Brenda Fricker, who became the first Irish actress to win an Oscar and starred as the Pigeon Lady in 1992's Home Alone 2, died on Thursday in Dublin. She was 81.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Fricker's agent, Phil Belfield, confirmed her death to the BBC on Friday.
"We will never see her like again, and the world is lesser for the lack of her," he said in a statement. "I was honored to know, love and work with her. She will always have a place in my heart and in the heart of so many film and TV fans the world over."
Per Hello!, Belfield said the actress passed away following a period of ill health.
Fricker won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1990 for her role in My Left Foot, in which she played Daniel Day-Lewis's mother. Per The Irish Times, she also had a strong television presence, appearing on the BBC medical soap Casualty and in films like Omagh and A Man of No Importance.
For most American movie-watchers, Fricker was best known for her role as the Central Park pigeon lady in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
Life and Legacy of Brenda Fricker
Fricker was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1945. She pursued a career in journalism before turning to acting. Her first role came in 1964, when she began starring on Ireland's first soap opera "Tolka Row." From there, she had a long acting career.
Fricker won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Bridget Fagan Brown. The Irish star noted that her subsequent roles came with a nice salary bump.
However, she didn't care for the increased Fame and attention that accompanied the award win.
"There were suddenly lots of figures on them. That was good," she said. "You were suddenly travelling first class everywhere. You got into places, you got too much attention."
Per IMDb, her other film credits include So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), Angels in the Outfield (1994), and A Time to Kill (1996). She also appeared in Veronica Guerin (2003), Inside I'm Dancing (2004), and Albert Nobbs (2011).
Her final film credit is for 2024's The Swallow.
