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‘Home Alone 2’, ‘My Left Foot’ actress Brenda Fricker dies at 81

Brenda Fricker holds up her Oscar after winning best supporting actress for her role in ‘My Left Foot’ on March 26, 1990, at the 62nd Academy Awards. (Bettmann via Getty Images)

Brenda Fricker, an Oscar-winning actress also known for a memorable role in Home Alone 2, has died, according to her agent. She was 81.

Fricker’s agent Phil Belfield confirmed Fricker died Thursday “after a period of ill health” in a statement to ABC News.

“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,” his statement reads.

Belfield continued, “We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her. I was honoured to know, love and work with her and she will always have a place in my heart and in the heart of so many film and TV fans the world over.”

Fricker was born in Dublin, Ireland, on Feb. 17, 1945. Her career as an actress found her appearing in over 30 film and TV roles.

Fricker won a best supporting actress Oscar in 1990 for her role in My Left Foot. She played Daniel Day-Lewis’ mother in the movie.

Audiences would likely recognize her as the Central Park pigeon lady in the 1992 sequel film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

She recently published a memoir titled She Died Young, which appeared on the Irish Sunday Times bestseller list. Fricker was also recently granted the honor of the Freedom of the City of Dublin, “which she was particularly thrilled and proud of,” her agent said.

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Danish high schoolers will have to verbally defend written assignments, in government move to combat AI cheating

By CNN
(CNN) — High school students in Denmark will be required to verbally defend their written assignments as part of emergency government measures aimed at combating AI cheating.A verbal defense will be needed for all exams written at home, Denmark’s Ministry of Education announced in a statement Thursday, adding that it will work with schools to create the best framework for this.The rule, which comes into force immediately, applies to students in upper secondary education, which typically begins around age 16. It will include the approximately 9,000 students enrolled in the country’s two-year Higher Preparatory Examination program, who have to submit major written assignments each year, according to the ministry.The ministry is also calling on high schools to use tools to monitor students’ screens during exams, as well as a firewall to filter the content they can access during exams and in class.In addition, it is encouraging schools to get students to complete more assignments in school, under controlled environments, to make supervision easier.“Unfortunately, we have a problem with students using AI to cheat in upper secondary school,” Education Minister Magnus Heunicke said in the statement. “Action is needed now, and we are starting with these three initiatives.”“In the coming period, I will be engaging with schools, teachers and students about what can be done both in the short and longer term to ensure that AI does not undermine students’ skills, academic abilities and, not least, their ability to think for themselves,” he continued.‘Important first step’Three upper secondary school organisations — representing school leaders, teachers and students — welcomed the moves but called for more long-term solutions due to the “rapid pace of technological development,” the high schools association, Danske Gymnasier, said in a statement Thursday.Anders Frikke, chair of the Danish Association of Upper Secondary School Teachers (GL), said teachers “appreciate” that the education minister “has acted both swiftly and decisively. However, we also have additional proposals that we hope the Minister will consider.”“These include requiring students to clearly declare when AI has been used in major written assignments and ensuring that preparation for oral examinations takes place without access to AI,” he added.While students also “welcome” the emergency initiatives, “it is important that the increased amount of written work carried out at school is organised in a way that genuinely strengthens students’ learning, rather than simply moving the work from home to school,” Oscar Tønsberg Hoffmann, chair of the Danish Upper Secondary Students’ Association (DGS), said in the statement.He added that it is “essential that students have the opportunity to contribute to the development of longer-term solutions.”The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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