Timeline Sinéad O'Connor

Irish singer-songwriter and activist whose powerful voice and outspoken nature made her one of the most distinctive artists of her generation. She achieved worldwide fame with her 1990 cover of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U and won a Grammy for Best Alternative Album. She was also known for her advocacy on issues including child abuse, women's rights and religious reform.

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Sinéad O'Connor 15

1966 Sinéad O'Connor born in Dublin Born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor in Glenageary, County Dublin. She endured a difficult childhood marked by her parents' divorce and alleged abuse by her mother.
1983 – 1986 Early Musical Career Discovered singing with the band Ton Ton Macoute in the mid-1980s, having previously been sent to a reform school where a nun gave her her first guitar.
1985 Mother's Death Her mother was killed in a car accident. The complicated relationship with her abusive mother would become a central theme in O'Connor's music and public life.
1987 The Lion and the Cobra Released her debut album The Lion and the Cobra, which included the hit single Mandinka and won her critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination.
1990 Nothing Compares 2 U Released the album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, featuring her cover of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U, which reached number one worldwide. Named Rolling Stone's Artist of the Year in 1991.
1991 Grammy Win Won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album for I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.
1992 Am I Not Your Girl? Released Am I Not Your Girl?, an album of jazz and pop standards that showcased her vocal range beyond alternative rock.
1992 Saturday Night Live Incident Tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live while performing a version of Bob Marley's War, protesting child abuse in the Catholic Church. The act made her one of the most controversial figures in popular music.
1994 Universal Mother Released Universal Mother, an album exploring electronic-based meditations on motherhood and identity.
1999 Ordained as a Priest Was ordained as a priest in the breakaway Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church, taking the name Mother Bernadette Mary.
2002 – 2005 Irish Roots and Reggae Albums Released Sean-Nós Nua (2002), exploring traditional Irish music, and Throw Down Your Arms (2005), a reggae album reflecting her love of the genre.
2018 Conversion to Islam Announced her conversion to Islam, taking the name Shuhada' Sadaqat, while continuing to perform as Sinéad O'Connor.
2021 Rememberings Memoir Published her memoir Rememberings, which received broad critical praise for its candour and wit.
2022 Death of Sinéad O'Connor's Son Shane Her 17-year-old son Shane died by suicide in January 2022. O'Connor was devastated, later cancelling her upcoming album and performances.
2023 Sinéad O'Connor dies in London Found unresponsive at her home in south London and pronounced dead at the age of 56. A coroner later confirmed she died of natural causes. Her funeral in Bray, County Wicklow, drew hundreds of mourners.