Was Linda Nolan married? Personal life explored as Irish singer passes away at 65

Linda Nolan, an Irish-born singer and actress who gained popularity as a member of the adored family group The Nolans, passed away at 65 after a valiant fight with cancer. During her final moments, her sisters were by her side.

According to a statement issued by her agent, Dermot McNamara, the singer died on Wednesday morning, January 15, from double pneumonia amid her fight with cancer. As per The Mail's report from the same day, the statement read:

"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."

The statement continued:

"She passed at around 10:20 am at Blackpool Victoria Hospital on the MCEW Ward. The family said the hospital couldn't do enough, they were tireless."

Linda Nolan was married to Brian Hudson till the day he died. She married Brian, a former musician, in 1981 after meeting him in 1979.

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Linda Nolan and her sisters formed a group and started performing professionally

Linda Nolan was an actress, singer, and TV personality who was British-Irish. Nolan, the sixth of Tommy and Maureen Nolan's eight children, was born in Dublin, Ireland. After living there for years, the family moved to Blackpool in 1962, where Linda was a member of the Singing Nolans, which Tommy and Maureen started.

She attended The Cardinal Wiseman School in Greenford, West London, in addition to St. Catherine's Catholic Secondary School in Blackpool. From a young age, all the girls sang and performed. Their father, who was also their manager, would wait in the pub before driving them home in the early hours of a school day.

However, it was discovered years later that their father, who was an alcoholic, was s*xually abusing Anne, his oldest daughter. He was also often violent. In 1998, Tommy Nolan passed away at age 78. In 2008, Anne revealed her secret in her autobiography, Anne's Song.

The girls earned a recording contract after being "spotted" at a Blackpool show in 1973, but their big break came in 1978 when they signed with Epic Sony-CBS. Following their career-defining song, I'm In The Mood For Dancing, in 1979, Linda Nolan and her sisters gained fame.

The close-knit group became one of the most popular British groups of the late 1970s and early 1980s after entering the music industry in 1974. Later, Linda Nolan married fellow singer Brian Hudson in 1981 after meeting him in 1979.

Up until 1983, he managed the Nolans' tour. Linda then quit the band and began her solo career under Brian's management. She started making cameos on television and the tours of varied artists such as Cannon and Ball and Gene Pitney.

However, he passed away from liver failure on September 21, 2007, after 26 years of marriage. Unfortunately, Nolan had also received a breast cancer diagnosis in 2005. In 2006, she had a single mastectomy as part of her therapy. She was then diagnosed with lymphedema in her arm and cellulitis in 2007. Later, in 2011, she received the all-clear from cancer.

After Linda Nolan fell on her hip in 2017, she was admitted to the hospital, where medical professionals found a type of secondary breast cancer on her pelvis that was inoperable. To ensure the cancer would not spread, she started receiving routine radiation therapy.

However, per BBC's January 15 report, Nolan claimed in 2020 that the cancer had progressed to her liver. On March 27, 2023, Linda reported that her cancer had spread to her brain, where a tumor was found on the left side of her organ.

Linda Nolan was further diagnosed with double pneumonia and admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in January 2025. On the morning of January 15, she passed away after going into a coma.

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Following the tragic incident, Linda Nolan's surviving family members have yet to give further updates as of now.