Tina Turner's Life Has Been So Tragic

This article contains references to domestic violence and suicide. 

Before she became one of the most legendary stars of our time, Tina Turner was just an ordinary girl named Anna Mae Bullock, who picked cotton with her family in Nutbush, Tennessee, to make ends meet. She would discover her passion for singing after joining the church choir, and would eventually join Ike Turner's band, the man who would later become her first husband. From the outside, it appeared as if Tina had struck gold. She racked up 25 Grammy nominations and won eight during her career, but behind the scenes, she was living a life filled with fear and abuse.

In her 2021 documentary, "Tina," the songstress spoke candidly about her life. "It wasn't a good life. The good did not balance the bad," she asserted. "I had an abusive life, there's no other way to tell the story. It's a reality. It's a truth. That's what you've got, so you have to accept it." Speaking to The New York Times in 2019, Tina talked about her decision to retire in 2009, noting that she needed to finally take time to focus on herself. "I was just tired of singing and making everybody happy. That's all I'd ever done in my life," she said. She also explained how always coming across as a strong, independent woman was taking its toll, and that she no longer wanted to fulfill that role. "I had a terrible life. I just kept going. You just keep going, and you hope that something will come," she reminisced.

Indeed, Tina survived more tragedy in her lifetime than most people. From marrying an abusive man, to weathering heartbreaking family losses and multiple health issues, Tina Turner's life is a study in adversity, and how to overcome it, despite the odds being stacked against you.

Tina Turner's stunning transformation didn't come easily. Life dealt her a bad hand early on, with the legendary songstress growing up in difficult circumstances. Not only did her family have a hard time making ends meet, their household was also an abusive one. Turner's father, Floyd Richard Bullock, was abusive toward her mother, Zelma Priscilla Currie, who eventually abandoned her husband and kids to escape the abuse. Turner was only 11 when her mother fled, and her father remarried only two short years later, leaving her and her sisters, Evelyn Juanita Currie and Alline Bullock, to fend for themselves under their grandmother's care. This didn't last long either, with Turner's grandmother dying when she was 16.

There was no real light at the end of the tunnel that was Tina Turner's difficult childhood. After her grandmother's death, she went to live with her mother, but ultimately felt abandoned by her parents. Turner did domestic work to make ends meet, and during this time, life dealt her another blow when her half-sister, Evelyn, along with two of her cousins, died in a car crash.

Despite her mother's physical and emotional absence throughout Turner's life, the singer continued to look after her mom when she found success. In her 2021 documentary, "Tina," Turner said her mother was never proud of her accomplishments. "Mom was not kind. When I became a star, of course back then she was happy because I bought her a house," the songstress explained. "She still didn't like me." Turner's mother also refused to believe that she was a famous, successful singer. "She didn't want me, she didn't want to be around me, even though she wanted my success. But I did for her as if she loved me," Turner said.

The truth about Tina Turner's turbulent marriage to Ike Turner remained a secret for a long time. He was the reason her career took off in the first place; he created Tina Turner, so to speak (Tina's real name was Anna Mae Bullock), and the singer found herself sticking it out for the sake of her career. "There was violence, because he had this fear that I was going to leave him. The other women, because I didn't love him that way ... the other women weren't so bad, but it was the constant, constant ill treatment," she told The Times in 2018.

In her memoir, "My Love Story," Tina opened up about her relationship with Ike, noting that she wasn't keen to marry him but was afraid of the repercussions if she didn't, so she decided to go ahead with the ceremony. "(Arguing) would just make him mad, and that might lead to a beating ... I definitely didn't want a black eye on my wedding day," she wrote. To make matters worse, Ike took his new wife to a brothel after their ceremony, where he forced her to sit through a live sex show. "The experience was so disturbing that I suppressed it, scratched it out, and created a different scenario," Tina wrote in her book.

Speaking to "CBS Sunday Morning" in 2019, Tina once again touched on her tumultuous marriage, sharing, "He was cruel because he depended on me. He didn't like that he had to depend on me. And I didn't want to start a fight because it was always a black eye, a broken nose, a busted lip, a rib." Ike admitted to hitting his wife, but excused it as normal behavior. Tina eventually left him in 1976.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

Given all the hardships Tina Turner faced throughout her life, it should come as no surprise that she dealt with mental health issues. In her memoir, "My Love Story," the songstress opened up about how much she was struggling with the mental load of being in an abusive relationship. At one point, it felt like more than she could bear, and she tried to end her life. 

"I chose death, and I chose it honestly," Turner penned. "I was unhappy when I woke up. But I never tried it again because I made an important realization, one that changed the course of my life. I came out of the darkness believing I was meant to survive. I was here for a reason."

During a 1986 interview, Turner recounted the suicide attempt, noting that she was in a very dark place that particular day and had faced judgment from people for staying with Ike Turner despite his abuse. "Some people called me a foolish woman," the singer said (via YouTube). "I think it took a smart woman to live with a man and to live in that situation. That's the credit I give myself." She said the suicide attempt was the result of feeling trapped and afraid and like there was no way out of her circumstances. Surviving it was what gave her a new perspective on life.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

Tina Turner had many devastating health struggles. She suffered two strokes during her lifetime, which were largely the result of untreated high blood pressure. The first occurred in 2009, and she had another one in 2013. In a column the musician wrote for Show Your Kidneys Love, she noted that ignoring her high blood pressure was partially because she didn't have any information on how dangerous it was, and partly because she didn't want to take medication for the rest of her life. "I considered my body an invulnerable and indestructible bastion for way too long," she wrote. "I considered high blood pressure my normal. Hence, I didn't really try to control it."

Turner had a hard time healing from her first stroke, in part, because her kidneys were also starting to lose their function because of her hypertension. Her second stroke in 2013 is chronicled in her memoir, "My Love Story." She recalled how, a mere three months into her marriage with her second husband, Erwin Bach, she woke up one night in immense pain. "I woke up suddenly and in a panic. A lightning bolt struck my head and my right leg — at least that's how it felt — and I had a funny sensation in my mouth that made it difficult for me to call out to Erwin for help. I suspected it wasn't good, but it was worse than I ever imagined. I was having a stroke," Turner wrote.

After a 10-day hospital stay, Turner had to start the arduous rehab process. The stroke had left her unable to walk, and she noted that the process of regaining her strength and mobility was incredibly challenging.

Like many other stars who've had health issues, Tina Turner eventually shared many of her ailments with her fans. Aside from suffering two strokes and battling mental health issues, Turner was also diagnosed with kidney failure. Doctors noticed that her kidney function had dropped to 35% after her second stroke in 2013. By 2017, Turner's kidneys were barely functioning, and she had to go on dialysis. This was difficult for the songstress, and at one point, she considered assisted suicide. "I was surviving, but not living. I began to think about death. If my kidneys were going, and it was time for me to die, I could accept that, it was OK. When it's time, it's really time," she said in her documentary.

Turner's husband, Erwin Bach, donated the kidney that saved her life in 2017. In her memoir, "My Love Story," Turner shared that her kidney failure had, in part, been the result of her turning to homeopathic remedies instead of modern medicine, believing it would come with fewer side effects. Unfortunately, the treatment was ineffective and only made her condition worse. "The consequences of my ignorance ended up being a matter of life and death," she penned, noting that recovery after the transplant was difficult. "From time to time, my body tried to reject the donor kidney, as it frequently happens after transplantation. Every so often, this required more hospital admissions. I kept feeling nauseous and dizzy, forgot things, and was scared a lot," she wrote.

Aside from her debilitating health issues, Tina Turner also lost her eldest son, Craig Turner, to suicide in 2018. He was 59. The songstress addressed his death in various interviews, telling BBC News that she didn't see it coming. "I still don't know what took him to the edge," she admitted, adding that Craig was very happy in a new relationship and that he'd recently gotten a job in real estate that he loved. "I have no idea what pulled him down, except something that followed him with loneliness. I think it was something with being alone," Tina said, explaining that her son was every bit the introvert. In the days before his death, the two spoke over the phone regularly, and even though she didn't notice anything off at the time, Tina said that, in retrospect, there were warning signs she missed.

Speaking to Oprah Winfrey during her "Super Soul" segment, Tina said her son sounded happy the last few times he called her. "Mother, I'm so happy, I'm really happy now," Tina recalled Craig saying. During their very last conversation, he told her, "Hi Mother, I just want to hear your voice and that laugh." Tina said, in retrospect, she realized that was him saying his final goodbye. "That one stuck out because he had never said that. I think that was his goodbye to me," she told Winfrey. In an interview with "CBS Sunday Morning" Tina said she believes her son is in a better place. "I have pictures all around of him smiling, and I think I'm sensing that he's in a good place. I really do," she said.

Tina Turner didn't have an easy life — not as a child, and certainly not as an adult. Because of all the trauma she endured, Tina dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder. Her second husband, Erwin Bach, spoke about this in the 2021 documentary, "Tina," noting that much of the trauma his wife endured years ago still haunted her. "She has dreams about it, they're not pleasant," he said. "It's like when soldiers come back from the war. It's not an easy time to have those in your memory and then try to forget." Tina concurred, saying, "That scene comes back. You're dreaming it. The real picture is there, it's like a curse."

Tina Turner said she had tried to forgive her first husband, Ike Turner, for what he'd done to her all those years ago, but that didn't make the memories any less painful or traumatizing. Forgiveness, however, helped her to find some semblance of peace. "It was letting go, because it only hurts you. By not forgiving, you suffer, because you think about it over and over. And for what?" she said. Having to repeat the story of her abuse over and over again didn't exactly help the singer to put her painful, traumatic past behind her either.

The directors of the "Tina" documentary, Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin, told the New York Post that, in many ways, rehashing her past experiences hindered the singer's healing. "Every time she's asked to re-tell her story, as beneficial as it may be for other people to hear and be empowered by, it can be extremely painful and re-traumatizing for her," Martin said. Lindsay agreed, noting that retelling the story, in a way, kept Tina connected to her troubled past.

Losing one child is hard enough, but unfortunately, Tina Turner had to go through that heartbreak again when her youngest son, Ronnie Turner, died in 2022. Ronnie had colon cancer and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which affects the arteries and can lead to complications like blood clots, per Cleveland Clinic.

Ronnie's wife, Afida Turner, first broke the news of his death on Instagram, calling his death "so unfair" and a "tragedy." Tina Turner also took to Instagram to pay tribute to her son. She posted a black and white photograph of herself with her eyes closed, captioning the post, "Ronnie, you left the world far too early. In sorrow I close my eyes and think of you, my beloved son."

While Tina Turner was dealing with the reality of kidney failure, she was also diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2016. The diagnosis meant she couldn't get a transplant as soon as she'd hoped. Turner said the only indication that something was amiss ahead of her diagnosis was chronic diarrhea. "I had no pain but my body was reacting from cancer in the colon, from the kidney failure," Turner said in a 2018 interview, per Express. She added that, upon receiving the diagnosis, she made peace with the fact that she might die, but her husband, Erwin Bach, wasn't about to give up that easily.

Turner underwent surgery to remove the cancerous growths in her intestine. Doctors were determined to get rid of the cancer to allow her to get a kidney transplant. The songstress was diagnosed with cancer in January 2016, and by the end of that year, underwent a colonoscopy that showed her cancer had been cured, which meant she could get her transplant in 2017. Tina Turner's heartbreaking death in 2023 was all the more gut wrenching because of how hard she fought to stay alive.

Even in her final years, Turner couldn't quite comprehend her legacy. As thousands of fans turned up to watch the Broadway musical of Turner's life, titled simply "Tina," the legendary singer left a note in the program, marveling at the fact that people would come out to watch a play about her life. "I've been blessed with a wonderful career," she penned, per People. "I don't need another show, but I get so many cards and letters — I still can't believe how people feel about me onstage and the legacy they say I left."