Irish actress Brenda Fricker has died aged 81

Oscar-winning Irish actress Brenda Fricker has died aged 81. Confirmed by her agent, Phil Belfield, who described the actress as a “legend”.

Well known for her iconic role in Home Alone 2, where she played the Pigeon Lady, a homeless woman in Central Park. Brenda was also part of the original cast of the BBC drama Casualty and in Veronica Guerin.

She won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in My Left Foot (1989), playing Bridget Fagan Brown.

Phil Belfield’s statement said: “It is with much sadness that I share the news that beloved actress Brenda Fricker passed away last night peacefully after a period of ill health, at the age of 81.

“Dublin-born and bred, Brenda Fricker undoubtedly deserves the title legend. We will never see her like again, and the world is lesser for the lack of her. I was honoured 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.”