Sinéad O’Connor, the Irish singer whose discography includes hits like “Nothing Compares 2 U” and was dedicated to speaking out on various issues, has died at 56. Her family confirmed in a statement to RTE, saying, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
She was born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O’Connor in Dublin on December 8, 1966. Her childhood was rocky due to her parent’s divorce. In 2021, she told PEOPLE Magazine that her mother physically and psychologically abused her and “spent a good time trying to destroy my reproductive system.” She said, “It was a torture chamber, really. But I forgive my mother; she just wasn’t well.” When she was 13, O’Connor ran away to live with her father, but at 15, she was sent to a Magdalene asylum for “unruly” women for 18 months after being caught shoplifting.
O’Connor shot to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album “The Lion and the Cobra,” achieving worldwide success in 1990 with a new arrangement of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.” The song was nominated for four Grammys in 1991. Still, O’Connor boycotted that year’s ceremony, writing an open letter that the Academy “acknowledges mostly the commercial side of art.”
Two years after the massive hit, O’Connor made headlines again with an infamous appearance on “Saturday Night Live” where she tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II after performing an acapella version of “War” by Bob Marley. When she finished, she told the audience to “Fight the real enemy.” The stunt sparked adverse backlash toward O’Connor, though she said she didn’t regret it.
She wrote in her 2021 book Remeberings, “A lot of people say or think that tearing up the pope’s photo derailed my career. That’s not how I feel about it. I feel that having a number one record derailed my career, and my tearing the photo put me back on the right track.” 2021 was the same year O’Connor announced her retirement from music and touring, writing that she’d “gotten older” and was “tired.” However, she changed her mind days later, saying, “I love my job. Making music, that is. I don’t like the consequences of being a talented and outspoken woman, being that I have to wade through a wall of prejudice every day to make a living.”
In January 2022, she announced the death of her 17-year-old son Shane, one of her four children, shortly after he’d gone missing. She tweeted, “My beautiful son, Nevi’im Nesta Ali Shane O’Connor, the very light of my life, decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God. May he rest in peace, and may no one follow his example. My baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace.”
In her last social media post, Sinead tweeted a photo of her late son and wrote, “Been living as undead night creature since. He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul.” O’Connor is survived by her three children.