Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer whose powerful, raspy voice defined some of the biggest pop hits of the 1980s, died Wednesday at age 75. She had been hospitalized in Portugal after emergency intestinal surgery earlier this year.
Her family posted a statement on her official social media channel confirming the death. "We will issue a further statement shortly but for now ask for privacy to deal with this tragedy," the statement said.
Tyler was born Gaynor Hopkins on June 8, 1951, in Wales. She landed her first significant hit in 1977 with "It's a Heartache," which peaked at No. 3 in the United States and No. 4 in the United Kingdom. But it was a song released six years later that would define her career.
"Total Eclipse of the Heart," released in 1983 and written and produced by Jim Steinman, the songwriter known for his work with Meat Loaf, spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped charts in the United Kingdom and several other countries. The song's music video has since been watched over one billion times on YouTube, and the track has been streamed over one billion times on Spotify, according to ABC News.
The song appeared on Tyler's fifth studio album, "Faster than the Speed of Night," and earned her a Grammy nomination for best female pop vocal performance. The album went on to sell over six million copies and has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Her other major American hit, "Holding Out for a Hero," also written by Steinman, appeared on the soundtrack to the 1984 film "Footloose." While it peaked at only No. 34 in the United States, the song grew in popularity over the decades through its use in commercials and movie trailers, including the trailer for "Guardians of the Galaxy" and the 2026 film "Masters of the Universe."
Tyler never stopped recording. She released 18 albums over the course of her career. Her final album, "The Best Is Yet to Come," came out in 2021. She was nominated for three Grammy Awards and three Brit Awards across her career. In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II appointed her a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
In May, Tyler's family had revealed she was in "seriously ill but stable" condition after being placed in a medically induced coma following emergency intestinal surgery. A month later, a second family statement said she "remains very unwell and in intensive care" in Portugal. She died there on Wednesday.
Tyler is survived by her husband, Robert Sullivan, whom she married in July 1973.
