Music Icon Tina Turner Makes Turning 80 Look Good – Here’s What She Says About Her Milestone Birthday
Tina Turner is a musical force of nature. With her trademark voice and killer dance moves, she has kept fans riveted throughout her five-decade career, selling more than 200 million records, according to CBS News.
The singing icon, whose real name is Anna Mae Bullock, just celebrated a milestone, turning 80 years old on November 26. She recorded her own birthday message which is sure to inspire listeners of all ages.
Bumpy road
Despite her success, Turner has not lived a charmed life. She started in the industry alongside her husband, Ike Turner, from whom she suffered years of abuse. She finally broke free from Ike and divorced him in 1978. The 1993 Oscar-nominated film What’s Love Got to Do With It showcased her rise to fame as well as her volatile marriage.
Retiring in 2007, Turner went on to endure several tragedies. Her son, Craig, took his own life last July. “I think Craig was lonely, that’s what I think really got him more than anything else. I have pictures all around of him smiling, and I think I’m sensing that he’s in a good place. I really do,” Turner told CBS This Morning’s Gayle King earlier this year.
Turner has also been struck with some major health issues, including a stroke, intestinal cancer and kidney failure. Her husband, Erwin Bach, a German record executive, gave Turner one of his kidneys.
She has slowly been recovering from her several physical ailments, living in Switzerland with Bach whom she met in 1986 and married six years later. Her recent memoir, “My Love Story,” shares the journey of her relationship with Bach, who is 16 years her junior.
Message to fans
The iconic singer created a video message in honor of her 80th birthday to share her feelings on hitting the milestone. “Yes, I’m 80,” Turner started off. “How did I think I would be at 80? Not like this.”
She went on to acknowledge the many health battles that she’s conquered. “How is this? Well, I look great, I feel good, I’ve gone through some very serious sicknesses that I’m overcoming,” Turner shared. “So it’s like having a second chance at life. I’m happy to be an 80-year-old woman.”
A host of celebs took to social media to send their birthday wishes to Turner including Ringo Starr, Cher, and Missy Elliott. “We Celebrate your 80th today!” Elliott posted on Twitter alongside vintage footage of Turner in action. “It’s so IMPORTANT for us to KNOW OUR HISTORY in music because of artist like #TinaTurner who KICKED DOWN DOORS & left them open for artist like MYSELF & MOST of your FAVS!”
‘I have everything’
Now, Turner is focusing on her current good fortune with her loving husband, improved health, and current Broadway hit Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, which is a depiction of the music legend’s life. “This musical is my life but it’s like poison that turned to medicine,” Turner said last month when she stopped by the show, according to People. “I can never be as happy as I am now.”
In her interview with King, Turner was clearly focused on her phase of contentment. “I have everything,” she told King. “When I sit at the Lake Zurich in the house that I have, I am so serene. No problems. I had a very hard life. But I didn’t put blame on anything or anyone. I got through it, I lived through it with no blame. And I’m a happy person.”
Turner makes 80 look simply the best – Happy Birthday to a living legend!
