Tina Turner, whose death was announced yesterday, suffered a number of health issues in recent years including cancer, a stroke and kidney failure.
The soulful pop icon who rose to fame alongside husband Ike in the 1960s with songs including Proud Mary and River Deep, Mountain High, was a solo sensation with classic pop hits like The Best and What's Love Got to Do With It made her a superstar. Dubbed the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, Tina Turner was famed for her raunchy and energetic stage performances and husky, powerful vocals, with younger stars who have felt her influence include Beyoncé, Janet Jackson, Janelle Monae and Rihanna.
Tributes were pouring in, with soul queen, Gloria Gaynor, who also rose to fame in the 1960s, saying that she (Tina Turner) paved the way for so many women in rock music, Black and white". There were also tributes from Supermodel Naomi Campbell, Basketball legend Magic Johnson and singers Kelly Rowland and Ciara.
On Instagram, The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger said Turner was "inspiring, warm, funny and generous" and helped him when he was young.
Born Anna Mae Bullock, in Tennessee, into a sharecropping family, Tina first found prominence as one of the backing singers for her husband Ike's band The Kings of Rhythm, before going to front the band. The couple then tasted commercial success with Fool in Love and It's Gonna Work Out Fine, which made the US charts in the early 60s.
Their other hits included 1973's Nutbush City Limits, about the small town where Tina was born. But Ike's physical and emotional abuse was taking its toll.
She managed to escape her abuser, before going on to rebuild her career and become one of the biggest pop and rock stars of the 80s and 90s, with hits including Let's Stay Together, Steamy Windows, Private Dancer, James Bond theme GoldenEye, I Don't Wanna Fight and It Takes Two, a duet with Rod Stewart. She also starred in 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome - which featured another of her smashes, We Don't Need Another Hero - and The Who's 1975 rock opera Tommy as the Acid Queen.
She found happiness with her second husband, German music executive Erwin Bac. They began dating in the mid-80s, and got married in 2013 and lived in Switzerland, with Turner taking Swiss citizenship. He donated one of his kidneys to her in 2017 after it was discovered she was suffering from kidney failure.
She also suffered tragedy with the loss of her eldest son Craig to suicide in 2018. His father was Turner's former bandmate, Raymond Hill. Another son, Ronnie, whose father was Ike Turner, died in 2022. She also had two adopted sons, Ike Jr and Michael, Ike's children from a previous relationship.
Tina's life story spawned a 1993 biopic titled What's Love Got To Do With It, which earned Angela Bassett an Oscar nomination for playing the star; and a hit stage musical - aptly titled Tina: The Musical. She was also the subject of HBO documentary Tina in 2021.
Her death was announced on her official Instagram page. She was 83.
