Sinéad O’Connor, Irish Singer of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U,’ Dies at 56
Sinéad O’Connor, the Irish singer who made headlines in the ’90s for songs including “Nothing Compares 2 U” and ripping up a photo of the Pope John Paul II on “Saturday Night Live,” has died at the age of 56, the Irish Times reported on Wednesday.
She was the subject of the 2022 Showtime documentary “Nothing Compares,” directed by Kathryn Ferguson. It opens with O’Connor being booed at a Bob Dylan concert at Madison Square Garden in 1992 following her appearance on “SNL” in which she ripped a photo of the Pope in half on live TV to protest child abuse in the Catholic Church. The scandal adversely affected her career.
In 2021, she wrote of her own traumatic childhood abuse in her memoir “Rememberings.” Commenting on her struggles with mental health, which included an announcement on Facebook in 2016 that she had just overdosed, she told People,”I was mental. But I don’t regret those ’embarrassing’ videos. I’m quite proud, in a weird way, that I was that open … The nature of a singer is to be emotionally honest. I’ve always been pretty open. And I have no regrets.”
Her first album, “The Lion and the Cobra” was released in 1987: It sold 2,500,000 copies worldwide and spawned hits including “Mandinka” and “I Want Your (Hands On Me).”
She most recently sang the theme for Starz series “Outlander.”
O’Connor is survived by her three children. Her son, Shane, died last year at age 17.
The singer and guitarist was born on December 8, 1966 in Glenageary in County Dublin.
TheWrap has reached out to O’Connor’s reps for comment.
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