‘Home Alone’ pigeon lady speaks of lonely Christmas, despite new viral fame

Like her character in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, retired actress Brenda Fricker will be “home alone” for Christmas. She played the lonely pigeon lady in the movie and has now gone viral as a staple of holiday cinema.

“I’m 75 now, and I would be lying if I said it would be a nice and happy Christmas because I’m old and I live alone, ” the 75-year-old Irish actress shared on Ray D’Arcy’s Radio 1 Show. “It can be very dark.” 

This 2020 she generated refreshed fame- thanks to viral “lookalike” memes and a Saturday Night Live homage. Host Kristen Wiig’s homage to the lonely pigeon lady on SNL and UK television personality Piers Morgan’s denial of wild rumors that he portrayed the pigeon lady made  Fricker go viral.

“I turn the phone off and put the blinds down. I do pre-record some good programs and I have my dog and I get myself through it that way,” Fricker, who retired from acting in 2014 told the same outlet. “I don’t want to be sounding kind of negative but it is a different kind of Christmas, that’s all.”

“While I don’t find Christmas all that difficult, what I do find difficult is New Year’s Eve,” she added.

Fricker had remained unmarried since her divorce from her husband of nine years- director Barry Davies in 1988. In the film, her fiancé dumps her, causing her to live a solitary life until she met Kevin McCallister (played by Macauley Culkin). 

When asked if she speaks to Culkin anymore, Fricker revealed that she does think about him from time to time, although they have stayed out of contact.

“No, I don’t [hear from Macaulay], I worry about him but I’m not in touch with him,” she revealed.

Brenda Fricker’s career span of six decades includes her winning Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in the drama My Left Foot, released in the year 1989.