Shuhada’ Sadaqat Biography

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.