Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of Irish rock band The Cranberries, died suddenly at age 46 on Monday in London, the BBC reported.
Her publicist confirmed O'Riordan’s death, telling the BBC: "The lead singer with the Irish band The Cranberries was in London for a short recording session.”
The statement did not shed light on the circumstances of her death.
"No further details are available at this time," the statement said. "Family members are devastated to hear the news and have requested privacy at this very difficult time."
According to The Associated Press, O'Riordan was from Limerick, Ireland, and was the youngest of seven children. She joined the band that later became The Cranberries as a teenager.
“I’ve been singing since I was 5 years old,” she told The Irish News last year. “By the time I was 12, I was writing my own songs so, yeah, music has always been part of me. To be honest, I’ve never imagined doing anything else. I think at one time though, my mum, who’s deeply religious, might have had a notion of me becoming a nun!”
The band saw international success in the 1990s with songs such as "Zombie" and "Linger." Their debut album "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?" sold millions of copies, and subsequent albums sold in great numbers as well.
The band split up in 2003, and O'Riordan pursued a solo career, releasing the albums "Are You Listening" in 2007 and "No Baggage" in 2009.
The band later reunited and released the album "Roses" in 2012.
They released "Something Else" in 2017 and were scheduled to tour Europe and North America, but the tour was cut short when O'Riordan suffered from back problems.
The AP noted that in 2014, O'Riordan was accused of assaulting three police officers and a flight attendant on a flight from New York to Ireland. She pleaded guilty and paid a fine.
The singer was once married to the former Duran Duran tour manager Don Burton and they had three children before they separated.
O'Riordan counted popes and presidents among her fans.
“I was invited to sing at The Vatican several times; it was a real honor,” O'Riordan said in her Irish News interview last year. “I was chuffed to see inside the place. But one of the best things was taking my mum to meet the late Pope John Paul II. She was blown away. He was such as good man, very kind and I loved him.”
Irish President Michael D. Higgins said in a statement that the O'Riordan and her band "had an immense influence on rock and pop music in Ireland and internationally."
"To all those who follow and support Irish music, Irish musicians and the performing arts, her death will be a big loss," he said.
