# Sharon Corr
**Sharon Corr** (Sharon Helga Corr, born 1970 in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland) is an Irish singer-songwriter and violinist, best known as a founding member of the pop-rock band [The Corrs](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-corrs) and for her subsequent solo career.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) • [2](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/sharon-corr) In the band, formed in 1990 with her elder brother Jim and younger sisters Caroline and Andrea, she plays violin, piano and provides vocals.[2](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/sharon-corr) • [3](https://www.thecorrsofficial.com/about)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970, Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) |
| Role in The Corrs | Violin, piano, vocals; co-founded the band in 1990 with siblings Jim, Caroline and Andrea[3](https://www.thecorrsofficial.com/about) • [2](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/sharon-corr) |
| Band sales | The Corrs have sold over 40 million albums worldwide since their 1995 debut *Forgiven Not Forgotten*[3](https://www.thecorrsofficial.com/about) |
| Songwriting | Wrote several of the band's biggest hits ("So Young", "Radio") and all of their instrumental album tracks[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) |
| Solo albums | *Dream of You* (2010), *The Same Sun* (2013), *The Fool & the Scorpion* (2021)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) • [4](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/sharon-corr-the-fool-the-scorpion-review-warm-expressive-vocals-1.4678798) |
| Recognition | Grammy nomination for her theme song to the BBC drama *Rebel Heart*; honorary doctorate from the Open University (2019)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) • [5](https://eprints.dkit.ie/id/eprint/731/1/SCaffreyTHESIS.pdf) |
## Early life and musical training
Corr grew up in a musical family in Dundalk; her parents Gerry and Jean were part of a touring covers band.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) She began piano lessons with her father as a small child, and at age six started violin lessons with a local priest, Father McNally.[6](https://www.thecorrs.it/la-band/sharon-corr/) Between 1977 and 1984 she played in the Redeemer Youth Orchestra, a well-known orchestra in [County Louth](https://www.edgepedia.org/county-louth), and she later became a qualified violin teacher.[6](https://www.thecorrs.it/la-band/sharon-corr/) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811)
After studying science for a year at college, she managed a record shop and worked in her aunt's pub in Dundalk, where she performed as a duo with her brother Jim, playing chart covers and [Irish traditional music](https://www.edgepedia.org/irish-traditional-music), before Caroline and Andrea joined to form the band.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) • [5](https://eprints.dkit.ie/id/eprint/731/1/SCaffreyTHESIS.pdf)
## The Corrs
The four siblings first performed together when they auditioned for the 1991 film *[The Commitments](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-commitments-film)*; the film's musical director John Hughes saw potential in them and became their manager.[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0180650/bio/) In 1994 the band landed a recording contract with producer David Foster of Atlantic Records, and their debut album *Forgiven Not Forgotten* followed in 1995.[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0180650/bio/) • [3](https://www.thecorrsofficial.com/about)
The band's blend of traditional [Celtic music](https://www.edgepedia.org/celtic-music) with pop rock made them one of the most popular acts of the late 1990s, with 12 Top 40 UK singles including the number one "Breathless".[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) Their second album, *Talk On Corners* (1997), is the fourth biggest record of the 1990s in the UK charts, returned to Number 1 six times, and in 2016 was still listed as the 28th biggest selling album of all time in the UK.[3](https://www.thecorrsofficial.com/about) A 1998 Washington Post review credited Sharon's "graceful fills and gorgeous melodies on electric violin" as a defining element of the band's sound alongside [Caroline Corr](https://www.edgepedia.org/caroline-corr)'s drums and bodhrán.[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/06/19/irelands-corrs-the-reel-thing/1dda1c3d-043e-483e-920c-e7899a9fa014/)
**Songwriting role.** Sharon wrote several of the band's biggest hits, including "So Young" and "Radio", and all of their instrumental album tracks; she has said "So Young" was written for her parents.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) • [9](https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/reviews/sharon-corr-deaf-institute-manchester-544819.html) The band announced a break in 2005 after five studio albums, and parenthood was one of the reasons the siblings did not reform for a decade; they returned with *White Light* (2015) and *Jupiter Calling* (2017).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) • [10](https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/the-corrs-just-because-were-a-family-doesnt-mean-we-think-the-same-way-all-the-time/34233339.html) • [11](https://los40.com/2025/07/17/the-corrs-veinticinco-anos-de-in-blue-el-pop-celta-que-conquisto-el-nuevo-milenio/)
## Solo career
Corr was the second member of the band to launch a solo career, after her sister Andrea.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) She first took center stage as a solo artist in 2009, performing at the [Glastonbury](https://www.edgepedia.org/glastonbury) and [Isle of Wight](https://www.edgepedia.org/isle-of-wight) festivals and releasing the [Children in Need](https://www.edgepedia.org/children-in-need) charity single "Me and My Teddy Bear".[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811)
Her debut album *Dream of You*, produced by longtime collaborator Billy Farrell and featuring [Jeff Beck](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-beck) and the Spanish singer Alex Ubago, reached number 22 in Ireland and number 37 in the UK.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) It was followed by *The Same Sun* (2013), whose title was revealed only in August 2013 after the songs were finished in March 2012.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) • [6](https://www.thecorrs.it/la-band/sharon-corr/) Her third solo album, *The Fool & the Scorpion* (2021), was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Larry Klein; an Irish Times review praised her "warm, expressive vocals" while noting that the arrangements stayed close to The Corrs's recognizable template.[4](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/sharon-corr-the-fool-the-scorpion-review-warm-expressive-vocals-1.4678798) • [5](https://eprints.dkit.ie/id/eprint/731/1/SCaffreyTHESIS.pdf)
In interviews she has described the solo years as a period of full responsibility for her own music, performing on piano as well as violin and singing lead, a different technique from the backing vocals she provided behind her sister Andrea in the band.[12](https://www.ondacero.es/podcast/programas/jelo-en-verano/entrevistas-jelo-verano/sharon-corr-anuncia-que-the-corrs-preparan-nuevo-disco-canciones-mantienen-estilo-pero-seran-muy-diferentes_202607256a649805978d5c0007739ae7.html) • [13](https://www.popcultureclassics.com/sharon_corr.html)
## Other work and recognition
In addition to her own releases, Corr has made guest appearances on records by [Bryn Terfel](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryn-terfel) and Jean Michel Jarre, earned a Grammy nomination for the theme she wrote for the BBC drama *Rebel Heart*, and acted as an ambassador for [Nelson Mandela](https://www.edgepedia.org/nelson-mandela)'s 46664 AIDS awareness campaign.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811) She was a coach on *The Voice of Ireland*.[14](https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/interviews/sharon-corr-the-same-sun-506871.html) In March 2019 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the [Open University](https://www.edgepedia.org/open-university) in recognition of her contribution to music and her charitable work.[5](https://eprints.dkit.ie/id/eprint/731/1/SCaffreyTHESIS.pdf)
## Personal life
Corr married Gavin Bonnar, a lawyer from Belfast, on 7 July 2001 at the church of St John in Cratloe, County Clare.[6](https://www.thecorrs.it/la-band/sharon-corr/) She has spoken publicly about a period around 2009 of performance anxiety and loss of confidence in her singing, which she overcame with the help of voice lessons in Dublin.[15](https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/how-sharon-corr-beat-anxiety-to-find-her-voice/30973240.html) She has lived in Madrid, a city she says she fell in love with after the band's success in Spain in the 1990s.[10](https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/the-corrs-just-because-were-a-family-doesnt-mean-we-think-the-same-way-all-the-time/34233339.html) • [12](https://www.ondacero.es/podcast/programas/jelo-en-verano/entrevistas-jelo-verano/sharon-corr-anuncia-que-the-corrs-preparan-nuevo-disco-canciones-mantienen-estilo-pero-seran-muy-diferentes_202607256a649805978d5c0007739ae7.html)
## References
1. [Sharon Corr Biography by Jon O'Brien, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sharon-corr-mn0000010811)
2. [Sharon Corr, VALÉORINE Encyclopedia](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/sharon-corr)
3. [About The Corrs, The Corrs Official](https://www.thecorrsofficial.com/about)
4. [Sharon Corr: The Fool & the Scorpion review, The Irish Times (Tony Clayton-Lea, 24 September 2021)](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/sharon-corr-the-fool-the-scorpion-review-warm-expressive-vocals-1.4678798)
5. [S. Caffrey dissertation timeline, Dundalk Institute of Technology eprints](https://eprints.dkit.ie/id/eprint/731/1/SCaffreyTHESIS.pdf)
6. [Sharon Corr, theCorrs.it fan club](https://www.thecorrs.it/la-band/sharon-corr/)
7. [Sharon Corr Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0180650/bio/)
8. [Ireland's Corrs: The Reel Thing, The Washington Post (Richard Harrington, 18 June 1998)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/06/19/irelands-corrs-the-reel-thing/1dda1c3d-043e-483e-920c-e7899a9fa014/)
9. [Sharon Corr, Deaf Institute, Manchester, Female First (Lucy Moore, 7 October 2014)](https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/reviews/sharon-corr-deaf-institute-manchester-544819.html)
10. [The Corrs: "Just because we're a family doesn't mean we think the same way all the time", Irish Independent (John Meagher, 29 November 2015)](https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/the-corrs-just-because-were-a-family-doesnt-mean-we-think-the-same-way-all-the-time/34233339.html)
11. [The Corrs: veinticinco años de 'In blue', LOS40 (17 July 2025)](https://los40.com/2025/07/17/the-corrs-veinticinco-anos-de-in-blue-el-pop-celta-que-conquisto-el-nuevo-milenio/)
12. [Sharon Corr anuncia que The Corrs preparan un nuevo disco, Onda Cero, JELO en verano (25 July 2026)](https://www.ondacero.es/podcast/programas/jelo-en-verano/entrevistas-jelo-verano/sharon-corr-anuncia-que-the-corrs-preparan-nuevo-disco-canciones-mantienen-estilo-pero-seran-muy-diferentes_202607256a649805978d5c0007739ae7.html)
13. [Sharon Corr interview, PopCultureClassics](https://www.popcultureclassics.com/sharon_corr.html)
14. [Exclusive interview with Sharon Corr, Female First](https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/interviews/sharon-corr-the-same-sun-506871.html)
15. [How Sharon Corr beat anxiety to find her voice, Irish Independent (Barry Egan, 8 February 2015)](https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/how-sharon-corr-beat-anxiety-to-find-her-voice/30973240.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Rock, metal, and popular-band musicians › Pop rock and power pop › Contemporary pop band musicians*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license