The Singing Nun

The Singing Nun was Jeanine Deckers (October 17, 1933-March 31, 1985), who joined the Dominican Fichermont Convent in Belgium. Popular in the convent for her music, she was encouraged by the other nuns to record an album in 1963, and one song, "Dominique," soared to the top of the charts in the United States. Overnight, the Dominican nun was an international celebrity with the stage name of Soeur Sourire (Sister Smile). She performed in concerts and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. In 1965, a movie called The Singing Nun, starring Debbie Reynolds, was made about her, though she rejected the film as "fictional."

External links and references

• Florence Delaport: Soeur Sourire: Brûlée aux feux de la rampe (1996)
• D. A. Chadwick, Florence Delaport: Music From the Soul: The Singing Nun Story (PublishAmerica ISBN 1413750761, August 2004)
• The curse of the Christmas single (The Guardian, Fri 10 Dec 2004)
• The Straight Dope: Did the "singing nun" commit suicide with her lesbian lover?
• The Singing Nun