Béatrice Picard

Childhood and Introduction to the Career

Born in 1929 in Montreal, Béatrice Picard grew up in an environment where culture played an important role. Her father, Arthur Picard, had long been performing magic and illusion shows throughout Quebec, while her mother, Marie-Béatrice Granger, was his assistant.

Picard was a committed student. She was a student of Yvonne Duckett, commonly called Mrs. Audet, who was famous for her diction and theatre arts classes. On Saturday mornings, along with other students of Mrs. Audet’s, Picard took part in the radio program Radio Petit-Monde as a chorus singer.

She attended high school at Lycée Les Hirondelles, then completed a bachelor’s degree at the Institut Mongeau-Saint-Hilaire. Subsequently, she attended workshops with Jeanne Maubourg at the Studio Quinze and the conservatoire Lassalle.

She then began on her career as an actress and radio host prior to appearing on Quebec television, which launched in 1952. As early as the late 1950s, she played the roles of Monique Asselin in Rue Principale, Florida Beaupré (Précourt) in Je vous ai tant aimé and Colette in Face à la vie.

Television and Cinema Career

Béatrice Picard has appeared in more than 40 films and television series. She made a name for herself in Quebec through Germaine Guèvremont‘s television trilogy: from 1954 to 1960, she played the role of Angélina Desmarais in Le Survenant /The Outlander (from 1954 to 1957, then from 1959 to 1960), Au Chenal du Moine (from 1957 to 1958) and Marie-Didace (from 1958 to 1959).

The actress cemented her popularity from the 1960s until the 1980s. She landed key roles in some of the most popular series of the era, all written by comedy writer Marcel Gamache. She played Alice Lebrun ― wife of Basile, played by Olivier Guimond ― in Cré Basile, Mrs. Bellemare (later known as Mrs. Tassé) in Symphorien and Régine Brillant in Les Brillant.

Her television appearances include Virginie and Un gars, une fille. Since the early 2000s, her focus has shifted to movies. She collaborated on numerous film projects, including Miss Météo by François Bouvier (inspired by the Miss Météo series); My Aunt Aline by Gabriel Pelletier; Le golem de Montréal by Isabelle Hayeur; the adaptation of the tv series The Outlander by Érik Canuel (see also Bon Cop Bad Cop); Dans les villes by Catherine Martin; and the short film Marguerite by Marianne Farley.

Picard has also dubbed dozens of projects in French. However, her most famous of these is voicing Marge Simpson in the Quebec version of the American cartoon series The Simpsons. In 2023, she had her last dubbing session for this character, whose voice she has brought to life for 33 seasons, since 1989.

Theatre: A Decisive Encounter

In 1951, Béatrice Picard met Jean Duceppe for the very first time during an audition for which the theatre actor was also present. Duceppe was known among his peers as a seasoned actor. It was he who submitted Picard's name for the play Ondine in 1951. This marked Picard’s official theatre debut. She performed countless times with Duceppe. She collaborated on 40 productions with the Duceppe theatre company, and sat on its Board of Directors for 40 years. She is the company’s most frequently cast actress.

On 3 June 2024, she received a tribute award for her extraordinary career at the prix Duceppe gala. Several artists and friends of the actress were present for the occasion. According to David Laurin and Jean-Simon Traversy, Duceppe’s co-artistic directors, Picard has left her mark on the cultural history of Quebec, captivating viewers with her talent, feminist values and her enthusiastic, lively, true and passionate personality.

Early Feminist

Béatrice Picard made bold choices for her time, notably by deciding to represent herself independently. This was a period when the general trend was for artists to have an agent. Yet, she personally managed her career, and rigorously negotiated her contracts.

In 1953, she met Jacques Segard, who would later be a producer at Radio-Canada and father to her four sons. He had two children from a previous relationship. Without getting married, the couple formed a blended family, which was rather unique at this time in Quebec. Through her decisions, she showcased her independent mindset and determination to live according to her own values.

Woman of Conviction and Spokesperson

In September 2021, Béatrice Picard became the spokesperson of the Salon des aînés in Saint-Jérôme. The COVID-19 Pandemic that had been raging for over a year prompted her to reflect on the place of seniors in society, and to open up the discussion on this subject. Her wish was for the Salon to serve as a platform to showcase the rightful place and respect of seniors, who are also full-fledged citizens. During this event, she held a conference on her biography, Béatrice Picard : avec l’âge, on peut tout dire.

In an interview with Radio-Canada‘s Bonsoir bonsoir! program on 12 May 2021, the actress stated that the views of the elderly are no longer taken seriously, and are instead quickly dismissed on account of their age. According to her:

some things were good in our time. We had civic-mindedness. Today, it's gone. Politeness existed. Today, we wonder what politeness is. Our elderly deserve our trust because they have experience. Most often, they're not given the chance to express themselves.

On 1 October 2023, as the spokesperson for the Little Brothers organization, she published an open letter in Québecor media to mark the International Day of Older Persons. Titled T’as bien l’air jeune! (You Look so Young!) this letter aimed to raise awareness on the ageism and loneliness that seniors experience daily.