How Many Kids Does Tina Turner Have? Children and Family Explained

The Short Answer

Tina Turner had four sons. The legendary singer, born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in Nutbush, Tennessee, was the mother of Craig Turner (born 1958), Ronnie Turner (born 1960), and her adopted stepsons Ike Turner Jr. and Michael Turner. Dubbed the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll," she broke racial and gender barriers in rock music and sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

Turner died on May 24, 2023, at her home in Switzerland at age 83. She was predeceased by two of her sons: Craig died in 2018 and Ronnie died in 2022 — losses she described as devastating.

Who Is Tina Turner?

Anna Mae Bullock, known as Tina Turner, was born on November 26, 1939, in Nutbush, Tennessee. She began her career with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm in the late 1950s, and as half of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue she scored hits like "Proud Mary" and "Nutbush City Limits" — while enduring severe domestic abuse from Ike, which she later detailed in her autobiography I, Tina.

After divorcing Ike in 1978, she staged one of music's greatest comebacks: Private Dancer (1984) sold over 10 million copies, won three Grammys and produced "What's Love Got to Do with It," her only Billboard Hot 100 number-one. Dubbed the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll," she broke both racial and gender barriers with her vocal power and electrifying stage presence, selling over 100 million records and winning 12 Grammy Awards.

Early Life and Birthday

Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in Nutbush, Tennessee, to Zelma Priscilla and Floyd Richard Bullock. Raised picking cotton in the segregated South, she sang in church choirs and moved to St. Louis as a teenager, where she began performing with Ike Turner's band. She was 18 when she recorded "A Fool in Love" (1960) as Tina Turner — Ike had renamed her without her knowledge and trademarked the name.

She married Ike in 1962 in Tijuana. Behind the Revue's success lay years of abuse, which Tina finally escaped in 1976, fleeing a Dallas hotel with 36 cents and a gas station credit card. The divorce was finalized in 1978; she kept only her stage name.

Children and Family

Tina Turner had four sons. Her eldest, Craig Raymond Turner (born August 20, 1958), was her son with saxophonist Raymond Hill of the Kings of Rhythm; Craig worked in real estate and died by suicide in July 2018 at 59 — a loss Tina called her "saddest moment as a mother." Her second son, Ronald "Ronnie" Renelle Turner (born October 27, 1960), was her son with Ike Turner; a musician who struggled with health issues, Ronnie died in December 2022 at 62.

She also raised Ike's two sons from a previous relationship, Ike Turner Jr. (born 1958) and Michael Turner (born 1960), adopting them during her marriage. After divorcing Ike, she remained their mother figure. In her later years she lived in Switzerland with her second husband, treasuring her role as grandmother to Craig's children.

Relationships and Marriage

Tina Turner's first marriage was to Ike Turner (1962–1978), a relationship defined by his violence toward her — beatings she endured for years before her escape, later chronicled in her memoir and the film What's Love Got to Do with It (1993). Ike died in 2007.

Her great love was German music executive Erwin Bach, whom she met in 1986. They were together for 27 years before marrying in a lavish 2013 ceremony at their Swiss estate. Bach donated a kidney to her in 2017. Turner renounced her US citizenship in 2013, becoming Swiss, and lived her final decade in peaceful retirement at Château Algonquin in Küsnacht.

Career Highlights

Turner's career has two acts, both historic. With Ike, the Revue was one of the most electrifying live acts of the 1960s and early 1970s. Solo, she became a global phenomenon in her forties — an almost unprecedented feat: Private Dancer (1984), Break Every Rule (1986) and Foreign Affair (1989) produced "What's Love Got to Do with It," "Better Be Good to Me," "Private Dancer," "We Don't Need Another Hero" and "The Best."

She won 12 Grammy Awards, sold over 100 million records, and her 1988 Rio de Janeiro concert drew 180,000 people — then the largest paying concert audience for a solo artist. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: with Ike (1991) and solo (2021). Her 2021 documentary Tina served as her farewell to public life.

The Comeback and Record Sales

Tina Turner's solo comeback is music's greatest second act. At 44 — an age when the industry discards women — Private Dancer (1984) sold over 10 million copies, won three Grammys and produced "What's Love Got to Do with It," her only Billboard Hot 100 No. 1. Follow-ups Break Every Rule and Foreign Affair produced "The Best," "We Don't Need Another Hero" and "Better Be Good to Me."

She sold over 100 million records, won 12 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice — with Ike (1991) and solo (2021), one of few artists so honored. Her 1988 Rio concert drew 180,000 fans, then the largest paying audience for a solo artist. Her 50th Anniversary Tour (2008–2009) grossed over $130 million — at 69, she was still out-performing artists half her age.

Survival Story and Swiss Retirement

Turner's escape from Ike Turner in 1976 — fleeing a Dallas hotel with 36 cents — and her subsequent tell-all in I, Tina made her an icon of domestic abuse survival decades before the conversation went mainstream. The 1993 film What's Love Got to Do with It brought her story to millions. She forgave Ike before his 2007 death but never reunited with him.

Her final decades were peaceful: married to Erwin Bach from 2013, a Swiss citizen living at Château Algonquin in Küsnacht, she retired from performing after 2009. Bach donated a kidney to her in 2017. She was predeceased by sons Craig (2018) and Ronnie (2022) — devastating losses she bore with characteristic strength. Her 2021 documentary Tina was her farewell; she died May 24, 2023, at 83.

The Ike Years: Surviving and Telling

Tina Turner's account of her marriage to Ike Turner (1962–1978) — the beatings, the control, the 1976 escape from a Dallas hotel with 36 cents — became one of music's most important testimonies. Her 1986 memoir I, Tina and the 1993 film What's Love Got to Do with It (Angela Bassett Oscar-nominated as Tina) brought domestic abuse survival into mainstream conversation decades early.

She kept only her stage name in the 1978 divorce — Ike had trademarked "Tina Turner" — and rebuilt from Las Vegas club gigs to Private Dancer superstardom. She forgave Ike before his 2007 death but never reconciled. Her sons Craig (1958–2018) and Ronnie (1960–2022) both predeceased her; adopted sons Ike Jr. and Michael survived her. The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll's final lesson: survival itself is triumph.

Lesser-Known Facts About Tina Turner

Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock and picked cotton as a child in Nutbush, Tennessee — the town she immortalized in "Nutbush City Limits." Ike Turner renamed her without her knowledge and trademarked the name "Tina Turner" — she had to fight to keep her own stage name in the 1978 divorce. Her 1988 Rio de Janeiro concert drew 180,000 fans, then the largest paying audience for a solo artist in history.

She became a Swiss citizen in 2013, renouncing her US citizenship, and lived at Château Algonquin in Küsnacht. Husband Erwin Bach donated a kidney to her in 2017. She practiced Nichiren Buddhism for decades, crediting chanting with giving her the strength to leave Ike. The 2021 documentary Tina was her farewell; she died May 24, 2023, at 83.

Legacy

Tina Turner died on May 24, 2023, at her home in Küsnacht, Switzerland, at 83, after a long illness. Tributes poured in from across music — Beyoncé, Mick Jagger, Oprah Winfrey and President Biden among them. She was survived by her husband Erwin Bach and her sons Ike Jr. and Michael, having been predeceased by Craig (2018) and Ronnie (2022). The "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" left a legacy of survival, reinvention and pure vocal power.

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