Brenda Fricker, the Irish actress recognized for her Oscar-winning role as Bridget Fagan Brown in the 1989 film My Left Foot, has passed away at the age of 81. Her agent, Phil Belfield, confirmed that she died in Dublin on Thursday night following a period of ill health.
Fricker made history in 1990 by becoming the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award. She received the accolade for best supporting actress portraying the determined mother of Christy Brown, a man born with cerebral palsy who could only control his left foot. Daniel Day-Lewis, who played Christy Brown, also received an Oscar for best actor for his performance.
Belfield expressed his admiration, saying, “We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her.” He emphasized the impact she made on fans around the world and cherished the time he worked with her.
In addition to her role in My Left Foot, Fricker appeared in over 90 films and TV shows from 1964 to 2024. She is also remembered for her role in the 1992 movie Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, where she played a compassionate homeless woman who befriends Macaulay Culkin’s character in Central Park.
Fricker’s career included the original cast of the BBC medical drama Casualty and a role alongside Cate Blanchett in Veronica Guerin, which recounted the story of an Irish journalist killed in 1996.
Born in Dublin in 1945, Fricker was awarded the Freedom of the City earlier this year, the capital’s highest honor.
In her autobiography, She Died Young: A Life in Fragments, Fricker shared stories of her childhood with her sister Grania and detailed her battles with sexual violence and mental health issues, which led to multiple hospitalizations. The book, published in September 2025, became a bestseller on the Irish Sunday Times list.
Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris acknowledged her contributions, calling her a national treasure and a remarkable ambassador for Irish talent globally.
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