Oscar-winning actress Brenda Fricker dies at 81

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.”

Fricker’s former Casualty co-star Derek Thompson, who played long-running character Charlie Fairhead, paid tribute to the actress, telling BBC News: “Truly the best I have ever worked with, and I’ve worked with a lot of actors”.

Cathy Shipton, who played Lisa ‘Duffy’ Duffin, added that Fricker as “one of the most authentic people I’ve ever met”.

“She lived her life courageously warts and all. I loved her for her wit, her intelligence and her brilliant sense of humour,” Shipton told BBC News.

“Life happened when you were around Brenda. We shared a love of dogs – collies and my girl Juno is named after her favourite collie.

“I love her and miss her and am so glad l knew her.”

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.

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.

Ireland’s Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) Simon Harris said he was “deeply saddened” by the death of “a national treasure”.

“She was a consummate performer who graced our screens and stages with remarkable talent and authenticity. Brenda brought depth and humanity to every role she undertook,” he said.

“She truly was among the greatest exports this country has ever produced and an ambassador for Irish talent on the world stage. Quite simply, we will never see the like of her ever again.”

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, 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.”

Fricker told her life story in her memoir last year, revealing an unstable upbringing in which she was beaten by her mother and groomed at the age of eight by a man who gave her elocution lessons and was sexually fixated with her, but who “never touched me”.

She spent two years in hospital after a bicycle accident at the age of 14, but was truly left “broken” after being raped at 17 at a party, then raped again later by an English actor.

Despite her traumas, she also had fond memories of that era. “When I was growing up, you could be wild and God bless the wild days.”

In that spirit, the path her life took was not calculated, she told The Times. “It’s all been luck… happy accidents.”