Irene Bedard

One of the few Native American actresses working in TV and films, Irene Bedard is best known to audiences as the voice of the title character in Disney's animated feature Pocahontas (1995, with Mel Gibson). Bedard's acting breakthrough came with the TV movie Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee in 1994. She then starred in Squanto: A Warrior's Tale (1994) before landing the voice job as Pocahontas. Since then she has appeared on TV and in films, as well as lending her voice to cartoons such as The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and Pepper Ann. In 2003 she and her husband, musician Deni Wilson, released a music CD, Warrior of Love, under the band name Irene Bedard and Deni. Her other films include Smoke Signals (1998), Wildflowers (1999, with Daryl Hannah) and Your Guardian (2002).

Extra credit: Bedard's heritage includes Cree Indian and Inupiat Eskimo.