New Biopic on Sinead O’Connor’s Early Years in the Works

An upcoming biopic will delve into the formative years of the late Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor. The project is led by Dublin-based ie: entertainment, the same company that collaborated with O’Connor on the 2022 documentary Nothing Compares. O’Connor tragically passed away from natural causes in July 2023 at 56 years old.

Industry sources reveal that Irish indie producers Nine Daughters (God’s Creatures, Lady Macbeth) and See Saw Films (Slow Horses, The Power of the Dog) are co-financing the film. Representatives for O’Connor and ie: entertainment have not yet responded to requests for comment.

According to Variety, development began soon after the documentary’s release, with director Josephine Decker (Shirley) attached to helm a screenplay by Irish writer Stacey Gregg (Here Before, Ballywalter). Veteran music executive Tim Clark, known for managing Robbie Williams, joins as executive producer via ie: entertainment, while BBC Films underwrites the project’s development.

The narrative is set to chart O’Connor’s ascent from Dublin’s local scene to international acclaim, highlighting how her exceptional talent and fearless activism against the Catholic Church and Irish state defined her enduring legacy.

O’Connor burst onto the music scene in 1987 with her daring debut, The Lion and the Cobra, which fused pulsating pop, gothic rock, confessional folk, shoegaze, and ethereal chants. Her striking bald appearance and commanding vocals on tracks like “Mandinka” and “I Want Your (Hands on Me)” earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Unflinching in her critique of injustice, O’Connor’s 1990 sophomore album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, featured her iconic cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” secured her a Grammy, and cemented her status as a global superstar.

Her outspokenness peaked in 1992 when she tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live, admonishing viewers to “fight the real enemy.” This act—committed nearly a decade before the Vatican formally acknowledged its history of abuse—drew backlash from celebrities like Madonna, Joe Pesci, and the Anti-Defamation League, and led to boos at a Bob Dylan tribute concert at Madison Square Garden.

Over the next decades, O’Connor released eight more studio albums, exploring everything from reggae and traditional Irish music to mainstream pop.

This biopic joins a recent surge of films about rock and pop icons, following the triumphs of Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, and last year’s Bob Dylan feature A Complete Unknown, and leading into upcoming projects like Bruce Springsteen’s Deliver Me From Nowhere, multiple Beatles films slated for 2028, and a potential series on Madonna’s early career.

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