This person died in 2023, age 56. As a child she said her mother physically abused her. As a teen she was arrested for shoplifting and sent to reform school. She would later convert to Islam, adopting a new name while still answering to the one the world knew. She never shrank from controversy—most famously tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live to protest Catholic Church abuse. Today’s dead celebrity is Sinead O’Connor.

If you liked this episode, you might also like Episode 120 Crazy Sane (Waylon Jennings) or Episode 87 Simply the Best (Tina Turner).

MEDIA CLIPPINGS

14th Street Studios

Hustling Around Town, with Rachel Huss

Better Call Daddy, with Reena Friedman Watts, Apple Podcasts

You Mic, with Freddy Crus, Apple Podcast

LINKS:

Transcript of this episode

NYT Obituary for Sinead O’Connor

Sinead O’Connor 1992 SNL appearance

Nothing Compares 2 U official video

Fearless Documentary

Sinéad O'Connor aka Shuhada’ Sadaqat on The Tommy Tiernan Show in 2020

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads

Famous & Gravy official website

Sinead O’Connor was an Irish singer and activist whose haunting voice made Nothing Compares 2 U a global anthem. Known for tearing up a photo of the Pope on Saturday Night Live, she became a rebel icon who challenged the Catholic Church scandal long before others dared. A Dublin musician shaped by pain and conviction, O’Connor mixed mental health and faith, art and protest, earning both exile and admiration as one of pop’s most fearless truth-tellers.

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Blunt Grace

Famous and Gravy: Dead celebrity biographies