Celebrity profile from Cowboys & Indians: Magazine of the West, March 1998

Irene Bedard: Classic beauty and master storyteller

By Janna L. Graber

“I’m just a girl from Alaska,” says Irene Bedard, still trying to comprehend the fact that she has gone from small-town girl to popular Hollywood actress. 

Although most people may not be familiar with Bedard’s name, they will recognize her chiseled beauty and strong voice.  The 30-year-old actress was the model and voice of Disney’s Pocahontas.   

Bedard enjoyed the challenge of playing Pocahontas, and is proud of the film.  “She was huge figure in our history,” Bedard says of the historical figure whose image has filled American homes. “Pocahontas spent her life working toward peace.”  Because Bedard’s work on the animated film was done in the recording studio, she never met her co-star, Mel Gibson.  She has laughingly said that she would like to meet Gibson and comment on the lovely relationship the two had on film.   

Pocahontas is not the only character Bedard has mastered.  She co-starred with Michael Greyeyes in Crazy Horse, and received a Golden Globe nomination for her starring role in TNT’s Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee.  Bedard earned a Best Actress Award from the American Indian Film Festival, and in 1995 People named her one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in the World.”

 It’s hard to understand all this positive feedback,” says Bedard, whose humble demeanor can’t hide her success.  The daughter of an Inupiat Eskimo and a French/Canadian Cree, Bedard grew up outside of Anchorage, Alaska.  Her family was active in Native American issues, giving Bedard a strong heritage that she treasures.  Back then, she says, there was a media concept of Native Americans as “savages”.  All that is slowly changing, Bedard believes.  “Within the last five years, we’ve finally been allowed to tell our roots.”  Films like Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale, and The Song of Hiawatha, which Bedard both starred in, have retold the past from a more “balanced” point of view.   

Bedard believes that acting is another form of storytelling – something she has been doing since childhood.  “I’m the oldest of four children,” she says, “so I spent time watching my siblings, telling them stories and writing plays.  I even directed “Yellow Submarine” in my front yard with the neighborhood kids.”

Bedard has used this gift of dramatic storytelling to give schoolchildren an updated look at American history.  She recently narrated the American History for Children Video Series, which is used in elementary schools.  “I did this (series) because the history was entertaining, but accurate.”  The actress donates her time reading and speaking to children whenever possible.   “I’m basically a big kid myself, and I like doing it.”

This love of storytelling eventually drew Bedard to the theater, and she has toured on stage throughout the country.  Bedard currently lives outside of Los Angeles with her husband of four years, musician Denny Wilson.  Her current work has included TNT’s Two for Texas, Smoke Signals, and a new sequel to Disney’s Pocahontas.   

The actress doesn’t spend all her time working: she confesses a great love for gardening, painting, the cello, and fishing.  Still, she is most at home when she is telling someone else’s story.  “I love what I do,” says Bedard. 

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