Rock 'n' Roll music legend Tina Turner sadly passed away this week aged 83, after a long health battle.
Most of us know Turner as the voice behind mega hits like 'The Best' and 'What's Love Got To Do With It?', having forged a wildly successful solo career during the 1980s and 1990s after leaving her husband and music partner Ike Turner in 1978.
While the pair were known to have had a turbulent marriage, the intricate details of their toxic and abusive relationship weren't made public until Turner released her memoir and subsequent 1993 biopic. Starring Angela Bassett, the dramatic movie depicted how Turner and Ike burst onto the music scene during the 1960s and 1970s, but how Ike's physically and sexually abusive behavior eventually forced Turner to quit the band and go solo.
Ike retained the rights to all of their shared music, so Turner was left with just her name as she rebuilt her life and career from the ground up. The movie was a massive success, raking in three Oscars at the Academy Awards.
Turner spent the last few decades in Switzerland with her German music executive husband Erwin Bach, who donated his kidney to Turner in 2017 following her struggle with intestinal cancer and eventual kidney failure. While the operation was a success, Turner did suffer mild symptoms from time to time like nausea and dizziness.
She told the European Kidney Health Alliance about her condition: "The months after the transplantation were marked by a never-ending up and down. From time to time, my body tried to reject the donor kidney, as it frequently happens after transplantation. Every so often, this required more hospital admissions.
"I kept feeling nauseous and dizzy, forgot things, and was scared a lot. These problems are still not quite resolved. I am on multiple prescriptions and take great care to follow my doctors' orders meticulously. For I know that I can trust them and their therapies," she continued.
Two months before her passing, Turner took to Instagram to speak about her health struggles on International World Kidney Day, revealing she put herself in "grave danger" by not taking her 1978 hypertension diagnosis seriously. "My kidneys are victims of my not realising that my high blood pressure should have been treated with conventional medicine. I have put myself in great danger by refusing to face the reality that I need daily, lifelong therapy with medication," she wrote.
As per Sky News, a statement by her representative announced her passing on Wednesday (May 24): "Tina Turner, the 'Queen of Rock'n Roll' has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model."
Tina's official Instagram profile wrote: "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner. With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow.
"Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music. All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly."
Our thoughts are with Tina Turner's family, friends, and fans at this devastating time.
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