Tina Turner lived a quiet life in the charming Swiss town of Küsnacht, her home for decades.
The legendary Tennessee-born singer, who died Wednesday at age 83 of natural causes, moved to the municipality after she began dating Erwin Bach, a music executive.
The couple met in Germany in 1986 and moved to Switzerland together in 1994 after Bach got a job running the Swiss offices of EMI Records.
They married in 2013, and Turner gave up her American passport later that year, allowing her to purchase property in her new homeland. (Switzerland has restricted nonresidents from purchasing real estate since the 1960s.)
In early 2022, less than two years before her death, the “Best” performer and her husband splashed out $76 million for a sprawling estate in Küsnacht overlooking Lake Zurich.
The massive property features 10 different structures spread across five acres, as well as a swimming pool, boat deck and its own private pond.
Küsnacht allowed Turner to live life as an ordinary citizen, and she was often spotted “doing her own shopping, standing in line at the post office and exercising outdoors,” per the New York Times.
Despite being one of the most famous entertainers in the world, Turner was known throughout the sleepy hamlet for being down-to-earth.
“She was a cheerful, very open and kindhearted person,” Severin Silvestri, a manager at Rico’s restaurant, where Turner and Bach often ate, told the newspaper.
“When she was passing by, she was smiling. She could feel that we were looking at her, but was always very discreet,” a local resident named Christine, who would only give her first name, told Reuters.
And the Grammy winner was a generous benefactor to her adopted hometown.
She donated a public Christmas light display illuminated with golden wreaths on her 75th birthday in 2014 as well as a rescue boat named “Tina,” which was christened that year.
Here's what to know about legendary singer Tina Turner
The “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll” died at 83 on Wednesday after a prolific career that spanned decades.
Tina — who was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2021 — sold more than 100 million records worldwide throughout her career, with songs including the anthemic hit “The Best” and her solo comeback single “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”
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She scored her first and only No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the song, which kicked off her 1980s career resurgence.
Tina was 44 at the time, making her the oldest solo female artist to top the Hot 100 chart.
The singer and actress had 12 total Grammy Awards, including eight competitive awards, three Grammy Hall of Fame awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Roland Roller Frei, a Swiss music producer who worked with the “Proud Mary” singer, believes the relative anonymity was what she most enjoyed.
“I think it was important for her to find a place where she would be left alone,” he told the Times, adding, “I think she appreciated the fact that she was not being pestered by fans every day, but that she could enjoy her retirement in peace.”
Turner told a Swiss journalist in 2014 that one thing she loved about living in the European country famed for its Alps was the “fresh air,” explaining, “It’s clean, and I feel like I’m really breathing in fresh air.”
She also noted that she felt safe enough to be out in public without security.
Following the news of her death, local residents stopped by Turner’s home to lay flowers and pay their respects.
“With Tina Turner’s death, the world has lost an icon,” Switzerland’s president, Alain Berset, posted on Twitter Wednesday. “My thoughts are with the relatives of this impressive woman who has found a second home in Switzerland.”
