Oscar-Winning Irish Actor Brenda Fricker Dies at 81

Brenda Fricker, the Irish actor whose quietly devastating turn in My Left Foot made Oscar history, has died at 81, her agent announced. Phil Belfield said in a statement, "We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her," adding that he was honored "to know, love and work with her." In 1990, she became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award, taking best supporting actress for playing the mother of writer and artist Christy Brown opposite Daniel Day-Lewis—an award she dedicated "to all the people of Ireland," reports RTE.

Fricker's career started in her native Dublin and stretched for more than 60 years across stage and screen, but after the Oscar win, US roles steadily rolled in. She later reached global audiences as the "Pigeon Lady" in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and appeared in The Field, A Time to Kill, and Veronica Guerin. On television, she was among the original cast of BBC medical drama Casualty, portraying nurse Megan Roach in more than 70 episodes over two decades. Earlier this year, Dublin City Council said it would grant her the Freedom of Dublin for her contribution to Irish arts and culture. "As an actor you're not an artist, but you're surrounded by arty people. That makes it a good place to be," she told the Irish Times last year. "I still just think of it as playing games."