LONDON (AP) 鈥� Brenda Fricker, who won an Academy Award for her role as Bridget Fagan Brown in the 1989 film 鈥淢y Left Foot,鈥欌�� has died. She was 81.
The Irish character actor died Thursday night in Dublin after a period of ill health, her agent, Phil Belfield said in a statement.
Fricker became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award in 1990 for best supporting actress for her portrayal of the determined mother of Christy Brown, who was born with cerebral palsy and could control only his left foot. Daniel Day-Lewis, who played Christy Brown, won the award for best actor.
鈥淲e will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her,鈥欌�� Belfield said. 鈥淚 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.鈥�
Fricker, who appeared in more than 90 films and television shows between 1964 and 2024, was also known for her role in the 1992 film where she played a homeless woman who befriended Macaulay Culkin鈥檚 character in New York鈥檚 Central Park.
She also featured in the original cast of the BBC medical drama 鈥淐asualty鈥� and appeared alongside Cate Blanchett in 鈥淰eronica Guerin,鈥� the story of an Irish investigative journalist who was murdered in 1996.
Born in Dublin in 1945, Fricker received the city鈥檚 highest honor earlier this year when she was awarded the Freedom of the City.
In her autobiography 鈥淪he Died Young: A Life in Fragments,鈥� Fricker describes both happy childhood escapades with her sister Grania and her struggles to overcome sexual violence and mental health issues, which caused her to be institutionalized several times. Published in September 2025, the book appeared on the Irish Sunday Times bestseller list.
Simon Harris, Ireland鈥檚 deputy prime minister, said the country had lost a national treasure.
鈥淪he 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.
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