Oscar-winning Irish actress Brenda Fricker, best known for her roles in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and My Left Foot, has died at the age of 81.
“We will never see anyone like her again, and the world is poorer without her presence. I was honored to know her, love her and work with her. She will always have a special place in my heart, and in the hearts of so many film and television fans around the world.”“, Phil Belfield, Brenda Fricker’s agent, said in a statement.
Fricker has had a career spanning more than six decades on stage and screen, becoming one of Ireland’s most acclaimed actresses, writes RTE.
She made history in 1990 when she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award, winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Christy Brown’s mother in My Left Foot, opposite Daniel Day-Lewis.
Her emotional acceptance speech, in which she dedicated the award to “the entire people of Ireland”, remains one of the defining moments in Irish cinema history. Later, she became a familiar figure to international audiences thanks to roles in films such as “The Field”, “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” — where she played the gentle “Dove Lady” opposite Macaulay Culkin, “A Time to Kill” and “Veronica Guerin”.
Earlier this year, Dublin City Council announced that Brenda Fricker would be awarded the title of ‘Freedom of Dublin’ (Honorary Citizen of the City of Dublin) in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Irish arts and culture. In addition to his successful work in cinema, Fricker has also been a constant presence on the small screen. She was one of the original stars of the BBC medical drama Casualty, playing nurse Megan Roach since the show launched in 1986.
She returned to the role several times over the next two decades, clocking up over 70 appearances. He also starred in The Ballroom of Romance, an acclaimed television drama based on William Trevor’s novel, which won the BAFTA Award for Best TV Drama and is considered a landmark in Irish television.
His other television projects include the RTÉ soap opera ‘Tolka Row’, the 2004 drama ‘Omagh’ and the series ‘Holding’, an adaptation of the novel written by Graham Norton.
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