Tina Turner looked frail and appeared to need assistance walking in her last public photos in 2019
Tina Turner is rightly remembered for her electrifying performances, but at her last public appearance, the singer was weak and needed help to walk.
The death of the Tennessee-born singer was confirmed on Wednesday, with her publicist saying she died at home near Zurich in Switzerland at the age of 83.
Turner died “after a long illness in her home,” her publicist Bernard Doherty said.
She was last seen in public in November 2019, attending the Broadway premiere of the musical of her life.
She was pictured sitting in most of the photos from the event and received help from her husband, Erwin Bach, and Oprah Winfrey as she walked the red carpet.
Tina Turner is seen on November 7, 2019 in New York City – her last public appearance
The singer was supported by Oprah Winfrey on the opening night of ‘Tina – The Tina Turner Musical’ on Broadway
Turner’s husband Erwin Back, whom she married in 2013 after nearly 30 years of dating, is seen standing by his wife on the right. On the left is choreographer Anthony Van Laast
Turner was famous for her performances, bringing down the house with her music and charisma
Turner’s penultimate photo was in March 2021, when she was pictured watching the premiere of her HBO documentary.
‘Only 5 more days! The documentary ‘TINA’ will be released this Saturday,’ she wrote.
“I’m so excited to share this movie with you – seeing the concert scenes makes me relive some of the proudest moments of my life. I just had to sing along and dance in my living room!’
Seven months later, the world got its 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 a video.
“If they’re still handing me awards at 81, I must have done something right,” Turner said via a pre-recorded video message, broadcast Oct. 30, 2021.
“I’m very happy 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 you can definitely tell from my beaming smile, I’m thrilled to 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 receiving the award the day after, on October 31.
“As you can definitely tell from my radiant smile, I’m thrilled to be officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist,” she captioned the photo.
‘What an honor! I am grateful to so many beloved people who believed in me and stood by me on my journey here – especially you, my fans. Keep rockin’!’
Despite her obvious vitality in the final video, Turner had been battling health issues for years.
She was diagnosed with hypertension in 1978 and said she never understood she could do anything about it.
“I don’t recall ever being given an explanation of what high blood pressure means or how it affects the body,” she told the European Alliance for Kidney Healthin March of this year.
“I considered high blood pressure to be normal. That’s why I haven’t really tried to control it.’
Because her condition went untreated, Turner suffered a stroke in 2009.
She had another in 2013 — just three weeks after marrying her partner of nearly 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 was an untouchable and indestructible bastion.”
In her 2018 memoir My Love Story, she talked about the terror of her stroke.
“That’s when I discovered I couldn’t stand on my own,” she said.
“I was too embarrassed to call for help. Days of legs and muscles of steel from dancing, but I didn’t have the strength to get up. Terrified, I dragged myself to a couch, all the while thinking I couldn’t imagine Tina Turner being paralyzed.
“I doubted I’d ever be able to wear high heels again, let alone dance.”
A musical legend: Turner in 1997. In a recent interview, she said she wanted to be remembered as ‘the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll’
The Hollywood Walk of Fame paid tribute to Turner’s star
Three years later, in 2016, she was diagnosed with colon cancer.
Doctors removed part of her intestine, but her kidney problems worsened.
Turner suffered unpleasant side effects from her hypertension treatment and stopped taking her medications, 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 largely a success, although Turner still had mild symptoms, including nausea and dizziness, according to her interview with the European Kidney Health Alliance.
“The months after the transplant were marked by a never-ending up and down,” she said.
‘Occasionally my body tried to reject the donor kidney, as often happens after a transplant. Every so often this required more hospitalizations. I continued to feel nauseous and dizzy, forgot things and was very scared. These problems have not yet been completely resolved.
“I have several prescriptions and follow my doctors’ instructions closely. Because I know I can trust them and their therapies.’