Oscar-wining actress Brenda Fricker dies at 81

ByIan Youngs

Culture reporter

Updated 18 minutes ago

Irish actress Brenda Fricker, who won an Oscar for her role in 1989 film My Left Foot and had well-loved parts in Home Alone 2 and TV's Casualty, has died at the age of 81.

Fricker won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 1990 for playing Daniel Day-Lewis's on-screen mother in My Left Foot.

She played nurse Megan Roach in the BBC's Casualty from 1986, making her final appearance in 2010; and was the Central Park pigeon lady in 1992's Home Alone sequel.

In a statement, her agent Phil Belfield said: "We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her."

He added: "I was honoured to know, love and work with her and she will always have a place in my heart and in the heart of so many film and TV fans the world over."

Born in Dublin, Fricker began her acting career with parts and in TV and the theatre, including Ireland's first soap opera Tolka Row in the 1960s, ITV soap Coronation Street in 1977, and Licking Hitler, a Play For Today written by David Hare, in 1978.

She was in the cast of the first episode of long-running BBC medical drama Casualty in 1986, remaining a fixture until 1990 and returning regularly in the subsequent years.

She made history in 1990 when she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award, beating Hollywood stars including Julia Roberts and Anjelica Huston.

My Left Foot told the true story of an Irish man named Christy Brown, played by Day-Lewis, who was born with cerebral palsy and could control only his left foot. The actor also won an Oscar for his starring role.

Another memorable role came two years later when Fricker was cast as the homeless bird lady befriended by Macaulay Culkin's Kevin in Home Alone 2.

Her other film credits included 1993's So I Married An Axe Murderer, 1994's Angels In The Outfield, 1996's A Time To Kill and 2003's Veronica Guerin.

However, she later claimed she would have gone on to have a better career if it hadn't been for her success at the Oscars.

"What did happen was the old curse of the Oscars, as they call it," she told the Times in 2024, external.

The accolade led to her being typecast and overlooked for a lot of roles, including in theatre, she said.

"So there's a lot that's not great about an Oscar. And you don't get any money. They could give you a few bob with it, at least," she joked.

'Warmth and toughness in the same breath'

The US ambassador to Ireland, Edward Walsh, paid tribute to Fricker as "a giant of Irish film" and praised her "unforgettable" performance in My Left Foot.

Writing on X, external, he said: "From Dublin to Hollywood, her work brought Ireland's stories to the world and inspired generations on both sides of the Atlantic.

"She leaves a remarkable legacy, and I extend my deepest condolences to her family, friends, and all who loved her."

Earlier this year, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Ray McAdam, proposed that she should receive the freedom of the city, describing her as "one of Dublin's most distinguished cultural figures".

Her work was "marked by honesty, depth and a rare ability to bring warmth and toughness in the same breath", he said. "Her performances have helped tell Irish stories and have become part of family life across generations."