Tina Turner dead: Queen of rock ‘n’ roll was 83

Tina Turner, known as the Queen of Rock ‘n Roll for her catalog of hits including “Proud Mary” and “Private Dancer,” has died.

She was 83.

The news was shared on Turner’s Instagram account on Wednesday.

“Verified 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,” the statement 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.”

Turner sold over 100 million records worldwide with huge songs including “The Best” and “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”

She scored her first and only No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the latter tune during her career comeback in 1984. Turner was 44 at the time, making her the oldest solo female artist to top the Hot 100 chart.

The song won three Grammys in 1985 and in 2012 was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, giving Turner her third Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

The “Queen of Rock ‘n Roll” sold over 100 million records worldwide including hits such as “Proud Mary,” “Private Dancer” and “The Best.” Getty Images

She had 12 total Grammy Awards, including eight competitive awards, three Grammy Hall of Fame awards, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Turner retired from music in 2009 after completing her “Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour.”

Born Anna Mae Bullock in 1939, the Brownsville, Tennessee, native spent much of her childhood picking cotton and singing in a nearby church.

Turner started her career in 1957 as a member of her future husband’s group, Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm. She released her first song, “Boxtop,” under the name Little Ann before coming back as Tina Tuner in 1960 with “A Fool in Love.”

Tina Turner started her singing career in 1957 when she joined her future husband’s group, Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm. Getty Images

But her first real taste of success came in the 1960s and 70s as the duo the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

In her 1986 memoir, “I, Tina: My Life Story,” she accused Ike of domestic abuse during their marriage. Ike died of a drug overdose in 2007.

Tina had four children, including a son Craig with saxophonist Raymond Hill’ while in high school. Craig was adopted by Ike when the couple got married; Craig died by suicide in 2018.

Tina Turner performs on stage at Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 1990. Redferns

Tina also adopted two of Ike’s children, Ike Jr. and Michael, from his previous relationship. She gave birth to their son, Ronnie, in October 1960. He died from complications related to late-stage cancer, as well as cardiovascular disease in 2022.

The “Proud Mary” songstress married her longtime partner and second husband German music executive, Erwin Bach, in 2013. The pair had been living in Switzerland for many years and Turner even renounced her US citizenship. They bought a Swiss “weekend retreat” in January 2022.

The singer received four Grammy awards in 1985 and 12 in total throughout her life.CBS via Getty Images

In a clip from an interview Turner did with the late Larry King in 1997, she revealed one of the main reasons she left the United States was due to her stardom.

“[We] feel very comfortable in Switzerland,” Bach said in an interview local publication Daily Handelszeitung. “Due to the [COVID-19] pandemic and its consequences we — like many other Swiss — unfortunately, are refraining from travel.”

In the 2010s, Turner moved to Switzerland with her second husband Erwin Bach and renounced her US citizenship.Getty Images

“I have left America because my success was in another country and my boyfriend was in another country,” Turner said, pointing to the popularity of “Private Dancer” in the UK as a driving factor. “Basically, Europe has been very supportive of my music.”

She also starred in several movies, including “Tommy” (1975), “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” (1985), and “Last Action Hero” (1993). That same year, she released the biographical film adaptation of her memoir titled “What’s Love Got to Do with It.”

Mattel honored the singer with the Tina Turner Barbie Doll — complete with her signature volumized hairstyle and iconic “What’s Love Got to Do With It” video outfit — in October 2022 upon the song’s 40th anniversary.

In April 2023, Turner told The Sun how she dealt with her famous legs being the subject of constant conversation.

“Sometimes I think I’m as famous for my legs as much as my voice,” she told the outlet.

“I only had my legs on show so much as it made it much easier to dance . . . And then it became part of my style.”

“When I was younger I never felt confident about any part of my body, but with all the attention my legs received, I realized they must be OK!”

This is a breaking story that will be updated.