Brenda Fricker, the acclaimed Irish actress, has died at the age of 81. Her agent, Phil Belfield, confirmed she passed away Thursday night in Dublin after enduring health issues. Fricker gained fame for her role in the 1989 film My Left Foot as Bridget Fagan Brown. Her performance won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1990, making her the first Irish woman to achieve this honor. The film, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown, a man with cerebral palsy, also earned Day-Lewis an Oscar for Best Actor.

Belfield expressed his affection and respect for Fricker, noting, “We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her.” Fricker’s rich career included roles in over 90 films and television shows from 1964 to 2024. Among her memorable roles was the character in the 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, where she connected with Macaulay Culkin’s character in Central Park.

A prolific actress, Fricker also appeared in the BBC medical drama Casualty‘s original cast and shared the screen with Cate Blanchett in Veronica Guerin, a film about the slain Irish journalist.

Born in Dublin in 1945, she was honored earlier this year with the city’s highest accolade, the Freedom of the City. Her autobiography, She Died Young: A Life in Fragments, published in September 2025, chronicles her childhood adventures and her battles with mental health challenges. The book became a bestseller on the Irish Sunday Times list.

Simon Harris, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, mourned her passing, calling Fricker a “national treasure.” He remarked on her outstanding contributions as an ambassador of Irish talent globally, stating, “She truly was among the greatest exports this country has ever produced.”