She was 83 years old Rock singer Tina Turner is dead

Rock legend Tina Turner is dead. She died in Zurich on Wednesday at the age of 83. This was announced by a spokesperson in the evening. She died in Küsnacht after a long illness.

Tina Turner is dead. The singer died at the age of 83. The sad news was announced on her Instagram account. It reads:

"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner. With her music and her boundless zest for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world (...) Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music. (...)

A look back at Tina Turner's life

The "Queen of Rock'n'Roll" sent millions of people into ecstasy with her powerful voice, daring costumes, sexy dance routines and exuberant energy. This was especially true in the 80s and 90s. After a farewell tour in 2009, she retired to private life at the age of 70. By her own account, after decades of hard work, she now enjoyed life without commitments.

Turner rarely appeared in public after that, for example to promote a book or a musical about her life story. She had lived with her German partner Erwin Bach, 16 years her junior, on Lake Zurich in Switzerland since the 1990s. The two celebrated a lavish wedding there in 2013. Turner later even took Swiss citizenship.

She sang in a gospel choir as a child

Tina Turner, whose real name is Anna Mae Bullock, grew up in the southern town of Nutbush in Tennessee in a family of cotton pickers. As a child, she sang in a gospel choir before guitarist Ike Turner, eight years her senior, discovered her. He formed the band "Ike and Tina Turner Revue". With their first single "Fool in Love", they stormed the charts in 1960. They married in 1962. This was followed by hits such as "River Deep - Mountain High" and "Nutbush City Limits". In 1969, they made their breakthrough as the opening act for the Rolling Stones.

The duo became world-famous in the 60s and 70s. However, as Tina Turner only revealed much later, the marriage was an ordeal for her. Ike beat and harassed her. At the age of 37, she fled from him. Turner gave up all financial claims from the music they had made together in order to get through the divorce quickly.

Her solo breakthrough came with "Private Dancer"

With only a few cents in her pocket and as a single mother of two sons, Tina Turner took off again at almost 40. She first sang and danced in clubs and hotels. She cleaned wherever she could, she said: "I'd rather be someone else's cleaning lady than Ike Turner's wife!"

And then came 1984, when she made her breakthrough at the age of 45 with her album "Private Dancer". She won four Grammys. The hit "What's Love Got To Do With It?" sounded like a self-deprecating but also bitter look back at her marriage to Ike. From then on, she filled stadiums and music stages all over the world. She landed numerous hits: "Proud Mary", "We Don't Need Another Hero" and "Be Tender with Me Baby" are just a few of them.

Turner has won numerous music awards. In 2021, she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, USA. "If they're still giving me awards at 81, I must have done something right," she joked at the ceremony via video link from Switzerland.

Her sons died before her

Tina Turner remained unforgotten even after her active time as an icon: In December 2021, the University of Bern awarded the Swiss by choice an honorary doctorate for her "unique musical and artistic life's work".

Turner had two biological sons who died before her at the ages of 59 and 62. She herself had bowel cancer and kidney failure. Her husband donated one of his kidneys to her in 2017. In her autobiography "My Love Story" in 2019, she talked about many painful experiences in her life, but acknowledged Bach as her savior and the greatest love of her life.

In her own words, the Buddhist was not afraid of dying. "I'm ready when the door opens," she told Die Zeit in October 2018.

Tina Turner was also legendary as an actress:

dpa