Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer whose raspy voice powered some of the most recognizable rock ballads of the 1980s, died Thursday at a hospital in Portugal. She was 75.
According to a report by The Wrap, her family and team posted a statement on Facebook early Thursday morning: "Bonnie's family and team are heartbroken to announce that Bonnie unexpectedly passed away last night in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for. We will issue a further statement shortly but for now ask for privacy to deal with this tragedy."
Tyler had been hospitalized in Faro in May after undergoing emergency intestinal surgery. Her doctors placed her in a medically induced coma in the days that followed. Rolling Stone reported that her condition at that time was described as "seriously ill but stable." She came out of the coma roughly a month before her death. In June, her family shared an update stating: "We are pleased to share that Bonnie is no longer in a coma, but remains very unwell and in intensive care in hospital in Portugal. We would like to thank everyone for the huge outpouring of love and support from all over the world that we have received for Bonnie and want to tell you that she is aware of, and very grateful for, your good wishes."
Tyler was born Gaynor Hopkins on June 8, 1951, in a small village outside Neath, Wales, into a large family. Her mother was, by Tyler's own description in a 2005 documentary, a "wonderful" opera singer who only sang around the house but could stop passersby in their tracks. Her siblings introduced her to a wide range of music, and she developed a particular fondness for Tina Turner and Janis Joplin.
She never planned on a professional singing career. That changed in 1969 when her aunt entered her into a local talent competition. After placing second, Tyler auditioned to be a backup singer for a local group, got the part, and soon formed her own band, Imagination. "We were working like six nights a week, every week," she recalled in the 2005 documentary. "For peanuts really, but we loved it! Anything was better than working in the fruit and veg that I did work in when I first left school."
A talent scout spotted her while she was performing with Imagination and brought her to London to record a demo. RCA signed her shortly after. She released her debut single, "My! My! Honeycomb," in April 1976 under the stage name Bonnie Tyler. That same year, "Lost in France" broke through for her in the U.K. and Europe. She crossed over in the United States in 1977 with "It's a Heartache."
Her most enduring hit came in 1983. "Total Eclipse of the Heart," written by Jim Steinman, was a nearly seven-minute power ballad that became a permanent fixture in popular culture. It resurfaces reliably whenever there is a notable solar or lunar eclipse and has remained a karaoke standard for decades. Tyler described her connection to the song plainly in a 2023 interview with The Guardian: "I poured my heart out singing it."
The rasp in Tyler's voice, the result of a throat operation earlier in her career, gave her performances a distinctly raw quality that set her apart. Her catalog stretched well beyond her signature hits and included "Holding Out for a Hero," "Here She Comes," "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)," "Bitterblue," "Believe in Me," and "Together," among others. She received three Grammy nominations and three Brit Award nominations during her career. Her final single, "Only Love," was released in March.
Tyler is survived by her husband of 53 years, Robert Sullivan.
