Celebrity
Sinéad O’Connor Dies At 56: Celebrities & Fans Pay Tribute To The Grammy Nominee
Stars like Toni Collette and Michael Imperioli are paying tribute to the “Nothing Compares 2 U” hitmaker.
Sinéad O’Connor has died at the age of 56. The Irish singer-songwriter’s death was first reported by The Irish Times and confirmed to BBC. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,” her family said in a statement to BBC. “Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.” No date or cause of death has been released.
O’Connor started her career by singing on the streets of Dublin, releasing her debut album The Lion and the Cobra in 1987. But she had her true breakout moment at the beginning of the ’90s, with her iconic cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” becoming a No. 1 hit around the world and earning her three Grammy nominations.
The artist also became known for her political activism, especially after tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live in 1992 in protest of the Catholic Church. She went on to release 10 studio albums in her career, her most recent being 2014’s I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss, and become a strong advocate for mental health awareness, while remaining a staunch critic of the Catholic Church.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar paid tribute to O’Connor in a statement posted to Twitter, saying she “was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare.”
Soon, other celebrities followed suit on social media, from the singer’s musical peers and followers to actors like Toni Collette and The White Lotus star Michael Imperioli. P!nk paid tribute at her Cincinnati show later that night by performing “Nothing Compares 2 U” with Brandi Carlile, explaining her sentimental ties to the late singer. “When I was a little girl, my mom grew up in Atlantic City and I used to go down to the Ocean City Boardwalk with my ten dollars and I would make a demo tape,” she said, according to Billboard. “I would make a little cassette tape and imagine it was my demo for the record company, and it would always be either ‘Greatest Love of All’ by Whitney Houston or ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ by Sinéad O'Connor.”
O’Connor’s passing comes over a year after the death of her 17-year-old son Shane Lunny. She is survived by her first son Jake Reynolds, daughter Roisin Waters, and youngest child Yeshua Bonadio.
