Irene Bedard
Irene Bedard (born July 22, 1967) is an American actress, who has played mostly lead Native American roles in a variety of films. She is perhaps best known for the role of Suzy Song in the 1998 film Smoke Signals, an adaptation from a Sherman Alexie collection of short stories, as well as for providing the speaking voice of and was the model for the character of the titlular character in the 1995 animated film Pocahontas.
Irene Bedard | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Bedard at the Magic City Comic Con in 2016 | |
| Born | July 22, 1967 Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Spouse(s) | Deni Wilson
(m. 1993; div. 2012) |
| Children | 1 |
Early life and career
Bedard was born in Anchorage, Alaska, and is of Inupiat and French Canadian/Cree (Metis) ancestry.[1] Bedard graduated from A.J. Dimond High School in Anchorage, Alaska in 1985. Bedard attended The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she studied Musical Theatre. Her first role was as Mary Crow Dog in the 1994 television production, Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee, which depicted the 1970s standoff between the US government and citizens of several Native nations, including many of the Pine Ridge Reservation, at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. For this role, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film.[2] She is probably best known as the voice of the eponymous heroine in the 1995 Disney animated film Pocahontas, the direct-to-video 1998 sequel Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, and in the 2018 film Ralph Breaks the Internet. She appeared in a different take of the story in Terence Malick's 2005 film The New World, as Pocahontas's mother, Nonoma Winanuske Matatiske.
In 2001, Irene Bedard hosted the Ninth Annual First Americans in the Arts (FAITA) Awards from the Beverly Hilton Hotel.[3] In 2002, at the Tenth Annual FAITA Awards, Bedard won Outstanding Guest Performance by an Actress in a TV Drama Series for The Agency.[4]
In 2005, she was cast in the television mini-series Into the West as Margaret "Light Shines" Wheeler.[5] Bedard has been very active in environmental groups to protect sacred lands.[6] In 1997, she co-hosted with Floyd Westerman a benefit for the Dine’ People of Big Mountain at The Loft Theatre, in Pasadena. In 2017 Bedard announced an agreement with the Catawba Nation of South Carolina to join together in a production agreement.[7]
In 1993, Bedard married musician Deni Wilson. Between her films, the pair toured for several years with other musicians in a band called "ID," which came from the initials of their first names, Irene and Deni. In 2012, the couple divorced, following allegations by Bedard of being a victim of spousal abuse. In November, 2020, Bedard was arrested twice in three days for alleged domestic violence, assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and criminal damaging and the second was for alleged disorderly conduct.[8]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Squanto: A Warrior's Tale | Nakooma | |
| 1995 | Pocahontas | Pocahontas (voice) | |
| 1996 | Navajo Blues | Audrey Wyako | |
| 1997 | Song of Hiawatha | Minnehaha | |
| Det store flip | Oglala | AKA, Wild Flowers | |
| 1998 | 6/29 | Laura Cooper | |
| Naturally Native | Tanya Lewis | ||
| Smoke Signals | Suzy Song | ||
| Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World | Pocahontas (voice) | Direct-to-video | |
| 12 Bucks | Babe | ||
| 1999 | Wildflowers | Ruby | |
| 2000 | Pussykat | ||
| 2001 | Your Guardian | Katherine 'Kat' Damon | |
| 2003 | Paris | Sandy | |
| Greasewood Flat | Abbey | ||
| Edge of America | Annie Shorty | TV movie | |
| 2005 | Planting Melvin | Billie Lawrence | |
| Miracle at Sage Creek | Sunny | ||
| Love's Long Journey | Miriam Red Hawk McClain | TV movie | |
| The New World | Pocahontas's Mother (Nonoma) | ||
| 2007 | Cosmic Radio | K.C. | |
| Tortilla Heaven | Liberata | ||
| The Red Chalk | Eve | ||
| 2008 | Turok: Son of Stone | Catori (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2011 | The Tree of Life | Messenger | |
| Timberwolf | Eleni | Pre-Production | |
| 2013 | Vertical | Lucy Mills | |
| 2014 | Ron and Laura Take Back America | Mrs. Alma | |
| 2015 | Songs My Brothers Taught Me | Lisa Winters | |
| 2017 | Spreading Darkness | Marci Gippolin | |
| 2018 | Family Feud | Co-President of the United States | Music video |
| Ralph Breaks the Internet | Pocahontas (voice) | ||
| 2019 | The Bygone | Mrs. Call | |
| 2019 | The Harbinger | Floating Hawk | post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee | Mary Crow Dog | TV movie |
| 1995 | The Marshal | Melissa Carey | Episode: "Twoslip" |
| 1996 | Grand Avenue | Reyna | TV movies |
| Crazy Horse | Black Buffalo Woman | ||
| Adventures from the Book of Virtues | Morning Light and Sharp Eyes / Chief's Daughter (voice) | Episodes: "Honesty" and "Perseverance" | |
| The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest | Alice Starseer (voice) | Episodes: "Return of the Anasazi"; "Trouble on the Colorado" | |
| 1997 | Profiler | Maddy Duvall | Episode: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" |
| True Women | Tobe | TV movie | |
| 1998 | Two for Texas | Sana | TV movie |
| 1999 | Blood Money | Naomi Lister | TV movie |
| 1999–2001 | Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles | General Miriam Redwing (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2000 | The Lost Child | Grace | TV movie |
| 2001 | The Outer Limits | Callie Whitehorse Landau | Episode: "In the Blood" |
| The Agency | Diah Siagian | Episode: "The Year of Living Dangerously" | |
| House of Mouse | Pocahontas (voice) | Episode: "Thanks to Minnie" | |
| 2004 | What's New, Scooby-Doo? | Cody Long (voice) | Episode: "New Mexico, Old Monster" |
| 2005 | Higglytown Heroes | Forest Ranger Hero (voice) | Episode: "Fran Takes a Hike/Mystery at Kip's House" |
| Into the West | Margaret Light Shines | Episodes: "Hell on Wheels"; "Casualties of War"; "Ghost Dance" | |
| 2008–2009 | The Spectacular Spider-Man | Jean DeWolff (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2012 | Young Justice: Invasion | Shelly Longshadow (voice) | 1 episode |
| 2012-2015 | Longmire | May Stillwater | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | The Mist | Kimi Lucero | 9 episodes |
| 2018 | Westworld | Wichapi | Episode: "Kiksuya" |
| 2020 | FBI: Most Wanted | Mary Lou Skye | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | The Stand | Ray Brentner | Television miniseries |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Animated Storybook: Pocahontas | Pocahontas |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Golden Globe | Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV | Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee | Nominated |
| 1999 | Western Heritage Awards | Bronze Wrangler - Television Feature Film | Two for Texas | Won |
| 2004 | First Americans in the Arts Awards | Best Lead Actress in a Feature Film | Greasewood Flat | Won |
| 2002 | First Americans in the Arts Awards | Outstanding Guest Performance by an Actress in a TV Drama Series | The Agency | Won |
| 2006 | NAMIC Vision Awards | Best Dramatic Performance | Into the West | Won |
| Western Heritage Awards | Bronze Wrangler - Television Feature Film | Won | ||
References
- https://www.aaanativearts.com/irene-bedard-inupiaq-cree-actress
- https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1995
- http://www.studioclub.com/Native%20American/FAITA.htm
- http://www.studioclub.com/Native%20American/faita2002.htm
- {{cite book|author=Alvin H. Marill|title=Movies Made for Television one child.
- https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/irenebedard
- https://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/article75986347.html
- "'Pocahontas' Voice Actor Irene Bedard-Wilson Arrested Twice Earlier This Week". Newsweek.com. December 3, 2020.
External links
- Irene Bedard Biography at who2.com
- Irene Bedard at IMDb
- Irene Bedard at AllMovie
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