Simply the best: Rock queen Tina Turner dies aged 83

US-Swiss singer Tina Turner, who became one of the top recording artists of all time, has died at the age of 83.

Tina Turner died after a long illness at her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, according to her manager. She was 83. Source: AP / Hermann J. Knippertz

Key Points

• Legendary musician Tina Turner has died after a long illness, aged 83.
• The US-Swiss singer is widely referred to as the Queen of Rock and Roll and had a more than 60-year-long career.
• She had suffered ill-health in recent years and died peacefully in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland.

Singer Tina Turner, one of rock's most famous voices who had hits including Proud Mary and The Best, has died at the age of 83 after a long illness, her publicist Bernard Doherty says.

She died peacefully in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, her representative said.

In a career spanning more than 60 years, the US-Swiss singer, who was born Anna Mae Bullock in Nutbush, Tennessee, won eight competitive Grammy Awards and has a star on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the St Louis Walk of Fame.

American R&B and Pop singer Tina Turner performs onstage. Source: Getty / Paul Natkin

Her autobiography, I, Tina, was turned into the 1993 film What's Love Got To Do With It, dramatising the mother-of-two's famously turbulent relationship with Ike Turner.

Turner, widely referred to as the Queen of Rock and Roll, wed her long-time German beau, the music executive Erwin Bach, in a Swiss civil ceremony in 2013 and has lived in Switzerland with him since 1994.

It was a second marriage for the music star, who was previously married to musician Ike from 1962 to 1978.

Tina Turner and former husband Ike Turner. Source: Getty / Michael Putland

In her 1986 book, the singer narrated a harrowing tale of abuse, including suffering a broken nose during the course of her marriage to Ike.

Ike died in December 2007 and Tina's spokeswoman at the time was quoted as saying: "Tina is aware that Ike passed away earlier today. She has not had any contact with him in 35 years. No further comment will be made."

Tina Turner and her second husband, music executive Erwin Bach. Source: Getty / Ronald Siemoneit/Sygma via Getty Images

She had suffered ill-health in recent years, being diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2016 and having a kidney transplant in 2017.

In autobiography Tina Turner: My Love Story, published in 2018, she revealed that Bach saved her life by donating one of his kidneys.

Tina Turner performs on stage. Source: Getty / Rob Verhorst/Redferns

Her famous tracklist over the years includes the Bond theme track for 1995's GoldenEye, with a tune of the same name co-written by Bono and The Edge of U2 fame, and other tracks include We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome), What's Love Got to Do With It, Private Dancer, Let's Stay Together and many more.

In 2008 she duetted at the Grammys with Beyonce for a rendition of Proud Mary which featured both the powerful singers, in sparkly outfits, mirroring each other's choreography.

Other notable duets through her career included performing with David Bowie and in 1985 she took to the stage with The Rolling Stones' Sir Mick Jagger during Live Aid.

Tina Turner and Mick Jagger on stage. Source: Getty / Paul Natkin

Last year, Turner said following her son Ronnie's death at the age of 62 that he "left the world far too early".

Her other biological son, Craig Raymond Turner, died aged 59 in 2018.

Tina Turner's Australian connections

Tina Turner enjoyed a substantial following in Australia, playing the role of Aunty Entity alongside Mel Gibson in George Miller's Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. The film popularised her song, 'We Don't Need Another Hero'.

Tina Turner played Aunty Entity in George Miller's Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Source: AAP / Rights Managed/Mary Evans

She also appeared in a national advertising campaign for Australia's Rugby League competition in 1989, featuring the likes of Mal Meninga and Andrew Ettingshausen training and playing to the tune of 'Simply the Best'.  The song was used again in a short-lived NRL campaign in 2020.

Her song 'Nutbush City Limits' was particularly popular in Australia, with a generation of Australians being taught the 'Nutbush dance' at school, which then became a common feature at some Australian weddings and in clubs. 

A musical based on her life, titled Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, opened on London's West End in 2018.

In 2021 she sold the rights to her back catalogue after reaching an agreement with BMG for an undisclosed sum, signing over her share of her recordings, her music publishing writer's share and her name, image and likeness, the company said.

Her solo works include 10 studio albums, two live albums, two soundtracks and five compilations, which together have sold more than 100 million records.