Linda Nolan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Linda Nolan
Nolan in 2014
Born	(1959-02-23)23 February 1959 Dublin, Ireland
Died	15 January 2025(2025-01-15) (aged 65) Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Occupation	Singer actress author television personality
Years active	1974–2025
Television	Top of the Pops Celebrity Big Brother Loose Women
Spouse(s)	Brian Hudson ​ ​ (m. 1981; died 2007)​
Family	Anne Nolan (sister) Denise Nolan (sister) Maureen Nolan (sister) Bernie Nolan (sister) Coleen Nolan (sister) Jake Roche (nephew)

Linda Nolan (23 February 1959 – 15 January 2025) was an Irish singer, actress and television personality. After moving with her family to Blackpool at the age of three in 1962, she attained fame as a member of the girl group The Nolans in 1974, along with her sisters Anne, Denise, Maureen, Bernie and Coleen. As a member of the Nolans, she toured with Frank Sinatra in 1975, won the Tokyo Music Festival in 1981, and had seven UK top 20 hits between 1979 and 1982.

Soon after leaving the group, Nolan supported Gene Pitney on his 1984 UK tour. She then went on to perform in theatre, including an eight-season residency as Maggie May on Blackpool's Central Pier (1986–1993), where she clocked up over 1,000 performances, followed by two seasons as Rosie O'Grady on Blackpool's South Pier (1994–1995). She reunited with the Nolans for the 2009 I'm in the Mood Again album and tour, and in 2014, she took part in the thirteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother. In 2018, she was a recurring guest panellist on Loose Women.

Early life

Linda Nolan was born in Holles Street Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, the sixth of eight children born to Tommy and Maureen Nolan. The family lived in Raheny, a north side suburb of Dublin, before moving to Blackpool in 1962, at which point Tommy and Maureen formed the Singing Nolans of which Linda was a member. She went to school at Blackpool's St Catherine's Catholic Secondary School, and also attended The Cardinal Wiseman School in Greenford, West London.

Career

The Nolans

In 1981, Nolan scored a minor hit with her sister Coleen as part of the Young & Moody Band, with "Don't Do That" (UK No. 63) which also featured Lemmy from Motörhead and Cozy Powell.

She left The Nolans in December 1983. The Nolans reunited as a five-piece (Bernie, Anne, Coleen, Maureen and Linda) for one-off performances of "I'm in the Mood for Dancing" first for BBC One's All Time Greatest Party Songs, hosted by Tess Daly, which aired on 17 December 2005 and again on 9 August 2007 on Loose Women.

Four of the sisters (Linda, Bernie, Coleen & Maureen) reunited in 2009 for a successful tour of the UK and Ireland. They also released an album I'm in the Mood Again, which reached No. 22 on the UK Albums Chart.

Theatre work and television

On leaving the group, Nolan went on to play the role of Maggie May at Blackpool's pool Central Pier for eight summer seasons (1986–93), clocking up more than 1,000 performances. She then starred for two seasons in a similar show on Blackpool's South Pier called Rosie O' Grady's (1994–95).

From 1996 to 1997, she starred as the prison governor in two UK tours of Prisoner: Cell Block H – The Musical, alongside Paul O'Grady.

From 2000, Nolan starred as Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers for three years in the West End, and regularly played the role in the UK touring production until 2008. She was the third Nolan sister to play the role, after Bernie and Denise. Maureen Nolan has also since played the role in the West End on the UK tour for several years, earning the sisters a place in the Guinness World Records, as the most siblings to play the same role in a musical. Nolan also appeared on Blankety Blank, with sister Anne and niece Alex on Celebrity Pressure Pad and with sister Bernie on Pointless Celebrities.

In January 2014, Nolan participated in the thirteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother. Prior to this, her sister Coleen had participated in and achieved second place in the tenth series.

Jim Davidson, who was also a contestant in the house that year had history with Linda Nolan; in 1995, Nolan's husband Brian Hudson was caught red-handed stealing money from comic Frank Carson's dressing room at the South Pier Theatre Blackpool. This raised the ire of Davidson, who was playing up the road at the time and promptly lost his temper, yelling "no one steals from my mates" and threatened to punch him. Davidson was promptly thrown out of that nightclub. On Day 15, Nolan was reminded by Davidson of his antics, prompting an argument. She was evicted on Day 22.

Personal life

Nolan met Brian Hudson in 1979 and they married in 1981. He was the Nolans' tour manager until 1983 and became Linda's manager after she left the group. They were married for 26 years until his death on 21 September 2007, from liver failure.

Health and death

In 2005, Nolan was diagnosed with breast cancer. As part of her treatment, she underwent a single mastectomy in 2006. She was given the all-clear from cancer in 2011. In 2007, she was diagnosed with cellulitis and lymphedema in her arm.

In 2017, Nolan fell on her hip and was taken to hospital, where doctors discovered a form of incurable secondary breast cancer on her pelvis. She began undergoing regular radiotherapy treatment to make sure that the cancer would not spread, but said that she would reject chemotherapy if the cancer was found to be terminal, after seeing how her sister Bernie was in pain from her chemotherapy shortly before Bernie's death in 2013. In 2020 Nolan stated that the cancer had spread to her liver. On 27 March 2023, she stated that the cancer had now metastasised to her brain, with a tumour discovered on the left side of her brain, resulting in balance loss on her right side, which has led to her using a wheelchair. She was prescribed the experimental drug Tucatinib to treat her brain cancer followed by Enhertu.

In January 2025, Nolan was admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital with double pneumonia. She fell into a coma, and died on the morning of 15 January, at the age of 65.

Discography

Filmography

Stage