Born on 30 August 1951 in London, England.
Five years later her parents returned home to Derry, Northern Ireland, where she studied at Thornhill College. In her spare time she practiced ballet dancing and also entered local music competitions as a folk singer. While still at school she signed to Rex Records in 1967. They asked her to record under a shorter name, so she chose Dana, her teenage nickname. In February 1969 she came second in the Irish National Song Contest, and the following year came first, thus becoming Ireland’s representative in the Eurovision Song Contest in Amsterdam on 21 March 1970. Dana won the competition with All Kinds of Everything, a million-seller that launched her award-winning music career with hits such as Who Put the Lights Out, Please Tell Him That I Said Hello, It’s Gonna be a Cold Cold Christmas, Never Gonna Fall in Love Again and Fairytale.

She married hotelier Damien Scallon in Derry in 1978. They have four children.

From 1979 she began writing Catholic music, including Irish number one Totus Tuus, Lady of Knock (#23) and The Rosary, a multi-million selling prayer album. She was invited to perform at several World Youth Day events attended by Pope John Paul II. In the nineties she moved to Alabama where she worked for the Eternal Word Television Network.

As Dana Rosemary Scallon she became an MEP for Connacht-Ulster in Ireland (1999-2004).

Her company DS Music Productions began in 2006.

In 2019 she released her latest pop album, My Time, and in 2020 celebrated 50 years since winning Eurovision.

Sister of Gerry Brown and John Brown.