(26 November 1939 – 24 May 2023)
On Tuesday, the world lost the iconic Queen of Rock, Tina Turner (83) at her home in Switzerland.
Her life, while filled with personal struggles, eventually became defined by her determination to succeed at every turn.
As she put it: “People think my life has been tough, but I think it has been a wonderful journey. The older you get, the more you realise it’s not what happens, but how you deal with it.”
Here’s a look at 10 interesting facts about this rock star’s life.
1. Tina Turner wasn’t her real name
Her real name was Anna Mae Bullock and while she started performing under the name Little Ann initially, it was her former husband Ike Turner who convinced her to change it when they performed together.
2. Ike & Tina Turner
Tina and Ike became one of the most successful live duo acts, with hits like ‘A Fool in Love’, ‘It’s Gonna Work Out Fine’, ‘River Deep – Mountain High’, ‘Proud Mary’, and ‘Nutbush City Limits’ before being disbanded in 1976.
3. Difficult childhood
Tina and her three sisters were separated from their parents during World War II and went to live with their paternal grandparents in Tennessee. After the war, they reunited with their parents, however, her mother left when Tina was 11 – citing spousal abuse.
4. Domestic duties
Tina worked as a domestic as a teenager, and it was during this time that her half-sister Evelyn died in a car crash alongside her cousins Margaret and Vela Evans.
5. Success solo
After leaving her abusive husband Ike in 1978 after 16 years of marriage, the 37-year-old Tina made the biggest comeback in music history by gaining even more fame as a solo artist. Her 1984 multi-platinum album Private Dancer was a worldwide hit, making her one of the best-selling artists of all time.
6. Record-breaking career
Tina was the first black artist and woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stone, a magazine that ranked her among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and earned 12 Grammys in her lifetime.
In 1986, her live show in Rio De Janeiro set the then Guinness World Record for the largest paying audience for a solo artist.
7. Taking to the big screen
Beyond the music, Tina also made it big on the big screen, appearing in the films Tommy, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and Last Action Hero. Her 1993 biopic What’s Love Got to Do with It featuring Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne, earned Bassett a nomination for Best Actress.
8. Finding love
It was 10 years after divorcing Ike that Tina started her relationship with former music executive Erwin Bach. They dated for an incredible 27 years before getting married in 2013.
Following the wedding, they threw a star-studded party at their lakeside Switzerland estate with Oprah Winfrey, Giorgio Armani and David Bowie among the 120 guests.
9. Tina the mother
Tina had two biological sons, Craig Raymond Turner and Ronald (Ronnie) Renelle Turner, as well as adopting two of Ike’s children, Ike Jr and Michael, and raised them as her own.
Tragically, Craig committed suicide in 2018 and Ronnie died last year from colon cancer.
10. Ill health in final years
Sadly, a few weeks after the wedding, Tina suffered a stroke and had to learn how to walk again.
In 2016, she was diagnosed with intestinal cancer. Opting for homoeopathic remedies after suffering bad side-effects from the treatment, she suffered kidney failure. Her husband donated his kidney in 2017, saving her life and giving her another six years.
Sources:
https://www.smoothradio.com/artists/tina-turner/age-real-name-husband-children/
https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/switzerland/top-10-remarkable-facts-about-tina-turner/
https://people.com/music/who-is-erwin-bach-tina-turner-husband/
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