Brenda Fricker (born 17 February 1945) is an Irish actress, whose career has spanned six decades on stage and screen. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television roles. In 1990, she became the first Irish actress to win an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, earning the award for Best Supporting Actress for the biopic ''

My Left Foot ''My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown'', also known simply as ''My Left Foot'', is a 1989 biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jim Sheridan adapted by Sheridan and Shane Connaughton from the 1954 memoir of the same name by Christy ...

'' (1989). She also appeared in films such as '' The Field'' (1990), '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992), '' So I Married An Axe Murderer'' (1993), '' Angels in the Outfield'' (1994), '' A Time to Kill'' (1996), '' Veronica Guerin'' (2003), '' Inside I'm Dancing'' (2004) and ''

Albert Nobbs ''Albert Nobbs'' is a 2011 drama film directed by Rodrigo García and starring Glenn Close. The screenplay, by Close, John Banville and Gabriella Prekop, is based on the 1927 novella ''Albert Nobbs'' by George Moore. The film received mixed ...

'' (2011). In 2008, Fricker was honoured with the inaugural Maureen O'Hara Award at the Kerry Film Festival. In 2020, ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' ranked her 26th on its list of the greatest Irish film actors of all time.

Early life

Fricker was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland. Her mother, "Bina" (née Murphy), was a teacher at Stratford College, and her father, Desmond Frederick Fricker, served in the Department of Agriculture and as 'Fred Desmond' a broadcaster with RTÉ and a journalist for ''

''.The Sunday Times, November 2, 2008, "Profile: Brenda Fricker, the star who makes Home Alone true"
/ref> Before becoming an actress, Fricker was assistant to the art editor of the ''Irish Times'', with hopes of becoming a reporter. At age 19, she became an actress "by chance",holby.tv , Casualty , Brenda Fricker
her feature film career began with a small uncredited part in the 1964 film ''

Of Human Bondage ''Of Human Bondage'' is a 1915 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. The novel is generally agreed to be Maugham's masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although he stated, "This is a novel, not an autobiography; though much in i ...

'', based on the 1915 novel by

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

. She also appeared in '' Tolka Row'', Ireland's first soap opera.

Career

One of Fricker's first TV roles was staff nurse Maloney in '' Coronation Street'', debuting on 10 January 1977. Brenda's character attended on the birth of

Tracy Barlow Tracy Lynette McDonald (also Barlow, Preston, Cropper and Langton) is a fictional character and a main antagonist from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. She was born on-screen during the episode broadcast on 24 January 1977. ...

on 24 January 1977's episode. Fricker came to wider public attention in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in another nursing role, as Megan Roach in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

television drama series ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

''. Fricker bowed out as Megan in December 1990, after playing the character in 65 episodes, because she believed her character had "started off with a wonderful sense of humour, utlost it all and all she ever seemed to do was push a trolley around and offer tea and sympathy". In February 1998 she appeared in two episodes, with Megan attending the wedding of her former colleagues Charlie Fairhead and Barbara 'Baz' Samuels. In 2007, she returned for a single episode for

Red Nose Day Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

. The episode was written by

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...

. Fricker's final appearance as Megan was in August 2010, when the character took a lethal cocktail of drugs to end her life. Fricker found international acclaim after she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1990 for her performance as

Christy Brown Christy Brown (5 June 1932 – 7 September 1981) was an Irish writer and painter who had cerebral palsy and was able to write or type only with the toes of one foot. His most recognized work is his autobiography, titled ''My Left Foot'' (1954). ...

's mother in ''

'' (1989). In her acceptance speech, Brenda thanked Brown "just for being alive" and also dedicated the Oscar to Brown's mother, saying "anybody who gives birth 22 times deserves one of these". For her performance, Fricker was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award and she won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress as well. She rejoined ''My Left Foot'' writer and director

Jim Sheridan Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish playwright and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed two critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, '' My Left Foot'' and '' In the Name of the Father'', and later directed the fi ...

to make the 1990 film '' The Field'', starring alongside

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in '' This Sporting ...

as Maggie McCabe, the wife of Harris' "Bull" McCabe. She continued her television work during this period, starring in the Australian-produced short series ''

Brides of Christ ''Brides of Christ'' is an Australian television miniseries produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1991.Albert Moran, ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', AFTRS 1993 p 94 The series takes place behind the walls of a Sy ...

'' (1991) and the miniseries ''

Seekers The Seekers, or Legatine-Arians as they were sometimes known, were an English dissenting group that emerged around the 1620s, probably inspired by the preaching of three brothers – Walter, Thomas, and Bartholomew Legate. Seekers considered all ...

'' (1992) alongside

Josette Simon Josette Patricia Simon is a British actress. She trained for the stage at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, and played the part of Dayna Mellanby in the third and fourth series of the television sci-fi series ''Blake's 7'' fro ...

, produced by Sarah Lawson. Buoyed by her Oscar win, Fricker went on to appear in several high-profile Hollywood films, most notably 1992's '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' as the

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

Pigeon Lady. In 1993, she portrayed May Mackenzie, the ''

Weekly World News The ''Weekly World News'' was a tabloid which published mostly fictional "news" stories in the United States from 1979 to 2007, renowned for its outlandish cover stories often based on supernatural or paranormal themes and an approach to news th ...

''-obsessed Scottish mother of

Mike Myers Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywoo ...

' Charlie Mackenzie, in '' So I Married an Axe Murderer'', and then portrayed

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt (; born February 17, 1981) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his leading performances ...

's character's motherly caretaker Maggie in the 1994 family comedy '' Angels in the Outfield''. One of her last Hollywood film roles came with '' A Time to Kill'', as Ethel Twitty (loyal secretary to

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...

's Jake Brigance), after which she has focused almost exclusively on film and television work in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Ireland and the United Kingdom. In 2003, she played Bernie Guerin, mother of Veronica Guerin (played by Cate Blanchett) in the film of the same name. She then played nurse Eileen in the film '' Inside I'm Dancing''. In 2007, she starred in ''How About You'' the film based on a short story about people living in a residential nursing home written by

Maeve Binchy Anne Maeve Binchy Snell (28 May 1939Born 1939 as per biography, ''Maeve Binchy'' by Piers Dudgeon, Thomas Dunne Books 2013; (hardcover), pp. 4, 280, 302; (ebook) – 30 July 2012) was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, colum ...

, playing Heather Nightangle. Other important roles were ''Omagh'' in 2004 as police Ombudsman Nuala O' Loan, as Graiine McFadden in the TV docudrama ''No Tears'' about the women treated with the blood product Anti D in the 1970s who had been contaminated with Hepatitis C, and as Aunt Maeve in ''Durango'' in 1999, based on the novel by John B. Keane. Fricker has appeared in '' Closing the Ring'', Richard Attenborough's post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

drama, also starring Shirley MacLaine,

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...

and Mischa Barton. In 2012, a high-profile supporting role in ''

'' earned Fricker an Irish Film Award nomination, and along with Olympia Dukakis she became half of the first pair of Oscar-winning actors to play a same-sex couple in '' Cloudburst''. In 2021 Fricker joined the cast of the TV adaptation of ''Holding'', based on the book of the same name by

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comed ...

, marking her first major onscreen role in six years.

Personal life

Fricker currently lives in

the Liberties, Dublin The Liberties ( Irish: ''Na Saoirsí'' or occasionally ''Na Libirtí'') is an area in central Dublin, Ireland, located in the southwest of the inner city. Formed from various areas of special manorial jurisdiction, separate from the main city ...

. She was previously married to director Barry Davies, until their divorce in 1988. She says that her loves include her pet dogs, drinking Guinness, reading poetry and playing snooker (she once stated that she had taken on the whole crew of ''My Left Foot''. "I played pool against 17 of them, and beat them all," Brenda said). In 2012, Fricker said "Of all the films I’ve made, only three do I remember where I felt I’d moved forward as an actress: ''Cloudburst'', ''My Left Foot'' and ''The Field''."

Awards and recognition

In 2008, Fricker was honoured with the inaugural Maureen O'Hara Award at the Kerry Film Festival. In 2020, ''

'' ranked her 26th on its list of the greatest Irish film actors of all time.

Filmography

Selected theatre work

* At the Royal National Theatre ** ''The Plough and the Stars'' ** ''Lavender Blue'' * At the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

** ''Within Two Shadows'' ** ''A Pagan's Place'' * At the

Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse (or the Geffen) is a not-for-profit theater company founded by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhouse is located ...

** ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' * Other ** ''Typhad Mary'' ** ''Macbeth'' ** ''Outskirts'' ** ''TV Times'' ** ''The Accrington Pals'' ** ''The Irish Play'' ** ''Lost World'' ** ''The Weeping of Angels''

References

External links

*
MSN Movies profile

Fricker at HOLBY.TV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fricker, Brenda 1945 births 20th-century Irish actresses 21st-century Irish actresses Actresses from Dublin (city) Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners Irish film actresses Irish television actresses Living people People from Dundrum, Dublin