A biopic about late Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor is in development, it has emerged.
Variety reports that the film will tell the story of the early life and career of O’Connor, who died in 2023 aged 56.
Irish production company ie: entertainment, behind the critically adored documentary Nothing Compares – for which they worked with O’Connor – are reportedly leading the project.
They are apparently working alongside Nine Daughters – who produced acclaimed films including God’s Creatures (2022) starring Paul Mescal and Emily Watson, and Lady Macbeth (2016) starring Florence Pugh – and See-Saw Films, behind the Oscar-winning 2021 film The Power of the Dog.
According to Variety, the biopic will seek to tell the story of how “one young woman from Dublin took on the world, examining how her global fame may have been built on her talent, but her name became synonymous with her efforts to draw attention to the crimes committed by the Catholic Church and the Irish state”.
O’Connor’s 1990 album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got was an international success, propelled by the lead single “Nothing Compares 2 U”. The album and single achieved numerous accolades, including a Brit Award and a Grammy, while O’Connor also became the first woman to win MTV Video of the Year.
Two years later, she caused international controversy when she ripped up a picture of the pope on Saturday Night Live, while shouting “fight the real enemy!” in protest against the Catholic Church. She converted to Islam in 2018.
In her 2021 memoir, Rememberings, O’Connor recalled the reaction to her tearing the picture: “Total stunned silence in the audience. And when I walk backstage, literally not a human being is in sight. All doors have closed. Everyone has vanished. Including my manager, who locks himself in his room for three days and unplugs his phone.”
She later remarked: “Everyone wants a pop star, see? But I am a protest singer. I just had stuff to get off my chest. I had no desire for fame.”
The biopic is reportedly being directed by Josephine Decker, who steered the 2020 film Shirley, starring Elisabeth Moss as gothic novelist Shirley Jackson.
