Tina Turner, legend and Queen of Rock and Roll, dies at 83

The "Simply the Best" interpreter died after a long illness in Switzerland, her representative confirmed to British media.

Iconic singer Tina Turner died on Wednesday at the age of 83, her spokesperson confirmed in a statement.

"Tina Turner, the Queen of Rock'n Roll, died peacefully today after a long illness at her home in Küsnacht, near Zurich, Switzerland," the text reads. "With her, the world loses a music legend and role model."

The American star was one of the most beloved rock singers, recognized for her charisma and energy on stage.

What did Tina Turner die of?

Tina Turner had been diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2016 and underwent a kidney transplant in 2017, according to the British newspaper The Guardian. Turner died at his home in Küsnacht, near Zurich, Switzerland, according to his manager. The interpreter became a Swiss citizen ten years ago.

Who was Tina Turner?

The singer and actress began her career with her then-husband, Ike Turner, with whom she embarked on a successful career during the 1960s and 1970s, but who she divorced in 1978 after repeated episodes of domestic abuse, which she portrayed in the film "What's love got to with it", which, along with the song of the same name, became a hit in 1993.

Anna Mae Bullock, later to become Tina Turner, was born in a Tennessee hospital on November 26, 1939.

The success that accompanied the first years of his career was marred by the abusive relationship he had with Ike Turner for 20 years, from whom he suffered repeated physical and psychological abuse.

But Turner not only managed to overcome his stormy marriage, he became a superstar in his own right at age 40, at a time when many rock artists (particularly women) were entering their decline.

Turner remained on stage until a few years ago and her admirers include from Beyoncé to Mick Jagger.

She was one of the most successful artists in the world, known for hits like "Proud Mary," "Nutbush City Limits," "River Deep, Mountain High," "What's Love Got to Do with It," "We Don't Need Another Hero" and a cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together."

She has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, won 11 Grammy Awards, was voted with Ike into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 (and alone in 2021), and was honored at the Kennedy Center in 2005.

In addition to the 1993 film that portrayed her life, her trajectory also inspired a Broadway musical and an HBO documentary in 2021 that she herself called her public farewell.

Tina Turner, a survivor of domestic abuse

In her memoir, "Me, Tina," the singer said that Ike Turner began beating her shortly after they met in the mid-1950s, and the abuse became crueler over time. His anger would flare up for whatever reason and he went as far as throwing hot coffee in her face, trying to suffocate her, beating her until her eyes were swollen, and even raping her.

Before a show, he broke her jaw and she walked on stage with her mouth full of blood.

Terrified both to be with Ike and to be without him, Tina Turner credited her Buddhist faith with the strength and self-esteem to leave the marriage in 1976.

The show the couple was starring in at the time, The Ike and Tina Turner Revue, had a concert scheduled in Dallas the night she ran away, with just a credit card and 36 cents in her pocket, while her husband still slept.

Tina Turner crossed a road and managed to reach a hotel. "I looked at him (Ike) and thought, 'You just beat me for the last time, asshole,'" he recalled in his book.

Tina Turner's life after her separation from Ike

When she finally divorced Ike Turner, the interpreter was 40 years old and her first solo album had disappointing results.

Out of work and money, he even agreed to tour South Africa at a time when the country was widely boycotted due to its racist apartheid regime.

It was her colleagues, rock stars, who helped her resume her career. Rod Stewart convinced her to sing "Hot Legs" with him on "Saturday Night Live," and Mick Jagger, who had openly borrowed some of Turner's moves onstage, sang "Honky Tonk Women" with her during the Los Angeles tour. Rolling Stones from 1981-1982.

At a party for the release of his "Let's Dance" album in 1983, David Bowie told his guests that Turner was his favorite female singer.

Turner's "Private Dancer" album was released in May 1984, selling more than eight million copies and featuring several hit singles, including the title track and "Better Be Good To Me." She won four Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year for "What's Love Got to Do With It," the song that came to paint the picture of her life after her split from Ike.

“People look at me now and think what an intense life I must have lived, ha!” he wrote in his memoirs.

Turner had two children: Craig, with saxophonist Raymond Hill; and Ronald, with Ike Turner.

Craig Turner was found dead in 2018, in an apparent suicide. In a second memoir, published in 2018, Tina Turner revealed that she had received a kidney transplant from her second husband, Erwin Bach, a former EMI record executive.

Turner and Bach met in the mid-1980s, when she flew to Germany to promote a record and he picked her up at the airport. She was over a decade older than him, but the attraction was mutual. They got married in 2013 in a civil ceremony in Switzerland.

“It's that happiness that people talk about,” Turner told reporters at the time, “when you don't want anything, when you can finally take a deep breath and say, 'Everything's fine.'”