LONDON (AP) — Brenda Fricker, the acclaimed Irish actress who took home an Academy Award for her role as Bridget Fagan Brown in the 1989 film “My Left Foot,” has passed away at the age of 81.
Fricker died Thursday evening in Dublin after dealing with ongoing health problems, according to a statement from her agent, Phil Belfield.
In 1990, Fricker made history by becoming the first Irish woman ever to win an Academy Award, taking home the best supporting actress honor for her portrayal of the devoted mother of Christy Brown — a man born with cerebral palsy who had use of only his left foot. Her co-star Daniel Day-Lewis, who portrayed Christy Brown in the film, also won that night, claiming the best actor award.
Belfield paid tribute to his client, saying, “We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her. I was honored 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.”
Over the course of a career spanning six decades — from 1964 to 2024 — Fricker appeared in more than 90 films and television productions. Many audiences will remember her fondly as the “pigeon lady,” a kind-hearted homeless woman who formed a bond with Macaulay Culkin’s character in New York’s Central Park, in the 1992 holiday favorite “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.”
Fricker was also part of the original cast of the long-running BBC medical drama “Casualty” and later appeared alongside Cate Blanchett in “Veronica Guerin,” a film based on the true story of an Irish investigative journalist who was killed in 1996.
Born in Dublin in 1945, Fricker was honored by her home city earlier this year when she received the Freedom of the City, Dublin’s most prestigious civic recognition.
Her autobiography, “She Died Young: A Life in Fragments,” published in September 2025, offers a candid look at both joyful childhood memories shared with her sister Grania and her deeply personal battles with sexual violence and mental health struggles that led to multiple periods of institutionalization. The book landed on the Irish Sunday Times bestseller list following its release.
Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Simon Harris, expressed the nation’s grief, calling Fricker a national treasure. “She truly was among the greatest exports this country has ever produced and an ambassador for Irish talent on the world stage,” he said. “Quite simply, we will never see the like of her ever again.”
