Sinead O'Connor, the 1990s pop music star who rose to fame for her 1990 smash single Nothing Compares 2 U, and then became a lightning rod for controversy after ripping up a picture of the pope on Saturday Night Live, has passed away at the age of 56.

O'Connor, an Irish singer who garnered international attention when Nothing Compares 2 U rose to the top of the pop charts, never fit the prototypical model of pop stars at the time, and in fact considered herself as more punk and protest music influenced. She famously rocked a shaved head throughout her career, and chose to often wear shapeless wardrobe on stage, challenging long-standing ideals of femininity and sexuality for a female performing artist.

When she appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1992, Sinead O'Connor ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II live on the air, which promptly halted the upward trajectory of her career. O'Connor explained the action was her way of protesting the abuses of the Catholic Church in Ireland and across the globe, though she was harshly and nearly universally condemned for the action at the time.

More recently, when the full extent of the Catholic Church‘s sexual abuses of children was finally revealed, history came to judge O'Connor more forgivingly, though she chose to withdraw from the public spotlight and lived a quiet life in Ireland in her later years.

O'Connor detailed her rise and fall from grace in her memoir Rememberings, in which she reveals the physical abuse she endured from her mother, and her toxic working relationship with Prince (who composed Nothing Compares 2 U).

Sinead O'Connor's family put out a statement on her death to the Irish national broadcaster RTE on Wednesday, saying “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.” O'Connor is survived by her three children. Her son, Shane, died tragically last year at age 17.