Claim: Debbie Reynolds acted.

The Singing Nun is a 1966 American semi-biographical film about the life of Jeanine Deckers , a nun who recorded the chart-topping hit song `` Dominique '' . It starred Debbie Reynolds in the title role . The film also stars Ricardo Montalbán , Katharine Ross , Chad Everett , and Ed Sullivan as himself . It was Henry Koster 's final directing job .   Harry Sukman was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music , Scoring of Music , Adaptation or Treatment . Randy Sparks wrote the English translations of Jeanine Deckers ' songs as well as writing a couple of original songs for the film .