REMEMBERING TINA
What was Tina Turner’s real name?
THE LATE Tina Turner is remembered for her hit songs Proud Mary, The Best, and What's Love Got to Do With It?
Using her stage name, the GRAMMY Award winner captivated millions of listeners.
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What was Tina Turner's real name?
Born on November 26, 1939, Anna Mae Bullock was famously known as Tina Turner.
Tina's late first husband Ike Turner coined her alias because Tina's name rhymed with Sheena, Queen of the Jungle; the comic book heroine created by Fiction House which Ike happened to be a fan of.
Ike added Turner to her last name because if she decided to leave him and the band, he would be able to easily replace her because of his trademark on the name.
While recalling the early years of her career on Oprah Winfrey's Next Chapter, Tina remembered: "Ike's problem was that he was a musician that always wanted to be a star; and was a star, locally but never internationally.
"So he then changed the name to Ike and changed my name to Tina because if I ran away, Tina was his name. It was patented as you call it.
"So he could own me. He was smart. He wasn't an educated smart man but he had a common sense."
She made her debut as Tina Turner in her and Ike's 1960 single A Fool in Love.
Their last release as a duo was their 1977 album Delilah's Power.
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When did Tina divorce Ike Turner?
On March 29, 1978, Tina and Ike Turner's divorce was finalized.
Following their divorce, the courts ruled Tina was allowed to keep her last name.
Previously, the Private Dancer singer filed for divorce on July 27, 1976.
"The divorce, I got nothing. No money, no house. So I said, 'I'll just take my name," she recalled during her eponymous 2021 HBO documentary.
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"I started really seeing that I had to make a change. Divorce, I got nothing.
"Look what I have done in this lifetime with this body of a girl from a cotton field that proved myself above what was not taught to me."
The former couple shared four children together; sons Craig, Ronnie, Ike Jr., and Michael.
When did Tina Turner remarry?
On July 4, 2013, Tina tied the knot with German music executive Erwin Bach.
"We grant each other freedom and space to be individuals at the same time we are a couple," the singer said of her second marriage in her 2020 memoir Happiness Becomes You.
"Erwin, who is a force of nature in his own right, has never been the least bit intimidated by my career, my talents, or my fame.
"He shows me that true love doesn't require the dimming of my light so that he can shine.
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"On the contrary, we are the light of each other's lives, and we want to shine as bright as we can, together."
She and Erwin stayed married until her death on May 24, 2023.
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