Tina Turner Biography

Originally Annie Mae Bullock

Singer. Born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939 in Nutbush, Tennessee. Turner is of African American, Navajo, and Cherokee ancestry and was raised in St. Louis by her mother. It was there that she met rock and roll pioneer Ike Turner. The two achieved considerable success as a rhythm-and-blues vocal duo and became known for their electrifying stage and television performances. However, after years of abuse, the marriage and professional partnership was officially dissolved in 1976.

After a slow start, Turner's solo career took off with a remake of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" in 1983. Her much anticipated solo album, Private Dancer, won four Grammy Awards and sold well over 20 million copies worldwide. Subsequent albums include Break Every Rule (1986), Tina Live in Europe (1988, Grammy for Female Rock Vocal Performance) andForeign Affair, which included the hit single "(Simply) The Best." In the 1990s, she released Wildest Dreams and Twenty Four Seven.

Turner also launched an acting career, appearing in the films Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdrome starring Mel Gibson and The Last Action Hero with Arnold Schwarzenegger. She has also made several recordings for soundtracks, including "We Don't Need Another Hero," "Goldeneye," and "He Lives In You" for The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. In 1993, Turner's best-selling 1986 autobiography I, Tina was made into the motion picture What's Love Got to Do with It? starring Angela Bassett. Her soundtrack for the movie went double platinum in the U.S.

In 1986, Turner moved to Europe to live with German-born EMI record company executive Erwin Bach. She now splits her time between England, Switzerland, and France.

Though she is now semi-retired, Turner does make rare appearances and recordings. She returned to the stage in 2008 to embark on her "Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour." It became one of the highest-selling ticketed shows of 2008 and 2009. She is currently on her European leg of the tour.