Tina Turner Family Tree: The Story Behind The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll

Anna Mae Bullock, born 26 November 1939 in Nutbush, Tennessee, USA, became one of the most-influential vocalists in popular music — known as Tina Turner; sold 100+ million records; won 12 Grammys; comeback album Private Dancer (1984, 20+ million sold) at age 44. She died 24 May 2023 at her home in Küsnacht, Switzerland, age 83.

The Family's Roots: A Sharecropper Family in Western Tennessee

The Bullock family was an African-American sharecropper family in Nutbush (in Haywood County, Tennessee).

Her Parents

Father: Floyd Richard Bullock (1909–1989) — overseer of a sharecropper farm; mixed African-American and Cherokee/Navajo descent.

Mother: Zelma Priscilla Currie Bullock (1918–1999) — sharecropper; mixed African-American and Cherokee/Navajo descent. Both parents abandoned Tina and her sisters during WWII; reunited later.

Her Sisters

Ruby Alline Bullock (1928–2010) — elder half-sister.

Evelyn Juanita Bullock Currie — half-sister (died as a young child).

Her First Husband: Ike Turner

Ike Turner (1931–2007) — bandleader and pioneer of rock and roll. Tina and Ike toured together as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue from 1960. Married 1962; divorced 1978 — Tina cited extreme domestic abuse in her autobiography I, Tina (1986) and the film What's Love Got to Do with It (1993). Took the surname "Turner" as her stage name.

Her Second Husband: Erwin Bach

Erwin Bach — German music executive (EMI); 16 years younger than Tina. Tina and Erwin became partners in 1986; married 21 July 2013 in Switzerland.

Her Sons

Raymond Craig Hill (1958–2018) — son with Raymond Hill (her first relationship, before Ike); died by suicide.

Ronald "Ronnie" Renelle Turner (1960–2022) — son with Ike Turner.

Adopted: Ike Turner Jr. (b. 1958) — Ike's son from prior; raised by Tina.

Adopted: Michael Turner (b. 1959) — Ike's son from prior; raised by Tina.

The Bullock / Turner Family Tree at a Glance

Family Origins: African-American–Cherokee–Navajo sharecropper family; Nutbush, Tennessee.

Father: Floyd Richard Bullock (1909–1989).

Mother: Zelma Currie Bullock (1918–1999).

Sisters: Ruby Alline (1928–2010); Evelyn (died as a young child).

First Husband: Ike Turner (1931–2007; m. 1962, div. 1978).

Second Husband: Erwin Bach (m. 21 July 2013 until her death 2023).

Sons: Raymond Craig Hill (1958–2018, suicide); Ronnie Turner (1960–2022); Ike Turner Jr. (b. 1958, adopted); Michael Turner (b. 1959, adopted).

Tina Turner:

  • Born 26 November 1939, Nutbush
  • Carver High School (Brownsville, TN)
  • Joined Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm band in St. Louis: 1957
  • A Fool in Love (1960) — first hit as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue
  • Proud Mary (1971); River Deep – Mountain High (1966 — Phil Spector production)
  • Left Ike: 4 July 1976 (Dallas); divorced 1978; began a solo career with virtually no assets
  • Private Dancer (1984) — diamond-certified comeback album at age 44; "What's Love Got to Do with It," "Better Be Good to Me"
  • Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) — "We Don't Need Another Hero"
  • Foreign Affair (1989), Wildest Dreams (1996), Twenty Four Seven (1999), All the Best (2004)
  • 12 Grammy Awards (including 8 Best Female Rock Vocal Performance — record)
  • Renounced US citizenship: 2013 (became Swiss)
  • Suffered a stroke (2013), intestinal cancer (2016), and kidney failure (2017, kidney transplant from Erwin)
  • Died 24 May 2023, Küsnacht, Switzerland, age 83

What the Bullock / Turner Family Story Teaches Us

A sharecropper-overseer father. A sharecropper mother. Two sisters. A first marriage marked by abuse, which she left at 36 with the children's surname and almost nothing else. A second marriage to a German executive 16 years younger. Two biological sons and two adopted sons across the two marriages, with both biological sons dying within five years of each other (2018, 2022).

For every family — large or small, famous or otherwise — the Tina story carries the same lesson. Family records can include both adopted and biological children equally. Tina raising Ike's sons Michael and Ike Jr. is on the Turner family record alongside her own. Write down every child raised in the household, not just the biological ones.

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