Dolores O’Riordan — who found international stardom fronting Irish rock band The Cranberries — has passed away at the age of 46, putting an end to a series of bizarre scandals that outlasted her band's fame!
Photo credit: Getty Images
The singer struggled with her sudden success after "Zombie" became a worldwide hit in 1994. The Cranberries would sell over 40 million records before Delores' troubles overshadowed the band's reputation. Her erratic behavior and skeletal build sparked rumors of an eating disorder — and she later admitted to having a breakdown: "It was only later, when I saw pictures of myself, that I realized how terrible I looked."
Photo credit: Getty Images
After The Cranberries' broke up in 2003, a former nanny accused Dolores and her then-husband Dan Burton of false imprisonment. The nanny lost a lawsuit, except for one small settlement. Dolores had a brief comeback when
Adam Sandler had her perform the Cranberries' hit "Linger" in his 2006 film "Click" — but the self-described "extreme person" only made it through a single season of Ireland's version of "The Voice."
The mother-of-four finally went public with a diagnosis of being bipolar in May 2017 — after pleading guilty to attacking a flight attendant in late 2015. Carmel Coyne worked with Aer Lingus when she took Dolores to court for assaulting her after the singer refused to take her seat when a flight was descending.
Photo credit: Getty Images
"Carmel is lovely," Dolores insisted. "I know Carmel a long time from flying over and back transatlantic, since I had the little wee babies in the buggies...She knows for a fact that it was an accident with my metal shoes. I backed up and stood on her foot by accident."
Photo credit: Getty Images
But, testified a police inspector who responded to the call: "Ms O'Riordan was very belligerent. She said, 'You are not going to arrest me. I am an icon. I'm the Queen of Limerick! I pay my taxes, I pay your wages. I'm going to sue you.'" Dolores announced her bipolar diagnosis while planning a new comeback with The Cranberries — and was recording in London when she died on Jan. 15.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Dolores had even announced in December that she was "feeling good" after suffering a painful back injury earlier in 2017 — adding that The Cranberries had "performed a few songs at the Billboard annual staff holiday party in New York." A cause of death has not been announced.
Photo credit: Getty Images