DUBLIN — Brenda Fricker died Thursday night in Dublin at the age of 81 following a period of ill health. Her agent, Phil Belfield, confirmed the death in a statement.

Phil Belfield said it is with much sadness that he shares the news that beloved actress Brenda Fricker passed away peacefully the previous night in Dublin, after a period of ill health, at the age of 81. He added that the world is lesser for the lack of her and that he was honored to know, love, and work with her, and she will always have a place in his heart and in the hearts of film and TV fans around the world.

Fricker was born in Dublin on February 17, 1945, to Bina Murphy, a language teacher, and Desmond Frederick Fricker, a journalist for the Irish Times. Before pursuing acting, she worked as an assistant to the art editor at the Irish Times.

Fricker made her first film appearance in an uncredited role in the 1964 drama "Of Human Bondage" and appeared in the Irish soap opera "Tolka Row" the same year. Her early television work included appearances in the British series "Upstairs, Downstairs" and a four-episode arc as a nurse in "Coronation Street" in 1977. She also appeared in "The Quatermass Conclusion" in 1978, "The Music Machine" in 1979, "Bloody Kids" in 1980 and "Cockles" in 1984.

In 1986, Fricker joined the original cast of the BBC medical drama Casualty as Nurse Megan Roach. She left the series after 65 episodes but returned for guest appearances in 1998, 2007 and a four-episode arc in 2010. Fricker played Bridget Fagan Brown in the 1989 film My Left Foot, directed by Jim Sheridan, and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1990 for the role. She became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award for acting.

During her 1990 acceptance speech, Fricker said she would take the trophy very proudly back to Ireland. She also remarked that anyone who gives birth 22 times deserves an Oscar. Daniel Day-Lewis won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the same film. Fricker was also nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.

In a 2024 interview, Fricker reflected on her experience making My Left Foot. She said she did not learn much from that film and had learnt more while working on plays at the BBC. She also said actors often get passed over and typecast.

She noted that there are downsides to winning an Oscar, including that it does not come with any money.

Fricker went on to appear in numerous films and television productions over the following decades, including "The Field" opposite Richard Harris in 1990, "A Man of No Importance" opposite Albert Finney, So I Married An Axe Murderer in 1993, "Angels in the Outfield" in 1994, "A Time to Kill" in 1996, "Veronica Guerin" in 2003, "Inside I'm Dancing" in 2004, "Closing the Ring" in 2007, "Albert Nobbs" in 2011 and "Cloudburst" in 2011. She appeared in an episode of the Canadian television series "Cam Boy" in 2021.

Fricker played the Pigeon Lady in the 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. In a 2022 interview, she described her experience on the film as absolutely lovely and easygoing. She recalled going back into the hotel in full costume, covered in pigeon droppings, and said that dressing in pigeon droppings is a sure way to empty a lift quickly. She added that it was a luxury for her and that she was paid a large sum for the role. Fricker stated in 2020 that she and Macaulay Culkin did not speak during the production.

Fricker's final screen credit was the film "The Swallow," directed by Tadhg O'Sullivan and released in 2024. In September 2025, she published a memoir titled She Died Young: A Life in Fragments. In the book, she disclosed that she experienced sexual abuse and rape, including an assault by a fellow actor on "Coronation Street." She told the Guardian in a 2025 interview that writing the memoir was painful because it involved recalling sexual abuse by an elocution teacher and surviving two rapes. She said that survivors often feel it is their fault.

In a 2025 interview, Fricker spoke candidly about her declining health, saying she was having a dreadful death and was dying every day in pain.

Fricker was married to Barry Davis from 1979 to 1988. She received the inaugural Maureen O'Hara award from the Kerry Film Festival in 2008 and was ranked No. 26 on the Irish Times' list of the greatest Irish film actors of all time in 2020. Fricker was awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 2026.

Fricker's career spanned more than six decades and included work in film, television and theater across Ireland, Britain and the United States. Her Academy Award win in 1990 marked a milestone as the first time an Irish woman received an Oscar for acting, and her body of work encompassed both independent productions and mainstream Hollywood films. Her final memoir, published in 2025, brought public attention to her experiences with sexual abuse and the challenges she faced throughout her life and career.