IRENE BEDARD Biography - Actors and Actresses

 
 

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IRENE BEDARD

Name: Irene Bedard                                                                 
Born: 22 July 1967 Anchorage, Alaska                                               
                                                                                   
Irene Bedard (born July 22, 1967) is an actress best known for her portrayal of   
Native American characters in a variety of films. Bedard was born in Anchorage,   
Alaska. Her heritage is Inupiat Eskimo and Métis.                                 
                                                                                   
Bedard's first role was as Mary Crow Dog in the television production Lakota       
Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee, which depicted the 1970s standoff between police     
and Native Americans at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. While many of her films are   
historically accurate, she is probably best known as the voice of the main         
character in the Disney animated film Pocahontas. Bedard was also the physical     
model for the character. She appeared in a different take of the story in the     
2005 film The New World, as Pocahontas' mother.                                   
                                                                                   
In 2005 she was cast in the television mini-series Into the West, portraying the   
half-Lakota, half-white adult Margaret "Light Shines" Wheeler.                     
                                                                                   
Though physically small (she stands 5 feet ½ inch [153.67 cm]), Irene Bedard is   
known for bringing a powerful emotional presence to her characters. She was       
chosen as one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People for 1995.