Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born singer, songwriter, and actress. Widely referred to as the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll”, she rose to prominence as the lead singer of Ike & Tina Turner before launching a successful career as a solo performer.
Turner began her career with Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm in 1957. Under the name Little Ann she appeared on her first record, “Boxtop”, in 1958. In 1960, she was introduced as Tina Turner with the hit single “A Fool in Love”. The duo went on to become “one of the most formidable live acts in history”. They released hits such as “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine”, “River Deep – Mountain High”, the Grammy-winning “Proud Mary”, and “Nutbush City Limits” before disbanding in 1976.
In the 1980s, Turner launched “one of the greatest comebacks in music history”. Her 1984 multi-platinum album, Private Dancer contained her hit song “What’s Love Got to Do with It”, which won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, and it became her first and only No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. At age 44, she was the oldest female solo artist to top the Hot 100. Her chart success continued with “Better Be Good to Me”, “Private Dancer”, “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)”, “Typical Male”, “The Best”, “I Don’t Wanna Fight”, and “GoldenEye”. During her Break Every Rule World Tour in 1988, she set a then-Guinness World Record for the largest paying audience (180,000) for a solo performer. Turner also acted in the films Tommy (1975), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), and Last Action Hero (1993). In 1993, What’s Love Got to Do with It, a biopic adapted from her autobiography I, Tina: My Life Story, was released. In 2009, Turner retired after completing her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour, which is one of the highest-grossing tours of all time.
Having sold over 100 million records, Turner is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. She has received 12 Grammy Awards, which include eight competitive awards, three Grammy Hall of Fame awards, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She was the first black artist and first female to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone ranked her among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the St. Louis Walk of Fame. She is a two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Ike Turner in 1991 and as a solo artist in 2021. Turner is also a 2005 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. A resident of K snacht since 1994, she relinquished her American citizenship after obtaining Swiss citizenship in 2013.