Facts about Shuhada' Sadaqat

Shuhada’ Sadaqat died at 56 years old
Died: July 26, 2023
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Best known as: The bald-headed Irish singer of "Nothing Compares 2U"

     
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Shuhada’ Sadaqat Biography

Name at birth: Sinead O'Connor

Irish singer Shuhada’ Sadaqat (formerly Sinead O’Connor) was the singer who hit it big with her 1990 single  “Nothing Compares 2 U,” but later was known as much for her offstage controversies as her successful music career.

She was born Sinead O’Connor in Dublin. Her first album, The Lion and The Cobra, was released in 1987, and its popular and critical acclaim made her an instant star of pop music. She then produced her second album in 1990, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, a critical success that included “Nothing Compares 2 U” (which was written by Prince).

Over the course of her career, O’Connor became as well-known for her political beliefs as for her music; she once shredded a photo of Pope John Paul II on U.S. television. She earned a reputation as a controversial artist or, in some cases, an inadvertent argument for self-censorship.

In 2003 she announced her retirement from the music business, but she returned with the 2007 album Theology. O’Connor returned to form in 2011, when she made headlines for her very blunt, public appeal for a sex partner. By the end of that year she had married and divorced her fourth husband, Barry Herridge (the marriage lasted 16 days), and completed a new album, What About I Be Me And You Be You.

In 2017 she changed her name to Magda Davitt, saying she wanted to free herself from “patriarchal slave names” and “parental curses.” In October of 2018 she announced that she had converted to Islam and would henceforth be known as Shuhada’ Davitt; the next year she further changed her name to Shuhada’ Sadaqat.

She died in 2023 of unspecified causes. Her family released a statement that began, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,” but did not release further details.

Extra credit

As Sinead O’Connor she was married four times: to music producer John Reynolds (from 1989 until their divorce in 1991); to Nick Sommerlad (from 2001 until their divorce in 2002)​; to musician Steve Cooney (from 2010 until their divorce in 2011); and to Barry Herridge (married in 2011 and divorced the same year)… She had four children: one, Jake (born 1987) with John Reynolds, and three others by other men. Her son Shane, born in 2004 and fathered by musician Donal Lunny, committed suicide in 2022.


     

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