Sinéad O’Connor became a superstar in her mid-20s and was known as much for her private struggles and provocative actions as for her fierce and expressive music.
LONDON, UK — Police say the death of the gifted Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor is not being treated as suspicious.
O’Connor was found unresponsive shortly before noon Wednesday at her home in southeast London and pronounced dead at the scene, the Met Police said. They did not say how she died but said her death was not considered suspicious.
No cause of death has been released and the coroner told the BBC an autopsy will be conducted with results taking up to “several weeks.”
“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,” the singer’s family announced Wednesday in a statement reported by the BBC and RTE.
O’Connor became a superstar in her mid-20s and was known as much for her private struggles and provocative actions as for her fierce and expressive music.
She was public about her mental illness, saying that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. O’Connor posted a Facebook video in 2017 from a New Jersey motel where she had been living, saying that she was staying alive for the sake of others and that if it were up to her, she’d be “gone.”
When her teenage son Shane died by suicide last year, O’Connor tweeted there was “no point living without him” and she was soon hospitalized. Her final tweet, sent July 17, read: “For all mothers of Suicided children,” and linked to a Tibetan compassion mantra.
Recognizable by her shaved head and with a multi-octave mezzo soprano of extraordinary emotional range, O’Connor began her career singing on the streets of Dublin and soon rose to international fame.
She was a star from her 1987 debut album, “The Lion and the Cobra,” and became a sensation in 1990 with her cover of Prince’s ballad “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a seething, shattering performance that topped charts from Europe to Australia and was heightened by a promotional video featuring the gray-eyed O’Connor in intense close-up.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. The U.S. suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
