Sinead O'Connor Biography

Sinéad O'Connor was born into a turbulent household in Dublin, Ireland on December 8th, 1966. Divorce and unrest took their toll, and by her teens she had been expelled from Catholic school, then sent to a reformatory for shoplifting. Throughout, her one solace was music. She happened to be singing at a relative's wedding when the drummer from the well-known Irish rock band In Tua Nua heard her, and recruited her as a songwriter for the band. She showed a knack for both composition and singing.

Sinéad quickly gained local notoriety throughout the coffeehouse circuit of Dublin. Meanwhile, she enrolled at the Dublin College of Music, where she studied piano and voice. In 1985, she signed a contract with Ensign records, and promptly moved to London to record her first album, The Lion and the Cobra. A critical success, the record also scored an alternative radio hit, "Mandinka."

Everyone wants what she's got:

It was her sophomore album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, that propelled O'Connor into the international spotlight in 1990. The success began with the release of an entrancing single, her cover version of "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Prince. It stormed the charts, and when the album was finally released, it went straight to number one, eventually reaching that spot in 17 countries.

Upon reaching the big-time, O'Connor immediately displayed a penchant for causing controversy. She was quoted in the press speaking in support of the IRA terrorist organization, and against her popular countrymen U2. She also declared that she would not perform if the "Star-Spangled Banner" preceded one of her shows, and declined a spot on Saturday Night Live in protest of the misogynistic material of the host, comedian Andrew Dice Clay. To cap off a year of success and controversy, Sinéad refused to accept her four 1991 Grammy nominations.

Controversial O'Connor:

The title of her 1992 follow-up record, Am I Not Your Girl?, is perhaps a mocking appeal to the backlash against her. Unfortunately, the album's success was quickly overshadowed by O'Connor's infamous act of tearing up a picture of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live. This time, the backlash was insurmountable, as she was booed offstage at a subsequent Bob Dylan tribute concert.

Sinéad then returned to Dublin, and spent a couple of years studying Opera and dabbling in theatre, playing Ophelia in a production of Hamlet. She toured with Peter Gabriel's summer WOMAD (World Of Music, Arts & Dance) festival, and finally returned to the music scene with 1994's Universal Mother. It earned good reviews but bad sales.

Following another few years of down time, during which she had her second child Roisin, a daughter, (her first was a son, Jake), and studied for the priesthood, Sinéad released Gospel Oak in 1997. It was well received enough to finally overcome her stigma. When she toured with the 1998 Lilith Fair Festival for women in rock, she was received as something of an elder stateswoman of independent-minded female songwriters.

kiss her, she's irish

In 1999 Sinéad was ordained in the Latin Tridentine Church. The following year, she released another album, Faith & Courage, which she followed up with a collection of Irish folk songs called Sean-Nós Nua. Despite her increasing productivity, Sinéad decided she was tired of the celebrity life, and in April 2003, announced her retirement from the music business.

Sinéad currently lives in Dublin with her husband, Nick Sommerlad, and is currently pregnant with their first child (the other two kids were fathered by two different men). The jury is still out on whether or not she is likely to return to making music.

SINEAD O'CONNOR PICTURES

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SINEAD O'CONNOR BIOGRAPHY