
The music world lost a beloved musical icon and true entertainer, Tina Turner, who died on on Wednesday (May 24) at age 83.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner. With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow,” a statement posted to her Instagram account read. “Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music. All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly.”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Kennedy Center honoree rose to international superstardom throughout more than 50 years of triumph, heartbreak, and one of the most successful comebacks of all time. Beyond her influence in music, she was also an actress and became a best-selling author with 1986’s I, Tina, which was written with Kurt Loder and detailed her childhood, early success with musician husband Ike, his domestic abuse and her adoption of Buddhism.
Following the end of her abusive relationship with Ike, she reclaimed her musical narrative as a solo star in her own right with her Hot 100 No. 1 ,“What’s Love Got to Do With It,” which gave her three of her eight Grammys including record and song of the year.
Throughout her career, Turner earned 17 solo hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome),” “One of the Living,” “Typical Male” and “I Don’t Wanna Fight.” Among her other top-selling solo albums were Break Every Rule and Foreign Affair as well as the compilation album All the Best. Her last studio album was 1999’s Twenty Four Seven.
Turner married longtime beau Erwin Bach in July 2013, the same year she became a Swiss citizen.
To celebrate the career of the cultural icon, see below for Tina Turner’s life in photos.
-
1969
Image Credit: Jack Robinson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Tina Turner photographed in New York on Nov. 25, 1969.
-
1977
Image Credit: Harry Langdon/Getty Images Tina Turner photographed in Los Angeles in 1977.
-
1975
Image Credit: Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns Ike and Tina Turner perform live on stage in the Netherlands, 1975.
-
1977
Image Credit: Tony Korody/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images Tina Turner photographed in Las Vegas in 1977.
-
1981
Image Credit: Derek Hudson/Getty Images Tina Turner poses with The Rolling Stones backstage at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 25 or 26, 1981.
-
1986
Image Credit: frederic meylan/Sygma via Getty Images Tina Turner at her home in London in 1986.
-
1987
Image Credit: Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Tina Turner on Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on New Years Eve on Dec 31, 1987.
-
1988
Image Credit: Dave Hogan/Getty Images Tina Turner dances with Samba performers during her tour in Brazil, January 1988.
-
1984
Image Credit: Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images Tina Turner poses at home for a portrait in December 1984 in Los Angeles.
-
1989
Image Credit: Dave Hogan/Getty Images Tina Turner and David Bowie backstage at the Birmingham NEC in London in 1989.
-
1997
Image Credit: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images Tina Turner performs at Shoreline Amphitheatre on May 23, 1997 in Mountain View, California.
-
1986
Image Credit: Brian Cooke/Redferns Paul McCartney and Tina Turner performing on stage at The Prince’s Trust 10th Birthday Party at Wembley Arena, London, United Kingdom on June 20, 1986.
-
1985
Image Credit: CBS via Getty Images Tina Turner at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 26, 1985 at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
-
1964
Image Credit: A.B. Bell/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Tina Turner poses for a portrait in 1964 in Dallas, Texas.
-
1970
Image Credit: David Redfern/Redferns Tina Turner performs live on stage at the 1970 Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island on July 11, 1970.
-
1985
Image Credit: Steve Wood/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Tina Turner, Terry Wogan and Elton John at the BBC Television Centre in Shepherd’s Bush in London on Feb. 18, 1985.
-
1984
Image Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Tina Turner performs on May 2, 1984 in Los Angeles.
-
2008
Image Credit: Michael Caulfield/WireImage Beyonce Knowles and Tina Turner on stage at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Feb. 10, 2008 in Los Angeles.
-
1990
Image Credit: Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Tina Turner is photographed during one of her tour dates in Woburn Abbey on Aug. 29, 1990.
-
1985
Image Credit: Robin Platzer/IMAGES/Getty Images Tina Turner with Cher circa 1985 in New York City.
-
2000
Image Credit: Western Mail Archive/Mirrorpix/Getty Images Tina Turner at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales on July 9, 2000.
-
1997
Image Credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images Tina Turner performing at World Music Theater in Tinley Park, Illinois, on June 28, 1997.
-
1993
Image Credit: Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Tina Turner is photographed in her dressing room backstage ahead of her show at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in New York on July 12, 1993.
-
1985
Image Credit: Jerry Wachter/IMAGES/Getty Images Lionel Richie performs with Tina Turner circa 1985.
-
1976
Image Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Tina Turner performing with the Ike And Tina Turner Revue on ‘Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert’, recorded in Los Angeles, and aired on March 12, 1976.
-
1986
Image Credit: Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images Diana, Princess of Wales, meets singers Paul Young and Tina Turner backstage at a Prince’s Trust charity rock concert at Wembley, June 1986.
-
1987
Image Credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images Tina Turner performs onstage at the Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates in Illinois on Sept. 12, 1987.
-
1975
Image Credit: Michael Putland/Getty Images Tina Turner performing on stage Oct. 28, 1975.
-
1985
Image Credit: Warner Brothers/Getty Images Tina Turner in ‘Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome’ in 1985.
-
2019
Image Credit: John Lamparski/Getty Images Tina Turner speaks during the “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical” opening night at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Nov. 7, 2019 in New York City.
-
1988
Image Credit: Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Tina Turner shows her gold discs on a balcony overlooking Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, while on her tour in Brazil in 1988.
-
1977
Image Credit: Harry Langdon/Getty Images Tina Turner photographed in Los Angeles, California in 1977.
-
1975
Image Credit: Andrew Putler/Redferns/Getty Images Tina Turner photographed in London in October 1975.