Brenda Fricker, the Irish actress who became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award and endeared herself to generations of moviegoers with roles in "My Left Foot" and "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," has died at the age of 81.

Fricker won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 1990 for her portrayal of the on-screen mother of Christy Brown, a real-life Irish man born with cerebral palsy who could control only his left foot, in the film "My Left Foot." The role was played by Daniel Day-Lewis, who also won an Academy Award for his lead performance that year. Fricker's win made history, marking the first time an Irish actress had claimed an Academy Award, defeating a field of Hollywood stars that included Julia Roberts and Anjelica Huston.

Fricker's agent, Phil Belfield, confirmed her death in a statement. "We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her," Belfield said, adding that he had been honored to know, love and work with her, and that she would always hold a place in his heart and in the hearts of film and television fans around the world.

Born in Dublin, Fricker built a decades-long career that spanned television, theater and film, beginning with early roles including a part in Ireland's first soap opera, "Tolka Row," in the 1960s, followed by a stint on the British soap "Coronation Street" in 1977 and an appearance in "Licking Hitler," a television drama written by David........

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