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Bonnie Tyler, the husky-voiced, powerhouse vocalist who performed memorable and dramatic pop rock songs including \u201cTotal Eclipse of the Heart\u201d in the 1980s, has died. <\/p>\n
The Welsh singer died in a Portugal hospital on Wednesday night, according to a statement on her official website and social media accounts<\/a> Thursday morning. Prior to her death, Tyler was hospitalized and underwent emergency intestinal surgery in May 2026. She was placed in an induced coma to aid her recovery which she awoke from in mid-June but remained \u201cvery unwell,\u201d her family said at the time<\/a>. She was 75. <\/p>\n \u201cBonnie\u2019s 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,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Tyler first rose to fame in the late 1970s. She was known for her raspy vocals, offering listeners an edgier sound that also melded rock and pop. Tyler released a total of 18 studio albums, beginning with her debut, \u201cThe World Starts Tonight,\u201d in 1977. But she solidified her place in music with collaborations with songwriter-producer Jim Steinman<\/a>, a hitmaker who worked with Meat Loaf, Air Supply and Celine Dion. <\/p>\n Tyler contributed her powerful voice to Steinman\u2019s dramatic \u201cTotal Eclipse of the Heart,\u201d which was released in 1983 ahead of her fifth studio album, \u201cFaster Than the Speed of Night.\u201d Steinman initially envisioned the power ballad as a core piece in a musical adaptation of \u201cNosferatu,\u201d but with Tyler, the number took on a different life. <\/p>\n \u201cTotal Eclipse of the Heart\u201d climbed music charts and earned Tyler a Grammy nomination for female pop vocal performance in 1984. In addition to its commercial and critical success, Tyler\u2019s moody hit became a mainstay in pop culture, covered in the musical TV series \u201cGlee\u201d and finding new life in versions by One Direction, Kelly Clarkson and several other musical acts. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first heard it, I couldn\u2019t believe it had been given to me to record. I just cried at the intense emotion of it and was so happy to have that song,\u201d Tyler told the Guardian in 2009<\/a>. \u201cNow when I go on stage and sing \u2018Total Eclipse,\u2019 everybody sings with me. So many people say they fell in love to it and it means a hell of a lot to them. It\u2019s such an anthem, and such a wonderful feeling, I never get tired of singing it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTotal Eclipse of the Heart\u201d wasn\u2019t the only celebrated hit from Tyler. <\/p>\n A year later, she performed \u201cHolding Out for a Hero,\u201d produced by Steinman and co-written by Dean Pitchford, for the 1984 film classic \u201cFootloose,\u201d starring Kevin Bacon. The energetic anthem, which features Tyler\u2019s thunderous voice over a racing beat, also climbed the Billboard Hot 100 (it peaked at No. 34) and went on to be featured in other screen projects, including a pivotal scene in the animated comedy \u201cShrek 2,\u201d <\/a>with Jennifer Saunders performing the hit. <\/p>\n Tyler, also known for \u201cBitterblue,\u201d written and produced by Dieter Bohlen, continued releasing music throughout the \u201990s and early aughts. Amid the process of creating her 16th album, \u201cRocks and Honey,\u201d Tyler joined the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 to represent the United Kingdom. Though she finished 19th, she said at the time she was glad she competed \u201cbecause it was an incredible experience,\u201d likening it to the Grammy Awards. She released \u201cRocks and Honey\u201d that same year, her penultimate album, \u201cBetween the Earth and the Stars,\u201d in 2019 and her final album, \u201cThe Best Is Yet to Come\u201d in 2021. <\/p>\n In 2022, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire during Queen Elizabeth\u2019s Platinum Jubilee<\/a>, recognizing Tyler\u2019s contributions to music. <\/p>\n Tyler was born Gaynor Hopkins on June 8, 1951, to homemaker Elsie and coal miner Glyndwr, and was one of seven children. She was raised Protestant and cared for by her grandparents in the small Welsh town of Skewen. Her passion for music could be traced to watching British charts program \u201cTop of the Pops\u201d with her father, writing down lyrics to the hits of the time and singing them herself. Tyler officially caught the singing bug after placing second at the talent show hosted by a local rugby club. <\/p>\n After the contest, the singer continued her artistic pursuit, performing with a handful of bands including Bobby Wayne & the Dixies and, later, Imagination. She was eventually scouted and traveled to London to record a few demos but did not immediately hear back. \u201cAfter two years, someone called me out of the blue and told me I\u2019d got a record deal on the same label as Elvis,\u201d she recalled to the Guardian<\/a>.<\/p>\n The singer underwent several name changes over the course of the career. First she pivoted to Sherene Davis to avoid confusion with fellow Welsh vocalist Mary Hopkin. Then once more, at the behest of RCA Records, to Bonnie Tyler \u2014 a name she conjured up by mixing and matching names she read in a local newspaper. <\/p>\n Now Bonnie Tyler, the singer released her debut single \u201cMy! My! Honeycomb!\u201d in 1976 and her debut album the following year. However, she would not come into her signature sound until the spring of 1977. Tyler suffered nodules on her vocal cords and underwent surgery to remove them. She feared her career would end as a result, though that would be far from the case. <\/p>\n Tyler, after a brief recovery period, returned to the recording studio with a huskier, edgier voice. \u201cIt turned out losing my voice was not too treacherous for me,\u201d she told the Guardian. She released \u201cIt\u2019s a Heartache\u201d in 1977 with her raspy voice front and center. <\/p>\n \u201cI had my first hit in America with my new husky voice on \u2018It\u2019s a Heartache,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cMaybe my husky voice was what that song, and my career, needed.\u201d<\/p>\n After her tenure with RCA Records, Tyler signed with CBS Records in 1982, leading to her memorable collaborations with Steinman. At the end of the \u201990s, Tyler signed with Hansa\/BMG Ariola and, eventually, with EastWest Records and continued to find success in continental Europe. In addition to her albums, Tyler embarked on several tours, most recently her Between the Earth and the Stars live tour in 2019. Her most recent release was \u201cTogether\u201d in July 2025, produced by electronic music artist David Guetta, which samples the chorus of \u201cTotal Eclipse of the Heart.\u201d<\/p>\n Tyler married former Olympic martial artist Robert Sullivan in 1973. The pair never had their own children \u2014 the singer suffered a miscarriage at age 39 \u2014 but experienced \u201cno shortage of children,\u201d she told the Guardian in 2012. Tyler had numerous godchildren, more than a dozen nieces and nephews and multiple great-nieces and great-nephews. With her fame, Tyler supported her family and purchased several properties including a home in Mumbles, Wales, and a home in Portugal. <\/p>\n When Tyler reflected on her decades-long career for the BBC in 2019<\/a>, she said she had long exceeded her own expectations. <\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t expect ever to be making records,\u201d she said at the time. \u201cI was just happy being in a band, singing.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n