Brenda Fricker, the Oscar-winning Irish actress beloved by generations of movie fans for her role as the Pigeon Lady in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” died Thursday.
She was 81.
Fricker’s agent confirmed her death on Friday.
“It is with much sadness that I share the news that beloved actress Brenda Fricker passed away peacefully last night in Dublin, after a period of ill health, at the age of 81,” the statement said.
“We will never see her like again, and the world is lesser for the lack of her. 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.”
Born on Feb. 17, 1945, in Dublin, Fricker worked as an assistant to the art editor at the Irish Times before launching her acting career.
She made her screen debut in the 1964 film “Of Human Bondage” in an uncredited role and later appeared in theater productions and television soap operas before gaining widespread recognition as Megan Roach on the long-running medical drama “Casualty.” She played the role from 1986 to 1990 before returning for guest appearances in later years.
The “Pigeon Lady” from Home Alone 2 has died
Oscar winner Brenda Fricker was 81.
“We will never see anyone like her again, and the world is a poorer place without her,” the actress’s agent said in announcing the sad news.
Fricker was best known for her role in the drama My… pic.twitter.com/HA4dNginue
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Fricker became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award when she took home the Oscar for best supporting actress for her performance as Bridget Fagan Brown in the 1989 film “My Left Foot.”
“I don’t believe this,” she gushed during her 1990 acceptance speech. “I will take [this trophy] very proudly with me back to Ireland.”
She also earned a Golden Globe nomination for the role.
Three years later, Fricker reached an even broader audience when she starred as the lonely Pigeon Lady in the 1992 holiday classic “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.” Her character rescues Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, from the Wet Bandits before sharing one of the film’s most emotional moments with him inside Carnegie Hall.
Looking back on the production during a 2022 interview on “The Hard Shoulder,” Fricker described filming the movie as an “absolutely lovely” and “easygoing” experience.
“I [would] go back into the hotel in full costume, covered in pigeon s–t,” Fricker recalled. “If you want to empty a lift quickly, dress up in pigeon s–t.
“It was luxury for me. I got paid a ton of money to do it,” she added, saying she continued receiving residual checks ranging from 46 cents to $10 years after the film’s release.
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