Singer Tina Turner, one of rock’s most famous voices who had hits including Proud Mary and The Best, has died at the age of 83. She died after a long illness, her representative said.
In a career spanning over 60 years, the American-Swiss singer, who was born Anna Mae Bullock in Nutbush, Tennessee, won eight competitive Grammy Awards and has a star on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the St Louis Walk of Fame. Her autobiography, I, Tina, was turned into the 1993 film What’s Love Got To Do With It, dramatising the mother-of-two’s famously turbulent relationship with Ike Turner and it also saw Angela Bassett nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Tina in the biopic.
In a statement, a representative for Tina Turner said: “Tina Turner, the ‘Queen of Rock’n Roll’ has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Kusnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model.
“Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in Nutbush, Tennessee, USA. She became famous in the late 60s as the singer of the band Ike & Tina Turner Revue, but later she became successful worldwide as a solo artist.
“With her music and her inexhaustible vitality, Tina Turner thrilled millions of fans and inspired many artists of subsequent generations. Global hits like ‘What’s Love Got To Do With it’, ‘Private Dancer’ and ‘The Best’, more than 180 million albums sold, 12 Grammy Awards and over three decades of sold-out stadium tours around the world are just part of her unique legacy.
“There will be a private funeral ceremony attended by close friends and family. Please respect the privacy of her family at this difficult time. Further press inquiries will not be answered.”
Turner, widely referred to as the Queen of Rock and Roll, wed her long-time German beau, the music executive Erwin Bach, in a Swiss civil ceremony in 2013, and has lived in Switzerland with him since 1994.
It was a second marriage for the music star, who was previously married to musician Ike from 1962 to 1978. In her 1986 book, the singer narrated a harrowing tale of abuse, including suffering a broken nose during the course of her marriage to Ike.
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Ike died in December 2007 and Tina’s spokeswoman at the time was quoted as saying: “Tina is aware that Ike passed away earlier today. She has not had any contact with him in 35 years. No further comment will be made.”
She had suffered ill health in recent years. She was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2016 and had a kidney transplant in 2017.
