Sister Smile or The Singing Nun was born Jeanine Deckers in Brussels to a patisserie shop owner. She became a Girl Guide and learned to play guitar for campfires and events. Eventually, she would join the Missionary Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of Fichermont, headquarted in Waterloo. She continued to pen and compose her own songs and was even encouraged by her church superiors to record an album. What came of this album is that cute and repetitive French language song Dominique. The little ditty was the first and only Belgian song to be a number one hit in the United States. She sold almost 2 million copies of her first album. Her producer took most of the money she made and the rest was given to the congregation. As her international fame skyrocketed, her mother superior took to editing her music for any mention of sadness, wanting to market the joyful Sister Smile. The Singing Nuns second album was a commercial flop. She was forced out of the convent in 1966 due to personality conflicts. She would go on to compose religious music, but would never gain the amount of notoriety she had in her youth. She suffered a nervous breakdown and was pursued by Belgium for back taxes from her first album. Her former religious order refused to take responsibility, though they received the profits. Plagued by depression and financial problems, she took her life in a suicide pact with her secret lover of ten years, Annie Pécher. They died from a combination of barbiturates and alcohol.
