Tina Turner is rightly known for her electrifying performances, but on her last public appearance, the singer was frail and needed help walking.
The Tennessee-born singer’s death was confirmed Wednesday. Her publicist said she died at her home near Zurich, Switzerland, at the age of 83.
Turner died “at her home after a long illness,” her publicist Bernard Doherty said.
She was last seen in public in November 2019 attending the Broadway premiere of the musical of a lifetime, where she needed help standing.
Most of the photos from the event saw her seated and she was joined by her husband Erwin Bach and Oprah Winfrey to walk the red carpet.
Tina Turner can be seen in New York City on November 7, 2019 – her last public appearance
The singer was supported on the opening night of “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical” on Broadway by Oprah Winfrey
Turner’s husband Erwin Back, whom she married in 2013 after nearly 30 years of relationship, is seen at right helping his wife. Choreographer Anthony Van Laast is seen at left
Turner, who died Wednesday at the age of 83, was famous for her performances, which thrilled audiences with her music and charisma
One of Turner’s last public photos was in March 2021, when she was seen on social media watching the premiere of her HBO documentary.
“Only 5 days left!” “The documentary ‘TINA’ hits theaters this Saturday,” she wrote.
“I’m so excited to share this film with you – watching the concert scenes made me relive some of the proudest moments of my life.’ I just had to sing along and dance around my living room!’
Seven months later, the world got one last glimpse of the singer when she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Turner did not travel to Cleveland, Ohio for the ceremony but recorded video.
“If they’re still giving me awards at 81, I must have done something right,” Turner said in a recorded video message that aired Oct. 30, 2021.
“I’m very glad to have this.”
Turner posted this photo to Twitter in March 2021, celebrating the launch of her HBO documentary
Turner was last seen in October 2021 when she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “As I’m sure you can tell from my beaming smile, I’m extremely excited to now be officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist,” she captioned the photo
She posted a photo of her accepting the award the day after, on October 31.
“As I’m sure you can tell from my beaming smile, I’m extremely excited to now be officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist,” she captioned the photo.
‘What an honour! I am grateful to so many loved ones who believed in me and stood by me on my journey here – especially you, my fans. Keep rocking!’
Despite her apparent vitality in the last video, Turner has struggled with health issues for many years.
In 1978 she was diagnosed with high blood pressure and said she never understood there was anything she could do about it.
“I don’t remember ever getting an explanation of what high blood pressure means or how it affects the body,” she told the European Health Kidney Alliance in March this year.
“I thought high blood pressure was my normal condition. So I wasn’t really trying to control it.’
With her condition left untreated, Turner suffered a stroke in 2009.
In 2013, she had another wedding – just three weeks after marrying her partner of almost 30 years, German music producer Erwin Bach.
“I put myself in great danger because I refused to face the reality that I needed daily, lifelong drug therapy,” she said.
“I have believed for far too long that my body is an untouchable and indestructible bastion.”
In her 2018 memoir, My Love Story, she opened up about the horror of her stroke.
“That’s when I realized I couldn’t do it on my own,” she said.
“I was too embarrassed to call for help. Legs and muscles of steel from dancing for days, but I didn’t have the strength to get up. Terrified, I dragged myself to a sofa, thinking I couldn’t imagine Tina Turner being paralyzed.
“I doubted I’d ever be able to wear heels again, let alone dance in them.”
A musical legend: Turner in 1997. In a recent interview, she said she wanted to be remembered as “the queen of rock ‘n’ roll.”
After her death on Wednesday, Turner’s star was honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Three years later, in 2016, she was diagnosed with colon cancer.
Doctors removed part of her intestines, but her kidney problems worsened.
Turner was suffering from unpleasant side effects from her high blood pressure treatment and stopped taking her medication, trying homeopathic medicines instead.
The results were devastating and led to kidney failure.
Bach then donated his own kidney to his wife.
The surgery took place in April 2017 and was mostly a success, although Turner still experienced mild symptoms, including nausea and dizziness, according to her interview with the European Kidney Health Alliance.
“The months after the transplant were one of never-ending ups and downs,” she said.
“From time to time my body would try to reject the donor kidney, as it often does after a transplant. This required further hospitalizations from time to time. I was constantly nauseous and dizzy, forgot things and was very scared. These problems are still not fully resolved.
“I take multiple prescriptions and am very careful to follow my doctors’ orders meticulously because I know I can trust them and their therapies.”