Camille O'Sullivan | |
|---|---|
| Born | London, England |
| Origin | Cork, Ireland |
| Genres | Alternative rock,baroque pop |
| Occupations | Singer, musician, actress |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, keyboards |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Website | camilleosullivan |
Camille O'Sullivan is an Irish singer, musician, and actress. She is known for her unique, dramatic musical style andcovers of artists such asRadiohead,Tom Waits,David Bowie,Nick Cave,Sinéad O'Connor, andShane McGowan ofThe Pogues.
Camille O'Sullivan was born inLondon, England, to an Irish father fromCork, Denis O'Sullivan, and Marie-José, a French artist fromBordeaux.[1] Denis is a formerFormula Two racing driver and the first Irish world champion sailor in theLaser class of yachts, after taking up sailing at the age of 40. He also took the national team to theBarcelona Olympics in 1992, and came third in the world when he sailed inBuenos Aires.[2] He was Ireland's most senior representative at the 2018 Laser Masters World Championships.[3][4]
Camille O'Sullivan grew up in the town ofPassage West,County Cork.[1] After finishing secondary school, she studiedfine art at theNational College of Art and Design inDublin,[5] during which time one of her paintings was selected for theRoyal Hibernian Academy exhibition.[2] but dropped out of her course after a year.[1] On her parents' advice, she enrolled inUniversity College Dublin (UCD)[5] and studied architecture for four years. Whilst in UCD, she became known as "the singing architect" as she performed in all available university productions[1] and was a member of Dramsoc.[6] In 1992, she appeared in a play aboutCole Porter that played to an audience of five people.[2] In 1994, O'Sullivan performed inJacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris at UCD.[6]
O'Sullivan spent a year inBerlin, Germany, where she worked at an architect's office. During her time in Berlin, she regularly attended local cabaret clubs. Upon returning to Ireland, she met Berlin-bornAgnes Bernelle, a mentor who encouraged her to sing.[1][2] She carried on with her studies, performing at night in various theatres and clubs around Dublin such as Da Club, Cobalt Cafe,Bewley's theatre, andAndrews Lane Theatre, earning the moniker "the singing architect".[2]
In 1996 she graduated from UCD with first class honours[1][7] and the highest marks at the university in a decade.[8] O'Sullivan then continued to work as an architect, winning anArchitectural Association of Ireland award in the process,[9][10][11] while singing in clubs at night.[1]
She metShane MacGowan ofThe Pogues during this time, and was invited to perform with them on stage and tour with them. Not long afterwards, she metSinead O'Connor.[12]
In August 2004, O'Sullivan performed in a show calledLa Clique: A Sideshow Burlesque inThe Famous Spiegeltent at theEdinburgh Fringe Festival, singing songs byKirsty MacColl andMarlene Dietrich.[13] Although she lost a lot of money performing at the Fringe,[2] she was spotted there by Scottish actorEwen Bremner in the show, he recommender her to directorStephen Frears. Frears cast her as thevaudeville star and lead singer Jane in his 2005 filmMrs Henderson Presents, oppositeJudi Dench andBob Hoskins.[1] In the film, she sings duets withWill Young.[2]
In 2005 she played "showgirl, courtesan, political adviser, gold prospector and author"Lola Montez in the historical documentaryHer Name was Lola, directed by Anne Roper forRTÉ'sHidden History series.[14]
O'Sullivan said in 2006:[6]
I feel it's necessary to not just do things to please ... I sometimes worried about that in the past. I thought, 'If I don’t want to alienate people, I shouldn’t perform difficult provocative dark songs'. But I would have given up if I’d stayed doing Dietrich and Piaf in a studied way, that cafe-cabaret version, where you're making it easy instead of pushing yourself.
In 2007, she appeared as "Beggar Woman" in a production ofSweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at theGate Theatre in Dublin.[15] Later that year her three-week show at Edinburgh Fringe sold out, and she then touredSydney,Toronto, andNew York. In July 2008 she played atGlastonbury Festival, performingDavid Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" wearing only a red corset andwellies. She then performed atQueen's Hall, Edinburgh for the Fringe, before embarking on her first full tour of the UK.[1]
O'Sullivan is known for her dramatic musical style andcovers of artists such asRadiohead,Tom Waits,David Bowie,[16][17]Nick Cave,Jacques Brel,[12] andEdith Piaf.[18]
In July 2024 O'Sullivan launched her new show,Loveletter, at Edinburgh Fringe, before touring the UK and Ireland. March 2025 O'Sullivan toured Australia and New Zealand. In an interview about the show, which was created to honour her friendsSinead O'Connor andShane MacGowan (who had both died in 2023) she said that this was her first time singing Irish music. This would be her 24th visit to Australia, the first having been in 2004.[12] In early March she performed the show atHer Majesty's Theatre inAdelaide, Australia, as part of theAdelaide Festival to kick off the tour.[18][12]
O'Sullivan has a sister, Vicky.[2]
In 1999, O'Sullivan was involved in a near-fatal car crash, in which she suffered a head fracture,[1] her pelvis was fractured in six places, her hips displaced and the tendons in her hand were shredded.[5] It was months before she could walk again, and she was hospitalised for a year; she still has a metal plate in her pelvis.[1] The accident encouraged her to follow her dream of singing and she performed her first show after the accident while still on crutches.[1]
O'Sullivan was in a relationship withThe Waterboys' lead singerMike Scott,[19][20] with whom she has a daughter, Leila Élodie born in 2013.[21][22] Since 2014 and as of January 2023[update] she is in a relationship with actorAidan Gillen.[23][24]
O'Sullivan has appeared in:
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