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 1995, Bedard was chosen as one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People".[8]
In 2001, Irene Bedard hosted the Ninth Annual First Americans in the Arts (FAITA) Awards from the Beverly Hilton Hotel.[9] In 2002, at the Tenth Annual FAITA Awards, Bedard won Outstanding Guest Performance by an Actress in a TV Drama Series for The Agency.[10]
In 2005, she was cast in the television mini-series Into the West as Margaret "Light Shines" Wheeler.[11] Bedard has been very active in environmental groups to protect sacred lands.[12] In 1997, she co-hosted with Floyd Westerman a benefit for the Dine' People of Big Mountain at The Loft Theatre, in Pasadena. In 2015, she appeared in Chloé Zhao's debut feature film, Songs My Brothers Taught Me. In 2016, Bedard announced an agreement with the Catawba Nation of South Carolina to join in a production agreement.[13] In 2017, she appeared as a recurring character in the TV series The Mist. Bedard made an appearance in the music video for Jay-Z's 2017 song "Family Feud".[14][15]
In the 2017 music video for "Family Feud" (a song by Jay-Z), Bedard plays a Co-President of the United States in the future.[16][17]
In 2020, Bedard played a recurring character in seasons one and two of the drama series FBI: Most Wanted. She then was a starring cast member in the Paramount+ miniseries The Stand, as Ray Brentner, a gender-swapped version of Ralph Brentner from the 1994 adaptation.[18][19]
In 1993, Bedard married musician Denny Wilson.[21] 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 Bedard's allegations of Wilson abusing Bedard.[22][21][23] Denny, however, denied all these accusations.[21]
Legal issues
In 2020, Bedard was arrested twice in three days. The first arrest was for alleged domestic violence, assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and criminal damaging; the second was for alleged disorderly conduct.[24] In 2022, she was again arrested for disorderly conduct in Xenia, Ohio.[25]
^Fienberg, Daniel (December 15, 2020). "'The Stand': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2022.