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Brenda Fricker
Holding her Academy Award in 1990
Born	February 17, 1945 (1945-02-17) (age 64) Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1964–present
Spouse(s)	Barry Davies

Brenda Fricker (born February 17, 1945) is an Academy Award winning Irish actress.

Life and career

Her mother, Bina, was a teacher at Stratford College, and her father, Desmond, was an officer in the Department of Agriculture and a journalist for The Irish Times.^[1] In her teens, she aspired to follow her parent's footsteps into journalism.^[2]

Before becoming an actress, Fricker was assistant to the art editor of the Irish Times, with hopes to become a reporter. At age 19, she became an actress "by chance",^[2] her feature film career began with a small uncredited part in the 1964 film Of Human Bondage, based on the 1915 novel by W. Somerset Maugham.

She first came to wider public attention in the United Kingdom for her role as Megan Roach in the BBC One television drama series Casualty. She played this role from 1986 to 1990 on a regular basis, with some return guest appearances later.

Fricker then acted in several films. She won the 1989 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Christy Brown's mother in My Left Foot; among others, she thanked Christy Brown in her acceptance speech, simply for "being alive" and also dedicated the Oscar to Mrs. Brown, Christy's mother saying, "Anyone who gave birth twenty-one times would deserve one of these." She next co-starred in the 1990 film The Field.

She acted in a string of successful films, and continued her television work during this period. She starred in Australian produced short series Brides of Christ (1991). She then co-starred in the 1992 TV miniseries Seekers alongside Josette Simon, produced by Sarah Lawson. Key film appearances include roles in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and So I Married an Axe Murderer, as a Weekly World News-obsessed Scottish immigrant. 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.

She left Casualty 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".^[2] Fricker bowed out as Megan in December 1990, after playing the character in 65 episodes, starting with the very first episode in September 1986. Then in February 1998 she was in two episodes, where Megan attended the wedding of her former colleagues Charlie Fairhead and Barbara 'Baz' Samuels. In 2007 she returned for a single episode for Red Nose Day. The episode was written by Richard Curtis.^[3]

Most recently, Fricker has appeared in Closing the Ring, Richard Attenborough's post World War II drama, also starring Shirley Maclaine, Christopher Plummer and Mischa Barton.

On 4 October 2009, it was announced that Fricker would make another return to Casualty as Megan for five episodes, before her character is killed off.

Personal life

Fricker currently lives in The Liberties in Dublin. She was previously married to director Barry Davies. She says that her loves include her pet dogs, drinking Guinness, reading poetry and playing snooker (she once said that she had taken 'on the whole crew of My Left Foot, "I played pool against 17 of them, and beat them all" Brenda once said.^[2]).

Fricker has been reported to be difficult to work with, and has been called "too reclusive for her own good sometimes".^[1] She is also known for her outspoken views on a variety of matters.^[4][5]

Real life quotes

• If you're doing a scene and you think you're doing it wrong, just swear in the middle of it and then the director can't use it. It's an arrogant way of doing it, but unfortunately it's the only way of self-protection. You have to be a bit anarchic sometimes.
• When you are lying drunk at the airport you're Irish. When you win an Oscar you're British.
• (on her character in Casualty) Megan was the mother we all want, full of love and understanding, I'm none of that, I'm not a mother and never will be and I wasn't even a very good wife, I'm not even a good nurse to my father now he's old and frail. I'm much more rebellious that Megan. I couldn't do her job ever. Just go down to the hospital and watch what they do for an eighth of the salary I earned pretending to be a nurse. It makes you blush. You break your heart with people being kicked in the teeth by life. I couldn't handle it, I'd be reduced to tears.^[2]

Filmography

Selected theatre work

• At the 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^[2]
  • Typhad Mary
  • Macbeth
  • Outskirts
  • TV Times
  • The Accrington Pals
  • The Irish Play
  • Lost World
  • The Weeping of Angels

See also

• List of people on stamps of Ireland

References

External links

• Brenda Fricker at the Internet Movie Database
• MSN Movies profile
• Fricker at HOLBY.TV