Heartbreaking story behind Sinead O’Connor’s trademark look

The late singer was known for her shaved head, and inspired a wave of young stars following suit – but the initial reason for it was heartbreaking.

Plenty have followed, but legendary Irish performer Sinead O’Connor’s shaved head was arguably the most famous of all time.

The Nothing Compares 2 U singer, who died this week at the age of 56, was known for her androgynous style, and stuck to it for the entirety of her career.

“I don’t feel like me unless I have my hair shaved,” O’Connor once said.

“So even when I’m an old lady, I’m going to have it.”

O’Connor revealed the heartbreaking full story of why she started shaving it off in an interview with Dr. Phil in 2017.

“When we were children, my sister had beautiful red hair, glorious red hair. That’s why I’d be jealous of her,” she said.

“But my mother took it into her head that my sister’s hair was ugly and horrible and disgusting. And she started — when I had long hair — she would introduce us as her pretty daughter and her ugly daughter. And that’s why I cut my hair off.”

O’Connor added that it would have felt “dangerous” to wear her hair long while growing up in Dublin.

“I didn’t want to be raped. I didn’t want to be molested. I did not want to dress like a girl. I did not want to be pretty.”

Her hairstyle became iconic.

She declared that she’d shave it for the rest of her life. Picture: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Despite her obvious musical talent, O’Connor’s bold look was the subject of tension between herself and record executives ahead of the launch of her debut album in 1987, The Lion and the Cobra.

“They wanted me to grow my hair long, wear short skirts and high heels and makeup and write songs that wouldn’t challenge anything,” the singer told The Sun in 2022.

“I wasn’t going to have any man telling me what to do, or who to be.”

So rather than appease them, O’Connor shaved off what little was remaining of her hair.

As her first husband and musical collaborator, John Reynolds, later told The Sun: “They looked at Sinead’s shaved head and went, ‘Now we know what we are dealing with’.

“It was a powerful statement from a woman, because it said, ‘Don’t f**k with me!’”

Stars including Florence Pugh have opted for the same style in recent years. Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

The shaved head was later adopted by many high-profile women in the entertainment industry, including Demi Lovato, Kristen Stewart and, more recently, Florence Pugh.

“I wanted vanity out of the picture,” the Oppenheimer star told Radio Times of her new look.

“Hollywood is very glamorous — especially for women — and it’s hard for an audience to see past that.

“Whenever I’ve not needed to be glam or have a full face of makeup, I fight to keep it that way … The only thing that people can look at then is your raw face.”

Originally published as Heartbreaking story behind Sinead O’Connor’s trademark look