Brenda Fricker, the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award, has died at the age of 81. Her agent confirmed her passing on Thursday night in Dublin following a period of ill health.
Fricker received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1990 for her portrayal of Bridget Fagan Brown in the 1989 film “My Left Foot.” In the movie, she played the determined mother of Christy Brown, a character with cerebral palsy who had control only over his left foot. Daniel Day-Lewis, who starred as Christy Brown, also won an Academy Award for his performance.
"We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her,'' her agent, Phil Belfield, said in a statement. "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."
Throughout her career, Fricker appeared in over 90 films and television shows between 1964 and 2024. She is also remembered for her role as a homeless woman who befriends Macaulay Culkin's character in Central Park in the 1992 film “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.”
Her other notable roles included being part of the original cast of the BBC medical drama “Casualty” and appearing alongside Cate Blanchett in “Veronica Guerin,” a film about the Irish investigative journalist murdered in 1996.
Born in Dublin in 1945, Fricker was honored earlier this year with the Freedom of the City, the highest honor bestowed by Dublin. Her autobiography, “She Died Young: A Life in Fragments,” published in September 2025, details childhood experiences and her struggles with sexual violence and mental health issues, which led to her being institutionalized multiple times. The book reached the Irish Sunday Times bestseller list.
Ireland's deputy prime minister, Simon Harris, described Fricker as a "national treasure" and "an ambassador for Irish talent on the world stage."