Linda Nolan has sadly passed away with her famous sisters by her side following a 20-year battle with breast cancer.
The singer’s death was revealed in a statement released by her agent Dermot McNamara, who revealed that she passed away on Wednesday morning following a battle with pneumonia.
Linda rose to fame alongside her sisters as a member of the girlband The Nolan Sisters, and after leaving the band pursued a career in stage musicals.
He said: ‘It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Linda Nolan, the celebrated Irish pop legend, television personality, Guinness World Record holding West End star, Sunday Times bestselling author and Daily Mirror columnist.
‘As a member of The Nolans, one of the most successful girl groups of all time, Linda achieved global success; becoming the first Irish act to sell over a million records worldwide; touring the world and selling over 30 million records, with hits such as Gotta Pull Myself Together, Attention to Me and the iconic disco classic I’m In The Mood for Dancing.
‘Her distinctive voice and magnetic stage presence brought joy to fans around the world, securing her place as an icon of British and Irish entertainment.
‘Beyond her incredible career, Linda dedicated her life to helping others, helping raise over £20 million for numerous charities, including Breast Cancer Now, Irish Cancer Society and Samaritans, amongst countless others.
Linda Nolan has sadly passed away with her famous sisters by her side following a 20-year battle with breast cancer
The singer’s death was revealed in a statement released by her agent Dermot McNamara, who revealed that she passed away on Wednesday morning following a battle with pneumonia
‘Her selflessness and tireless commitment to making a difference in the lives of others will forever be a cornerstone of her legacy.
‘Over the weekend, Linda was taken by ambulance to Blackpool Victoria Hospital and admitted with double pneumonia. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, she went into a coma and into end-of-life care, surrounded by her devoted family.
‘At around 10:20am on Wednesday 15th January, she passed peacefully, with her loving siblings by her bedside, ensuring she was embraced with love and comfort during her final moments, aged 65.
‘Linda’s legacy extends beyond her incredible achievements in music and entertainment. She was a beacon of hope and resilience, sharing her journey to raise awareness and inspire others.
‘Her family kindly ask for privacy at this difficult time, while they and Linda’s friends grieve the loss of an extraordinary woman. Details of a celebration of Linda’s remarkable life will be shared in due course.
‘Rest in peace, Linda. You will be deeply missed, but never forgotten.’
Following the news of Linda’s death, both sisters Coleen and Anne paid tribute by re-sharing the statement announcing her passing on X.
Coleen posted a broken-hearted emoji, while Anne shared three hearts on her account.
Just last week, Linda told The Mirror that she had begun to feel better, after falling ill over Christmas with what she thought was a bout of flu.
Linda rose to fame in the 1970s alongside her sisters Maureen, Coleen and Bernie as a member of the girlband The Nolan Sisters
Linda was born as the sixth of eight children to Tommy and Maureen Nolan on February 23 1959 in Dublin
Her parents’ relentless efforts to launch her daughters’ careers, which often led to late-night performances on school nights, soon steered the girls to international success
Linda left the group which made her famous in 1983, but later reformed with her sisters for several comeback performances (Linda is pictured top with her sisters in 1975)
With her new solo career came a new moniker – Naughty Nolan – earned after she posed for a naked photoshoot in which she was covered by just a sheet
Over the following years, she became a fixture of the stage scene, most notably owning the role of Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers for three years in London’s theatreland from 2000
Linda married Brian Hudson, who was The Nolans’ tour manager, in 1981, two years after they first met, and he died in 2007
In what would be final column for the publication, she wrote: ‘The doctors say it’s been a bad case of flu. I’d walk a few steps and struggle to catch my breath.
‘My legs were even more wobbly than usual and, although I try not to, I thought of how Bernie was at the end. You think, ”Oh my God, is this it?”
‘It was only on Monday I felt well enough to venture out. It feels like a whole new world out there. There’s nothing like the sensation of starting to feel better after an illness.
‘You’ve forgotten what it feels like to feel normal (well, I say normal?).’ In what will prove to be a poignant final line, she added: ‘I’m no fan of resolutions but here’s one: It’ll take more than flu to finish me off.’
In November, admitted that she ‘never expected to make it to Christmas’, meaning that the festive period meant all the more to her.
She said: ‘I can’t wait [for Christmas]. Not to be morbid, but I didn’t think I’d make Christmas, so it’s a real bonus.
‘We love Christmas as a family and we’re all going to gather at [sister] Denise’s. It will be great. We all have such a good time when we get together so I can’t wait. I especially love seeing all the little ones and how excited they get.’
The sister of Loose Women panelist Coleen Nolan added that she hoped to be here to celebrate with her family next year as well before issuing a health update.
Linda told the publication that she was undergoing chemotherapy once every three weeks alongside having her bloods taken and if the results were positive, she was going on to have another round of treatment.
She added: ‘You have to be careful with chemo. I’ve lost my hair again – I’m bald for the fifth time and it still gets to me each time.
‘I’m distraught when it goes. Pain-wise I get a cramp in my leg which really hurts, but apart from that there’s no pain, which is good.’
Despite her health struggles Linda remained positive and told the magazine that she has been fighting cancer since 2005 and vowed to continue fighting as long as she could.
She described how on her 60th birthday she hoped to make it through to the next year and, defying the odds, has managed to make it to 65.
In 2021, Linda shared that one of her biggest regrets was that she and Brian never started a family, telling RSVP Magazine: ‘That is nobody’s fault but my own’
She added: ‘If you lose hope, you lose everything. It’s hard sometimes, but you’ve gotta have the stamina to go, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to lie in bed feeling sorry for myself.”
Linda added that she remains in good spirits by making sure she keeps busy and gets outside as often as she can.
She said she’ll even sit outside in her garden in the freezing cold because the fresh air makes her feel better.
Keeping busy is important as is getting outside. Even if it is sitting outside in your garden in this cold weather getting some fresh air always makes you feel better.’
Linda also previously shared that a recent fall made her realise she could no longer live independently and moved in with her sister Denise.
Linda previously begged cancer to leave her family alone in an interview with Good Morning Britain in August.
Linda fought back tears as she she shared her plea as she prepared to undergo treatment for a fifth time.
Linda originally received the all-clear from breast cancer in 2006, but was later diagnosed with incurable secondary cancer in 2017.
And in August, Linda issued an update that the tumours in her brain – which were thought to be stable – have grown.
In 2014, Linda was exposed to a new audience when she entered the world of reality television in the cast of Celebrity Big Brother
In July 2020, Linda and sisters Coleen, Maureen and Anne appeared in The Nolans Go Cruising, the first time the group had worked and performed together in decades
Linda originally received the all-clear from breast cancer in 2006, but was later diagnosed with incurable secondary cancer in 2017
And in August, Linda issued an update that the tumours in her brain – which were thought to be stable – have grown
Appearing on GMB, Linda revealed that she was being set on a new course of chemotherapy as a result of the update – and shared the news that she could face losing her hair once again.
She also revealed the physical toll the ongoing treatment was taking on her smile, pointing to a gap in her teeth and exclaiming: ‘Look, I’ve lost a tooth!’
Linda married Brian Hudson, who was The Nolans’ tour manager, in 1981, two years after they first met.
After she left the group, Brian became Linda’s tour manager, and they stayed married until his death from liver failure in 2007.
She later wrote of the loss: ‘I hate my life without Brian. Some nights I wake up and reach out for him before I remember he’s not there. I know I can survive. But life is so much less without him.’
Linda’s sisters also have a history of cancer, with herself, Coleen and Anne all receiving diagnoses and Bernie passing away from the disease in 2013.
Linda’s sister Anne was the first to be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, and while she got the all-clear, she was diagnoses again in April 2020.
Just days later Linda was told her secondary breast cancer had spread to her liver, so the sisters decided to undergo their chemotherapy together.
The sisters went on to write Stronger Together, an account of their journey with cancer with no-holds-barred descriptions of their treatments, the side effects, how they coped with losing their hair and how they had emerged on the other side.
The book is interspersed with recollections of how cancer has affected those close to them, including their late sister Bernie and also Linda’s late husband, Brian.
In 2013 the family were devastated when Linda’s sister Bernadette, better known as Bernie, died from breast cancer in 2013.
Bernie was first diagnosed with the disease in April 2010, and while she was later declared cancer-free following a mastectomy, in October 2012 it was revealed the disease had returned to her left breast, brain, lungs, liver and bones.
She passed away in July of the following year at the age of 52.
Linda was born as the sixth of eight children to Tommy and Maureen Nolan on February 23 1959 in Dublin.
Her parents – both singers – were keen to turn their young family into a musical troupe and Linda made her stage debut at the age of four.
Their relentless efforts, which often led to late-night performances on school nights, soon steered the girls to international success.
Among their chart hits were Gotta Pull Myself Together, Don’t Make Waves and Attention To Me, and they earned their own BBC TV specials.
For Linda, these early years were soured by witnessing her abusive father drunkenly beat their mother, and he was also said to have sexually abused Anne, his eldest daughter, from the age of 11.
‘Part of me cried, I’m ashamed to say, because he didn’t do it to me and I didn’t think he loved me enough,’ Linda later said of her sister’s torment.
She added: ‘He was a Jekyll and Hyde, but when he wasn’t drinking he was fabulous and he stopped drinking for many years before he died.’
At 15, she allegedly became a victim to the most sinister side of 1970s showbusiness when she claimed she was groped by Rolf Harris backstage at a concert in South Africa.
Speaking of the alleged assault in 2014, she said it left her feeling ‘dumbstruck’ and ‘humiliated’.
Linda left the group which made her famous in 1983, but later reformed with her sisters for several comeback performances.
With her new solo career came a new moniker – Naughty Nolan – earned after she posed for a naked photoshoot in which she was covered by just a sheet.
Over the following years, she became a fixture of the stage scene, most notably owning the role of Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers for three years in London’s theatreland from 2000.
In 2014, Linda was exposed to a new audience when she entered the world of reality television in the cast of Celebrity Big Brother.
It followed reports of financial turmoil that dogged Linda for several years afterwards.
In 2015, she was cautioned by Blackpool Council after being accused of being a benefits cheat, repaying the authority £6,000.
At the end of March 2017, Linda said she was going to die in the same manner of her beloved husband and sister – from an incurable cancer.
She was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer after a fall, a decade after she was initially treated for the illness.
‘I’m not going to be dying from cancer, I’m going to be living with cancer if that’s what I have to do,’ she said in an interview following her diagnosis.
A year later, she revealed she had planned her funeral and chosen the songs she wanted played – including There You’ll Be by Faith Hill – to save her family the anguish of having to arrange it all.
In her memoir, From My Heart, she also said that she had strict orders that she should not be resuscitated.
‘I want to be DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) if it is near the end of my life,’ she wrote.
‘And I want to go to a hospice rather than be looked after by one of my brothers and sisters. I saw how well Bernie was treated in a hospice and I’d be happy with that.
‘And then when I’m dressed and fed and cleaned, my brothers and sisters will be able to visit me with a bag of sweets and a movie but none of the worry.’
She said that after discovering the cancer had returned, she ‘wanted to live more than I had ever wanted anything’.
In July 2020, Linda and sisters Coleen, Maureen and Anne appeared in The Nolans Go Cruising, a TV series that saw them take a journey through the Mediterranean.
Hailed as their first shared trip and singing reunion in decades, the travel show saw all four sisters single for the first time in their adult lives as they embarked on two cruises around the Mediterranean onboard the MSC Grandiosa.
Highlights across the eight-episode series saw them perform their hit single I’m In The Mood For Dancing on their final night on the ship in front of their fellow passengers.
In February 2022, the Nolan sisters suffered another family death at the hands of cancer.
Their Auntie Teresa, described as ‘the glue that held us together’ and the ‘only person from our parents’ generation left’, died after losing her battle with incurable skin cancer.
Linda revealed in March 2023 that she was to begin treatment as part of a new drug trial, as her cancer had spread to her brain.
