film and television from Calgary, Alberta, best known for playing Max on the Starz pirate drama *Black Sails* and Nora West-Allen on [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw)'s *The Flash*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2498781/) • [2](https://comicbook.com/dc/news/the-flash-promotes-jessica-parker-kennedy-to-series-regular/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1984, Calgary, Alberta, Canada[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2498781/) |
| Breakthrough role | Max, a brothel worker in 1715 Nassau, on *Black Sails* (Starz, 2014–2017); the character was invented for the show[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/black-sails-netflix-date-cast-details) |
| Superhero roles | Bette Sans Souci / Plastique on *Smallville*; Nora West-Allen / XS on *The Flash*, promoted to series regular for season five[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-parker-kennedy/) • [2](https://comicbook.com/dc/news/the-flash-promotes-jessica-parker-kennedy-to-series-regular/) |
| Early work | Lucy the Elf in the television film *Santa Baby* (2006), reprised in *Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe* (2009)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2498781/) |
| Feature films | Supporting roles in *50/50* (2011) and *In Time* (2011); *Cam* (2018) and *See for Me* (2021) among her highest-rated films[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2498781/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jessica_parker_kennedy) |
| Recent work | Medusa in Disney+'s *Percy Jackson and the Olympians* (2023)[6](https://collider.com/black-sails-jessica-parker-kennedy/) |
## Early career
Her first screen work was the television film *Santa Baby* (2006), in which she played Lucy the Elf, a role she reprised in the sequel *Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe* (2009).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2498781/) Through the late 2000s she accumulated guest roles on series including *V*, *Undercovers*, *Smallville*, *90210*, and *Lie to Me*, and appeared in the MTV supernatural series *Valemont*, whose episodes ran only two and a half minutes each.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2498781/) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-parker-kennedy/)
On *Smallville* she played Bette Sans Souci, a character also known as the [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics) villain Plastique, a metahuman able to emit forceful energy explosions.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-parker-kennedy/) In 2011 she earned the lead role of Melissa on the CW dark fantasy program *The Secret Circle*, and appeared in the feature films *50/50*, starring [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://www.edgepedia.org/joseph-gordon-levitt), Seth Rogen, and [Anna Kendrick](https://www.edgepedia.org/anna-kendrick), and *In Time*, starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-parker-kennedy/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2498781/)
## Black Sails
From 2014 to 2017 Kennedy played Max on *Black Sails*, Starz's prequel to [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-louis-stevenson)'s *Treasure Island*, set in 1715 Nassau during the [Golden Age of Piracy](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-age-of-piracy) and filmed at Cape Town Film Studios in South Africa.[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/black-sails-netflix-date-cast-details) Max, a sex worker who understands that knowledge is power, is an invention of the show rather than a character from the novel, and she becomes central to its politics: by the end of the first season she runs the brothel where she began.[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/black-sails-netflix-date-cast-details) • [7](https://starrymag.com/jessica-parker-kennedy-black-sails/) In a 2015 interview Kennedy said she valued that the show's women were as powerful as its men and essential to the politics of Nassau.[7](https://starrymag.com/jessica-parker-kennedy-black-sails/) Critics singled her out among the cast; a Den of Geek review of the series' penultimate episode wrote that she "really gets to show her acting chops" there.[8](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/black-sails-season-4-episode-8-review-xxxvi/)
## The Flash and later television
Kennedy joined *The Flash* during the "[Crisis on Earth-X](https://www.edgepedia.org/crisis-on-earth-x)" crossover in December 2017 as a mysterious girl who kept inserting herself into the lives of Team Flash. In the season four finale she helped Barry Allen stop [The Thinker](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-thinker)'s plan and revealed herself as his daughter from the future, Nora West-Allen, who uses the speedster alias XS. She was promoted to series regular for season five in 2018.[2](https://comicbook.com/dc/news/the-flash-promotes-jessica-parker-kennedy-to-series-regular/) She returned to the role in later seasons, appearing in four episodes of season seven and two episodes of season eight.[9](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-238748/filmographie/)
Her subsequent television work includes a guest role as Medusa in the third episode of Disney+'s *Percy Jackson and the Olympians* (2023), a portrayal Collider described as more sympathetic and morally gray than the book's version of the character, and appearances in *The Old Man* (2022–2024) and *[I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/i-think-you-should-leave-with-tim-robinson)*.[6](https://collider.com/black-sails-jessica-parker-kennedy/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2498781/)
## Film work
Her film credits span holiday television movies, thrillers, and independent features. Rotten Tomatoes lists *Cam* (2018), a cyber-thriller in which she played Katie, among her highest-rated films at 93 percent, alongside *See for Me* (2021) and *Good Bad Things* (2024); *The Perfect Guy* (2015), in which she played Rachel, is among the lowest at 19 percent.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jessica_parker_kennedy) She also played Dr. Helen in the satire *Business Ethics* (2019) and the title character's mother Kat Butler in the Hallmark film *Under the Christmas Sky* (2023).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2498781/)
## Personal life
Kennedy is a trained singer and has said she splits her time between Vancouver and Los Angeles.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2498781/) TV Insider lists her spouse as actor [Ronen Rubinstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/ronen-rubinstein).[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-parker-kennedy/)
## References
1. [Jessica Parker Kennedy, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2498781/)
2. ['The Flash' Promotes Jessica Parker Kennedy to Series Regular, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/dc/news/the-flash-promotes-jessica-parker-kennedy-to-series-regular/)
3. [Black Sails on Netflix: Cast, Release Date, and More Details of the Pirate Drama, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/black-sails-netflix-date-cast-details)
4. [Jessica Parker Kennedy, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-parker-kennedy/)
5. [Jessica Parker Kennedy Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jessica_parker_kennedy)
6. [Before 'Percy Jackson,' Jessica Parker Kennedy Ruled 'Black Sails', Collider](https://collider.com/black-sails-jessica-parker-kennedy/)
7. [Jessica Parker Kennedy – Black Sails, StarryMag](https://starrymag.com/jessica-parker-kennedy-black-sails/)
8. [Black Sails Season 4 Episode 8 Review: XXXVI, Den of Geek](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/black-sails-season-4-episode-8-review-xxxvi/)
9. [Jessica Parker Kennedy : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-238748/filmographie/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Canadian actors › Surnames J to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license