What is Dolores O'Riordan's Net Worth?
Dolores O'Riordan was an Irish musician and songwriter who had a net worth of $15 million dollars at the time of her death in 2018. Dolores O'Riordan led the rock band, The Cranberries, to worldwide success for thirteen years before the band took a break in 2003. The Cranberries released seven studio albums, four of which were #1 hits. Her first solo album, "Are You Listening?" was released in May of 2007 and was followed by "No Baggage" in 2009. In 2013, she started work as a judge on The Voice of Ireland at the suggestion of her son.
Early Life
Dolores O'Riordan was born on September 6, 1971 in Ballybricken, County Limerick, Ireland as the youngest of nine children of Eileen, a school caterer, and Terence, a former farm worker. Before she could even speak, O'Riordan was singing. She began performing traditional Irish music and playing the Irish tin whistle, and was a liturgical soloist in the choir of her local church. For her primary and secondary education, O'Riordan went to Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ in Limerick. She took piano lessons, and later learned to play the guitar. Due to her incredible talent, O'Riordan won her school's song contest almost every year, leading her to compete in national competitions. Although her parents wanted her to go to college, she demurred, and ran away from home to live with her boyfriend.
The Cranberries
In 1989, Mike and Noel Hogan formed the band the Cranberry Saw Us with Niall Quinn and Fergal Lawler. When Quinn left the group less than a year later, he informed his bandmates that his girlfriend knew of someone who could take his place: that person was O'Riordan. Soon after this, in 1990, she was hired. The band went on to record a number of demo tapes, including "Nothing Left at All." Subsequently, the group signed with Island Records. Now going by the name the Cranberries, they released an EP entitled "Uncertain" in 1991. Two years later, the band released its debut studio album, "Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can't We?" A massive hit, the album ascended to number one on the UK and Irish album charts, and number 18 on the Billboard 200. Moreover, it spawned the Cranberries' most successful singles ever, "Linger" and "Dreams."
The Cranberries continued their success in 1994 with the release of the hit single "Zombie," from their second album, "No Need to Argue." The band's third album, "To the Faithful Departed," came out in 1996, debuting at number two in the UK and number four in the US. O'Riordan's subsequent albums with the Cranberries were "Bury the Hatchet" and "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee." Following a hiatus of over a decade, the band reunited to record the 2012 album "Roses." O'Riordan's final album with the group, "Something Else," came out in 2017. However, her vocal recordings were featured on the 2019 album "In the End," which was released posthumously.
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Solo Albums
During the Cranberries' hiatus between 2003 and 2009, O'Riordan embarked on her solo career. After signing with Sanctuary Records, she released her first solo album, "Are You Listening?," in May of 2007. The album included the singles "Ordinary Day" and "When We Were Young." Two years later, in August of 2009, O'Riordan released her second solo album, entitled "No Baggage"; its singles were "The Journey" and "Switch Off the Moment."
Other Projects and Collaborations
Among her other endeavors, O'Riordan served as a mentor on the Irish reality television talent show "The Voice of Ireland" from 2013 to 2014. In the latter year, she started recording music with the collaborative project Jetlag, which then started a new project called D.A.R.K. With the latter group, O'Riordan released the album "Science Agrees" in 2016.
Over the course of her career, O'Riordan collaborated with numerous artists, including Zucchero, Angelo Badalamenti, Jam & Spoon, Steve DeMarchi, and Andy Rourke. She also made multiple appearances at the annual Christmas concert at the Vatican, where she performed with such artists as Italian tenor Gian Luca Terranova.
Personal Life and Death
In 1994, O'Riordan married former Duran Duran tour manager Don Burton. The couple had three children named Taylor, Molly, and Dakota. In 1998, they purchased a 150-acre stud farm in Kilmallock, County Limerick; they later sold it for $5 million in 2004. Following this, the pair moved to Howth, County Dublin. In 2009, the family settled permanently in Buckhorn, Canada in a waterfront home. O'Riordan and Burton divorced in 2014. The following year, O'Riordan bought an apartment in New York City, and began a relationship with Russian musician Olé Koretsky.
O'Riordan struggled with many painful experiences and health issues during her life. As a youth, she was sexually abused multiple times, and developed depression and suicidal thoughts. Consequently, O'Riordan struggled with anorexia and alcohol abuse. In 2015, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After traveling from New York to London in early 2018, O'Riordan was found unresponsive in the bathroom. A coroner's report later indicated that she died as a result of accidental drowning in a bath while intoxicated.
Legacy
The legacy of O'Riordan is wide-reaching. Considered one of the most distinctive voices in the history of alternative rock, she remains an influential icon for artists around the world thanks to her powerful vocals, incisive lyrics, and edgy fashion sense. Adele, Halsey, Florence Welch, and Faye Wong are just some of the myriad of singers indebted to O'Riordan's work. In 2019, she earned a posthumous honorary doctorate degree from the University of Limerick. Meanwhile, O'Riordan was named the Top Female Artist of All Time on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart.
