A biopic about the early life and career of iconic Irish musician Sinéad O'Connor is in development, Variety has learned exclusively. The film is being produced by See-Saw Films, known for 'Slow Horses' and 'The Power of the Dog', alongside Irish production companies ie: entertainment and Nine Daughters.
Josephine Decker, director of 'Shirley', will helm the project from a script by Irish writer Stacey Gregg. Producers include Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly of Nine Daughters, Iain Canning and Emile Sherman of See-Saw Films, and Neil Chordia. Tim Clark of ie: entertainment will executive produce. BBC Film is funding development.
The film will explore O'Connor's early life and rise in the music industry, focusing on how a young Dublin woman took on the world. It aims to show how her global fame was built on talent, but her name became synonymous with her activism, particularly against the Catholic Church and the Irish state.
O'Connor died in 2023 at age 56. She won a Grammy for her 1990 album 'I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got', which featured the hit 'Nothing Compares 2 U'. She famously tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II on 'Saturday Night Live' in 1992, sparking controversy.
