Irish Pop Star Linda Nolan Dies at 65, 20 Years After She Was First Diagnosed with Cancer: 'A Beacon of Love'

Linda Nolan, the Irish singer who rose to fame with her sisters in the pop group The Nolans, has died. She was 65 years old.

Her death, which came more than 20 years after she was first diagnosed with cancer, was announced in a statement shared on the Nolans’ X account on Wednesday, January 15.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Linda Nolan. She faced terminal cancer with courage, grace and determination, inspiring millions,” the statement said. “Surrounded by her family, she passed peacefully. Pop icon and beacon of hope, Linda will never be forgotten ❤️”

Singer Linda Nolan, from the Anglo-Irish vocal group The Nolans (formerly The Nolan Sisters), London, December 1980.

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Her agent told the BBC that Nolan was admitted to hospital with double pneumonia over the weekend, fell into a coma on the morning of January 14 and died the next day.

Although The Nolans line-up has changed slightly over the years, the singer rose to fame with her sisters Maureen, Anne, Bernie, Denise and Coleen starting in the late 1970s. The group released more than a dozen albums together, and were best known for their 1979 disco hit “I’m in the Mood for Dancing,” which reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart and has been streamed over 29 million times on Spotify.

Other hits from the group — who were the first Irish group to sell more than a million records worldwide — include “Gotta Pull Myself Together” and “Attention to Me.” Nolan left the cast in 1983, but later reunited with her sisters for several comeback performances, the BBC reports.

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Portrait of Irish girl group The Nolans, London, England, 1981. Top left right Maureen, Anne and Bernadette, front left right Linda and Denise.

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Nolan was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, and it returned in 2017. By 2023, the disease had spread to her brain, the BBC reported.

“What scares me the most? I mean dying. I mean, I’m not afraid to die. I am sad that this will happen – she said ALL RIGHT! magazine in December. “I’m fine. I had four cancers and two brain tumors. So everything is changing. Even little things that I didn’t know were changing. And let it happen again. It’s going to happen anyway, so don’t fall into a slump and think, ‘What am I going to do?’ Just make time for the people you love.”

Sister Bernie died of breast cancer in 2013 at the age of 52, while Anne was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time in 2020 and is now cancer free. Coleen announced her skin cancer diagnosis in July 2023.

“I am completely devastated by the death of my sister Linda. Linda was a beacon of love, kindness and strength,” Coleen wrote in an Instagram post. “Her wit, humor and laughter were contagious, her presence could light up any room. Linda had a heart full of compassion and always knew how to bring comfort and joy to those around her.”

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