Linda Nolan has sadly died from cancer and her sisters were by her side to the very end.
The singing group, made up of six talented siblings, have had to deal with the disease more than once. Despite the health scares and tragedies they’ve faced, the Nolan Sisters have shared their individual brave battles with the illness over the years.
Sisters Linda, Anne, Coleen and Bernie Nolan have all been diagnosed with cancer, and Linda’s husband Brian died of liver failure due to skin cancer in 2007.
Their father Tommy Nolan Senior was the first to be hit with the disease, dying from liver cancer in 1998. It struck again two years later. The latest tragedy was Linda Nolan’s death in January 2025.
Nolan Sisters’ tragic history of cancer
Linda Nolan, who passed away Wednesday morning (January 15), was surrounded by her devoted sisters when she died.
Her manager confirmed the news of her death in a statement, adding: “She was a beacon of hope and resilience, sharing her journey to raise awareness and inspire others.”
Anne Nolan was the first of the sisters told she had breast cancer in 2000. She underwent treatment and then went into remission from the disease.
Linda was then diagnosed in 2005 with a form of breast cancer. She was eventually given the all-clear in 2011. Her husband was diagnosed with skin cancer not long after her initial diagnosis. Linda and Brian married in 1979 after meeting two years earlier, and he sadly died in 2007 while she was still receiving treatment herself. They were married for 26 years.
Bernie Nolan was diagnosed twice
Sister Bernie was diagnosed twice, the first being breast cancer in 2010. After undergoing a mastectomy and chemotherapy, she too, had the all clear.
However, it sadly returned just two years later, and doctors told her it was incurable.
She never let the prognosis dampen her spirits, refusing to give up.
She told The Mirror at the time: “I refuse to sit around like I’ve got a death sentence hanging over my head. I’m going to fight this for ever. It can get stuffed.”
Bernie passed away less than a year later, at the age of 52.
A spokesperson for the family at the time said: “The entire family are devastated to have lost beloved Bernie, a wonderful wife, adoring mother and loving sister, she is irreplaceable.”
Bernie Nolan’s message for her sisters after she died from cancer
Coleen once opened up over Bernie’s advice before she passed away.
Bernie had instructed the ITV host to only cry for two weeks after her death, and that she would have to carry on despite the grief.
While speaking on Loose Women she explained Bernie told her: “You can cry for two weeks – a lot, because I deserve it – and then I want you to get up and carry on with it.”
Coleen added: “Two weeks down the line I still didn’t want to get up, I didn’t want to do anything to be honest, but I kept hearing her go, ‘Come on now, come on’.”
After losing her sister, parents, Linda’s husband Brian and sister-in-law, the celebrity wrote a book about grief. A Hand To Hold, All I’ve Learned About Grief was Coleen’s chance to reflect on the tragedies and put life into perspective, to realise the small stuff doesn’t matter.
Anne’s cancer came back
Then in 2017, Linda was diagnosed again with breast cancer and later told a secondary incurable cancer had spread to her hip.
It was also in spring 2020 when Anne was informed her cancer had come back, and this time it was stage three.
The now 74-year-old and Linda decided to undergo treatment and support each other.
Anne was declared cancer-free the same year and the duo wrote a book about their experience, Stronger Together.
However, Linda wasn’t given the same update.
The older sibling had confessed to OK! in 2021: “I wish Linda had the same results I had.
“Finding out I’m cancer-free has definitely been bittersweet.”
Anne added: “Normally I’d have been over the moon, but it was so hard to say I was clear of cancer at the time because Linda hadn’t had her results back. But Linda was great. She didn’t make me feel bad. It was definitely bittersweet.”
Nolan sisters had a ‘ritual’ when Linda received cancer updates
Linda, 65, previously explained in a clip on Good Morning Britain, that the family had a ‘ritual’ of sorts when she would visit the hospital.
She had praised how supportive they had all been during her almost 20-year battle.
She said at the time: “One of my sisters gets the short straw and comes with me on results day, then we all meet in the cafe for lunch if the news is good, and if it’s bad we just go home and have a cup of tea.”
We have had so much heartache
The sisters did undergo testing to see if they had the BRCA gene, which increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. However, they found out they didn’t have it.
Coleen went to the doctor after noticing ‘red patch’ on her skin
Last year, Loose Women star Coleen Nolan revealed she had skin cancer, becoming the fourth member of the sisters to be diagnosed.
The 59-year-old explained on the ITV show she had carcinoma on her shoulder and pre-melanoma on her face.
Coleen decided to visit her doctor when she noticed a red patch of skin, and thankfully caught it early.
The tragedies her family have faced spurred her to frequently check her body for signs of cancer.
She told The Mirror: “We have had so much heartache…
“I’m always checking. I still have this thing when I think, ‘What if I have missed it?’”
Linda’s cancer spreads in fourth diagnosis
In 2023, the singer was informed the cancer had now spread to her brain. It was the fourth time after battling cancer for 20 years.
Linda had reached out to her doctor after noticing her memory and balance were declining during daily activities and after some ‘quite nasty falls’. She underwent radiotherapy and another new type of chemotherapy treatment to hopefully stop the cancer from progressing.
She said: “I had feared something was wrong. My balance has been getting worse and my memory – my sisters have to prompt me when I get lost in the middle of a sentence.”
Linda also told Good Morning Britain: “I wasn’t getting headaches – so, really, it was a shock that the doctor said, ‘it’s in your brain’.”
“The hope is that [the drug she is using] will do wonders for me, please God.”
She continued: “Obviously that’s very frightening because there isn’t much help for brain cancer at the moment, apart from radiotherapy which I’m going to be having.”
After a year, the treatment had stopped working in the summer of 2024. During a scan, it revealed two tumours had grown in size and the treatment was no longer able to stabilise them.
Linda dies surrounded by her sisters
The 65-year-old tragically passed away on Wednesday, January 15, surrounded by her family. She joins a list of celebrities we’ll mourn, as her legacy lives on.
Her agent explained she had been admitted to hospital with double pneumonia, and due to the cancer, passed away.
A 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.”
It continued: “Her selflessness and tireless commitment to making a difference in the lives of others will forever be a cornerstone of her legacy.
“Over the weekend, Linda was taken by ambulance to Blackpool Victoria Hospital and admitted with double pneumonia. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, she went into a coma and into end-of-life care, surrounded by her devoted family.
“At around 10:20am on Wednesday 15th January, she passed peacefully, with her loving siblings by her bedside, ensuring she was embraced with love and comfort during her final moments, aged 65.
“Linda’s legacy extends beyond her incredible achievements in music and entertainment. She was a beacon of hope and resilience, sharing her journey to raise awareness and inspire others.
“Her family kindly ask for privacy at this difficult time, while they and Linda’s friends grieve the loss of an extraordinary woman. Details of a celebration of Linda’s remarkable life will be shared in due course.
“Rest in peace, Linda. You will be deeply missed, but never forgotten.”
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The Nolan Sisters’ brave battles over the years have been inspirational…
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