Brenda Fricker

2025-09-18T14:33:30Z

2A03:D000:4306:A626:FCA3:AAA3:8277:456E: /* See also */

{{short description|Irish actress}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Brenda Fricker
| image = Brenda Fricker (2106633526) (cropped).jpg
| caption = Fricker at the [[62nd Academy Awards]] in March 1990
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1945|02|17|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Dublin]], Ireland
| spouse = {{marriage|Barry Davis|1979|1988|end=div.}}
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1964–present
| parents =
}}

'''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 Awards|Academy Award]], earning the award for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for the biopic ''[[My Left Foot]]'' (1989). She also appeared in films such as ''[[The Field (1990 film)|The Field]]'' (1990), ''[[Home Alone 2: Lost in New York]]'' (1992), ''[[So I Married an Axe Murderer]]'' (1993), ''[[Angels in the Outfield (1994 film)|Angels in the Outfield]]'' (1994), ''[[A Time to Kill (1996 film)|A Time to Kill]]'' (1996), ''[[Veronica Guerin (film)|Veronica Guerin]]'' (2003), ''[[Inside I'm Dancing]]'' (2004) and ''[[Albert Nobbs]]'' (2011).

In 2008, Fricker was honoured with the inaugural Maureen O'Hara Award at the [[Kerry Film Festival]]. In 2020, ''[[The Irish Times]]'' ranked her 26th on its list of the greatest Irish film actors of all time.

==Early life==
Fricker was born in [[Dublin]], Ireland.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120911122329/http://www.biography.com/articles/Brenda-Fricker-212181 "Brenda Fricker Biography]" ''[[Biography (TV program)|Biography]]''.</ref> Her mother "Bina" (née Murphy) was from [[Gneeveguilla]], [[Co. Kerry]]. Bina was a teacher of languages at Stratford College in [[Rathgar]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Alone again, naturally |url=https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/alone-again-naturally/26252875.html |access-date=7 June 2024 |newspaper=[[Irish Independent]] |location=Dublin |date=8 January 2000}}</ref> and her father, Desmond Frederick Fricker, served in the [[Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine|Department of Agriculture]] and as 'Fred Desmond' a broadcaster with RTÉ and a journalist for ''[[The Irish Times]]''.<ref name="timesonline.co.uk">[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article5062171.ece "Profile: Brenda Fricker, the star who makes Home Alone true"]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}. ''[[The Sunday Times]]''. November 2, 2008. {{subscription required}}</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".<ref name=autogenerated2>[http://www.holby.tv/db/index.php?id=38,87,0,0,1,0 "Brenda Fricker"]. ''[[Holby]]''. 21 October 2007. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021193051/http://www.holby.tv/db/index.php?id=38%2C87%2C0%2C0%2C1%2C0 |date=October 21, 2007}}.</ref> Her feature film career began with a small uncredited part in the 1964 film ''[[Of Human Bondage (1964 film)|Of Human Bondage]]'', based on the 1915 [[Of Human Bondage|novel]] by [[Somerset Maugham|W. Somerset Maugham]]. 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]] on 24 January 1977's episode. Fricker came to wider public attention in the [[United Kingdom]] in another nursing role, as Megan Roach in the [[BBC One]] television drama series ''[[Casualty (TV series)|Casualty]]''. 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, [but] lost it all and all she ever seemed to do was push a trolley around and offer tea and sympathy".<ref>{{cite news|last=Nolan|first=Lorna|title=Brenda back in Casualty after a break of 20 years|url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/herald/brenda-back-in-casualty-after-a-break-of-20-years/27927476.html|date=3 October 2009|work=Irish Independent|accessdate=30 August 2025}}</ref> 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 [[Comic Relief#Red Nose Day history|Red Nose Day]]. The episode was written by [[Richard Curtis]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}} 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]]'s mother in ''[[My Left Foot]]'' (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 Awards|Golden Globe Award]] and she won the [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association|Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award]] for Best Supporting Actress as well. She rejoined ''My Left Foot'' writer and director [[Jim Sheridan]] to make the 1990 film ''[[The Field (1990 film)|The Field]]'', starring alongside [[Richard Harris]] as Maggie McCabe, the wife of Harris' "Bull" McCabe. She continued her television work during this period, starring in the [[Australia]]n-produced short series ''[[Brides of Christ]]'' (1991) and the miniseries ''[[Seekers (TV series)|Seekers]]'' (1992) alongside [[Josette Simon]], produced by [[Sarah Lawson (producer)|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]] Pigeon Lady. In 1993, she portrayed May Mackenzie, the ''[[Weekly World News]]''-obsessed [[Scotland|Scottish]] mother of [[Mike Myers]]' Charlie Mackenzie, in ''[[So I Married an Axe Murderer]]'', and then portrayed [[Joseph Gordon-Levitt]]'s character's motherly caretaker Maggie in the 1994 family comedy ''[[Angels in the Outfield (1994 film)|Angels in the Outfield]]''. One of her last Hollywood film roles came with ''[[A Time to Kill (1996 film)|A Time to Kill]]'', as Ethel Twitty (loyal secretary to [[Matthew McConaughey]]'s Jake Brigance), after which she has focused almost exclusively on film and television work in [[Canada]], Ireland and the United Kingdom. In 2003, she played Bernie Guerin, mother of [[Veronica Guerin]] (played by [[Cate Blanchett]]) in the [[Veronica Guerin (film)|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]], 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 [[Rho(D) immune globulin|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]] drama, also starring [[Shirley MacLaine]], [[Christopher Plummer]] and [[Mischa Barton]]. In 2012, a high-profile supporting role in ''[[Albert Nobbs]]'' 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 (2011 film)|Cloudburst]]''.

In 2021 Fricker joined the cast of the TV adaptation of ''Holding'', based on the book of the same name by [[Graham Norton]], marking her first major onscreen role in six years.<ref name="rte.ie">{{cite news |title=Best of Irish as Graham Norton's Holding begins filming in West Cork |url=https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2021/0729/1237971-best-of-irish-as-graham-nortons-holding-starts-filming/ |access-date=29 July 2021 |website=[[RTÉ]] |date=29 July 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Brenda Fricker 2014.png|200px|thumb|right|Fricker at the 2014 Dublin Film Festival]]

==Personal life==
Fricker lives in [[the Liberties, Dublin]]. She was married to Barry Davis for 15 years until they divorced in 1988 only to later rekindle their friendship in 1990. Davis died later as a result of falling down a flight of stairs under the influence of alcohol which he had battled. This loss devastated Fricker.<ref>{{cite news |title=Alone again, naturally |url=https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/alone-again-naturally/26252875.html |access-date=7 June 2024 |newspaper=Irish Independent |location=Dublin |date=8 January 2000}}</ref> She was pregnant six times with Davis, but each pregnancy ended in miscarriage. She said 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," Fricker said).<ref name=autogenerated2 />

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''."<ref>{{cite news |last=Barnard |first=Elissa |title=Actress hails Cloudburst |url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/240891-actress-hails-cloudburst |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215115221/http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/240891-actress-hails-cloudburst |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 December 2012 |access-date=6 January 2013 |newspaper=The Chronicle-Herald |date=11 December 2012}}</ref>

Whilst appearing on [[The Tommy Tiernan Show]] in 2021, Fricker shared that she had battled severe depression for much of her life, including being hospitalised many times.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-5rGOzBgy8 | title=Brenda Fricker | the Tommy Tiernan Show | website=[[YouTube]] | date=10 September 2024 }}</ref>

==Awards and recognition==
In 1989 she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award for her role in ''[[My Left Foot]]'', in the Best Supporting Actress category. In 2008 Fricker was honoured with the inaugural Maureen O'Hara Award at the [[Kerry Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/brenda-fricker-receives-film-award-1.907801 |title=Brenda Fricker receives film award |last=Lucey |first=Anne |date=10 November 2008 |newspaper=The Irish Times |location=Dublin |access-date=12 December 2022}}</ref> In 2020, ''[[The Irish Times]]'' ranked her 26th on its list of the greatest Irish film actors of all time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/the-50-greatest-irish-film-actors-of-all-time-in-order-1.4271988 |title=The 50 greatest Irish film actors of all time – in order |last1=Clarke |first1=Donald |last2=Brady |first2=Tara |date=13 June 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=12 December 2022}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1964
| ''[[Of Human Bondage (1964 film)|Of Human Bondage]]''
|
| Uncredited
|-
| 1969
| ''[[Sinful Davey]]''
|
| Uncredited
|-
| 1975
| ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)|Upstairs, Downstairs]]''
|
| Uncredited (extra)
|-
| 1976
| ''[[Play for Today]]''
| Molly
| 1 episode Your Man From Six Counties
|-
| 1977
| ''[[Coronation Street]]''
| Staff Nurse Maloney
| 4 episode arc
|-
| 1978–1979
| ''[[The Quatermass Conclusion]]''
| Alison Thorpe
| Television series
|-
| 1979
| ''[[The Music Machine (film)|The Music Machine]]''
| Mrs Pearson
|
|-
| 1980
| ''[[Bloody Kids]]''
| Nurse
|
|-
| 1982
| ''{{sortname|The|Ballroom of Romance}}''
| Bridie
|
|-
| 1984
| ''[[Cockles (TV series)|Cockles]]''
| Ms Kyte
| Television series
|-
| 1985
| ''{{sortname|The|Woman Who Married Clark Gable|nolink=1}}''
| Mary
|
|-
| 1986–1990; <br /> 1998; <br /> 2007; <br /> 2010
| ''[[Casualty (TV series)|Casualty]]''
| Megan Roach
| Television series
|-
| 1989
| ''[[My Left Foot]]''
| Bridget Fagan Brown
| {{Unbulleted list|[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]]|[[Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress]]|[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress]]|[[Montreal World Film Festival|Montreal World Film Festival Jurisdiction Award]]|Nominated—[[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]]|Nominated—[[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress]]|Nominated—[[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress]]}}
|-
| 1990
| ''[[The Field (1990 film)|The Field]]''
| Maggie McCabe
|
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Brides of Christ]]''
| Sister Agnes
|
|-
| rowspan=4|1992
| ''{{sortname|The|Sound and the Silence|nolink=1}}''
| Eliza
| Television series
|-
| ''[[Utz (1992 film)|Utz]]''
| Marta
|
|-
| ''[[Seekers (TV series)|Seekers]]''
| Stella Hazard
| Television series
|-
| ''[[Home Alone 2: Lost in New York]]''
| Central Park Pigeon Woman
|
|-
| 1993
| ''[[So I Married an Axe Murderer]]''
| May Mackenzie
|
|-
| 1993
| ''Deadly Advice''
| Iris Greenwood
|
|-
| 1994
| ''{{sortname|A|Man of No Importance|A Man of No Importance (film)}}''
| Lily Byrne
|
|-
| 1994
| ''[[Angels in the Outfield (1994 film)|Angels in the Outfield]]''
| Maggie Nelson
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1995
| ''[[Journey (1995 film)|Journey]]''
| Lottie
| Television film
|-
| ''[[A Woman of Independent Means]]''
| Mother Steed
| Television mini-series
|-
| rowspan="3"|1996
| ''[[Moll Flanders]]''
| Mrs. Mazzawatti
|
|-
| ''{{sortname|A|Time to Kill|A Time to Kill (1996 film)}}''
| Ethel Twitty
| Nominated—[[Stinkers Bad Movie Awards|Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Supporting Actress]]
|-
| ''[[Swann (film)|Swann]]''
| Rose Hindmarch
| Nominated—[[Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress|Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role]]
|-
| 1997
| ''[[Masterminds (1997 film)|Masterminds]]''
| Principal Claire Maloney
|
|-
| rowspan="4"|1998
| ''[[Painted Angels]]''
| Annie Ryan
|
|-
| ''[[Resurrection Man (film)|Resurrection Man]]''
| Dorcas Kelly
|
|-
| ''[[Pete's Meteor]]''
| Lily
|
|-
| ''[[The American (1998 film)|The American]]''
| Mrs. Bread
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1999
| ''Resurrection''
| Clare's mother
| Television remake of 1980 original
|-
| ''[[Durango (film)|Durango]]''
| Aunt Maeve
|
|-
| 2000
| ''[[Cupid & Cate]]''
| Willie Hendley
|
|-
| 2001
| ''[[The War Bride]]''
| Betty
| Nominated—[[Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress|Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role]]
|-
| 2002
| ''[[The Intended]]''
| Mrs Jones
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|2003
| ''[[Conspiracy of Silence (2003 film)|Conspiracy of Silence]]''
| Annie McLaughlin
|
|-
| ''[[Veronica Guerin (film)|Veronica Guerin]]''
| Bernadette "Bernie" Guerin
| Nominated—[[Irish Film & Television Academy|Irish Film & Television Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress – Film]]
|-
| ''[[Watermelon (film)|Watermelon]]''
| Teresa Ryan
|
|-
| rowspan="5"|2004
| ''[[Trauma (2004 film)|Trauma]]''
| Petra
|
|-
| ''[[Omagh (film)|Omagh]]''
| Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan
| Television film
|-
| ''[[Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss]]''
| Madame Alex
| Television film
|-
| ''[[Inside I'm Dancing]]''
| Eileen
| Nominated—[[Irish Film & Television Academy|Irish Film & Television Academy Award for Best Actress – Film]]
|-
| ''Razor Fish''
| Molly
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2005
| ''Milk''
| Nan
|
|-
| ''[[Tara Road (film)|Tara Road]]''
| Mona
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2007
| ''[[How About You (film)|How About You]]''
|
|
|-
| ''[[Closing the Ring]]''
| Grandma Reilly
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2008
| ''[[Stone of Destiny (2008 film)|Stone of Destiny]]''
| Mrs. McQuarry
|
|-
| ''[[Beautiful People (British TV series)|Beautiful People]]''
| Narg
| Episode: "How I Got My Beads"
|-
| 2010
| ''[[Locked In (2010 film)|Locked In]]''
| Joan
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2011
| ''[[Cloudburst (2011 film)|Cloudburst]]''
| Dot
|
|-
| ''[[Albert Nobbs]]''
| Polly
| Nominated—[[Irish Film & Television Academy|Irish Film & Television Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress – Film]]
|-
| rowspan="2"|2013
| ''A Long Way from Home''
| Brenda
|
|-
| ''[[Forgive Me (TV series)|Forgive Me]]''
| Mrs. Smith
| 3 episodes
|-
|2014
| ''Deadly''
| Bridie
| Short
|-
|2021
| ''[[Cam Boy]]''
| Tilda
| Episode: "Take My Webcam Virginity"
|-
|2022
| ''[[Holding (TV series)|Holding]]''
| Lizzie Meany
|<ref name="rte.ie"/>
|-
| rowspan="2"|2023
| ''[[The Catch (British TV series)|The Catch]]'' <ref name= "catch" >{{cite news |title=The Catch: Release date, cast and news for Channel 5 drama |url= https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/the-catch-channel-5-release-date/ |website=[[Radio Times]] |date=11 January 2023}}</ref>
| Phyllis Doyle <ref name= "cast" >{{cite news |title=The Catch: Meet the cast of the channel 5 drama - including this Midsomer Murders star |url= https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/20230125162668/the-catch-cast-revealed-channel-5-drama-starring-midsomer-murders-actor/ |magazine=[[Hello! (magazine)|Hello!]] |date=25 January 2023}}</ref>
| All 4 episodes <ref name="cast"/>
|-
| ''[[The Miracle Club]]''
| Voice of Maureen
|
|}

==Selected theatre work==
* At the [[Royal National Theatre]]
** ''The Plough and the Stars''
** ''Lavender Blue''
* At the [[Royal Court Theatre]]
** ''Within Two Shadows''
** ''A Pagan's Place''
* At the [[Geffen Playhouse]]
** ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof''
* Other<ref name=autogenerated2 />
** ''Typhad Mary''
** ''Macbeth''
** ''Outskirts''
** ''TV Times''
** ''The Accrington Pals''
** ''The Irish Play''
** ''Lost World''
** ''The Weeping of Angels''

==See also==
* [[List of Irish actors]]
* [[List of actors with Academy Award nominations]]
* [[List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Ireland]]
* [[List of people on the postage stamps of Ireland]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0002084}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070608040400/http://movies.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?c=287010 MSN Movies profile]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071021193051/http://www.holby.tv/db/index.php?id=38%2C87%2C0%2C0%2C1%2C0 Fricker at HOLBY.TV]

{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Brenda Fricker
|list =
{{Academy Award Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress |state=collapsed}}
{{Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fricker, Brenda}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish actresses]]
[[Category:21st-century Irish actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Irish film actresses]]
[[Category:Irish television actresses]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Dundrum, Dublin]]
[[Category:Actresses from County Dublin]]

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