Tina Turner is an undeniable music legend. From her early success in the 1960s to her rise to solo superstardom in the ‘80s, the best-selling songstress has had a one-of-a-kind career that’s spanned more than five decades.
But in recent years, the aging icon has faced ongoing health struggles that have kept her away from the spotlight. She’s also survived the loss of two of her four children. So where is Tina Turner now? Here’s an update on the rock legend’s life today.
She Lives In Switzerland With Her Husband
Tina Turner was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, on November 26, 1939, which means that she turned 83 years old in 2022. She currently lives in Switzerland with her husband, German music executive Erwin Bach, whom she married in 2013 after more than 25 years together.
The couple has been living in Switzerland since the 1990s, but Turner became a citizen of the country in 2013, relinquishing her U.S. citizenship in order to do so.
“I am very happy in Switzerland and I feel at home here,” the “Private Dancer” singer told the German newspaper Blick in a 2013 interview (as reported by E! News). “I could not imagine a better place to live.”
She Officially Retired From Music In 2009
After embarking on her 11th concert tour—appropriately called Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour—in 2009, the music icon decided she was ready to walk away from her life on stage. “I was just tired of singing and making everybody happy,” Turner said of the decision in a 2019 interview with the New York Times. “That’s all I’d ever done in my life.”
But the rock icon didn’t completely disappear. In 2016, she helped develop Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, which debuted in the UK in 2018 and hit Broadway in 2019. The show was critically acclaimed and nominated for 12 Tony Awards, with Adrienne Warren winning for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical.
She also collaborated with Kygo for a remix of “What Love Got to Do With It” in 2020.
“I couldn’t be more excited to collaborate with Tina Turner, who is an icon that I grew up listening to,” Kygo said in a statement about the release. “‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’ is one of my all-time favorite songs, so to have a chance to rework it has been a very special moment in my career.”
Additionally, Turner published the book Tina Turner: My Love Story and it quickly became a New York Times Bestseller. It was her second autobiography after the acclaimed I, Tina: My Life Story was released back in 1986. Turner published her third book, Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good, in 2020.
Since her retirement, the eight-time Grammy Award winner has added many prestigious accolades to her list, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy in 2018. She was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice—once in 1991 for her work as one half of the duo Ike and Tina Turner and again in 2021 for her spectacular solo career.
Two Of Her Sons Have Tragically Died
While there have long been reports that Turner has been estranged from much of her family, it’s still not easy to lose a child. Sadly, Tina Turner has now lost two. Her son Craig, whom she was very close with, died in 2018 by a self-inflicted gunshot. Just four years later, her second son with Ike Turner, Ronnie, died at age 62 after health problems affected him for years.
Tina Turner’s Health
Unfortunately, the megastar has not been immune to health struggles as she’s advanced in age. In addition to suffering a stroke and being diagnosed with intestinal cancer, Turner faced severe kidney damage and was put on dialysis in the mid-2010s.
In her book, My Love Story, the singer revealed that by 2016, she was near death, with her kidneys functioning at just 20 percent. It was her husband, Erwin Bach, who ultimately saved her.
“He said he didn’t want another woman, or another life; we were happy and he’d do anything to keep us together,” she wrote. Bach donated his kidney to Turner, and both recovered successfully from the surgeries in 2017. “His offer to give me his kidney was a gift of love, and he remained unflappable and relaxed,” the grateful singer explained.
But Turner also admitted that she knows she’ll have health issues for the rest of her life.
“I know that my medical adventure is far from over,” she wrote. “After a transplant, it seems that there’s always another test, another doctor’s appointment or biopsy to get through. But I’m still here. We’re both still here, closer than we ever imagined—and that’s cause for celebration.”