Tina Turner celebrates her 81th birthday: People think my life has been tough, but I think it has been a wonderful journey

One-quarter native American

Singer Tina Turner, real name Anna Mae Bullock, was born on November 26, 1939 in the US state of Tennessee. She is one-quarter native American, as some of her ancestors come from the Cherokee tribe. Her love for music dates back to her childhood, when she sang in a gospel church choir. But her career really took off in the late fifties, when she moved to Saint Louis with her sister.

A fateful and tumultuous relationship with Ike Turner

It was at this time that she met musician Ike Turner, who was a member of the band Rhythm Of King. The couple got married in 1958 and two years later, their collaboration on recordings began. Their most successful year of all was 1971, when their cover of the song Proud Mary secured them a place in the American Top 10 charts. Five years prior to that, Tina had released her first solo single River Deep, Mountain High.

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Being married to Ike Turner was definitely not paradise on Earth for the young singer. Ike took to drugs and alcohol, and he was handy with his fists. After several of his attacks, Tina even had to undergo plastic surgery due to a damaged nasal cavity. His aggressive behavior resulted in a divorce in 1976.

Relying on food stamps

The divorce marked Tiny's promising career. She wanted to be free of Ike as soon as possible, and so she agreed with Ike keeping all the rights to their recordings. She spent the next few years singing in clubs or casinos and relied on food stamps.

A great comeback and the pinnacle of her career

Tina's big comeback came in the eighties when she started working with producer Roger Davis. In 1983, she made a name for herself with the legendary hit Let´s Stay Together, and another turning point for her was the year 1984, when the successful album Private Dancer was released. During this period, other well-known hits such as What's Love Got To Do With It? or Better Good To Me saw the light of the world. They helped the singer win four Grammy Awards. The album Private Dancer went gold.

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Simply the Best and Agent OO7

And Tina continued to ride the wave of success. Between 1984 and 1995, a series of her other most successful hits was released, such as Simply the Best, We Don't Need Another Her (from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome), the duet It Takes Two with Rod Stewart or the James Bond theme song GoldenEye. In 1991, she was even inducted into the Rock'n'roll Hall of Fame together with Ike Turner.

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In 2008 and 2009, Tina Turner once again appeared on stage to sing a duet with Beyoncé and launch her last European tour.

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Personal life of Tina Turner

Tina raised four sons during her life. Before meeting Ike Turner, she had a short affair with a saxophonist, from which her so Raymond Craig's was born. Unfortunately, he committed suicide in July 2018. At the beginning of her marriage with Ike Turner, the couple had a son, Ronnie. The singer also adopted Ike Turner's two sons, Ike Turner Junior and Michael, while they were married.

Nowadays, Tina Turner lives a whole different life. In July 2013, she married her longtime friend, the 16-year-younger music producer Erwin Bach. They live together in Switzerland.

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The secret of beauty is to be happy with yourself

Tina Turner will always be remembered not only by her captivating voice, but also by her quotes and optimistic view of the world.

"My greatest beauty secret is being happy with myself. I don't use special creams or treatments - I'll use a little bit of everything. It's a mistake to think you are what you put on yourself. I believe that a lot of how you look is to do with how you feel about yourself and your life. Happiness is the greatest beauty secret."

"I'm sorry I didn't have more time for my children when they were growing up."

"Age is no issue to me. I think 50 is the new 30 and 70 is the new 50. There are no rules that say you have to dress a certain way or be a certain way.”

"I always had long legs. When I was young, I used to think, 'Why do I look like a little pony?'"

"People think my life has been tough, but I think it has been a wonderful journey. The older you get, the more you realise it's not what happens, but how you deal with it."

"I have a simple and childlike view of life and I want to keep it. That’s why I never got into that Beverly Hills world. So many pretentious people. They just aren’t real."

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