Brenda Fricker, first Irish woman to win an Oscar, dies aged 81
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Brenda Fricker, the Irish actress who made history as the first woman from Ireland to win an Academy Award, has died at the age of 81 following a period of ill health. She won her Oscar in 1989 for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in "My Left Foot", a career-defining achievement that brought her lasting international recognition and cemented her status as a pioneering figure in Irish cinema.
Beyond that landmark role, Fricker became a familiar face to audiences across multiple generations through a wide range of screen and television work. She played the Pigeon Lady in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" and was a long-standing presence on British television as nurse Megan Roach in the medical drama "Casualty", reflecting a career that spanned decades and crossed between film and television.
- Brenda Fricker, first Irish woman to win an Oscar, has died aged 81
- Won Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1989 for "My Left Foot"
- Also known for "Home Alone 2" and "Casualty" TV role
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Brenda Fricker was an Irish actor whose career included film, television and theatre. She became widely known outside Ireland after appearing in My Left Foot, a 1989 film about the Irish writer and artist Christy Brown, who had cerebral palsy.
The Academy Awards, often called the Oscars, are among the best-known prizes in the film industry. Fricker won the award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Brown’s mother, becoming the first Irish woman to receive an Oscar.
She later reached large international audiences in films including Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, while British viewers knew her from the hospital drama Casualty. Her work made her one of Ireland’s most recognisable screen actors across several decades.
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