Bonnie Tyler dies aged 75 after emergency surgery and intensive care battle
The Welsh singer died in hospital in Portugal, where she had been receiving treatment since undergoing emergency intestinal surgery
By Callum Wells
Bonnie Tyler has died aged 75 following complications from an illness that left her in intensive care earlier this year.
The Welsh singer died in hospital in Portugal, where she had been receiving treatment since undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in May, her family confirmed.
“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.”
Tyler had remained out of the public eye since being admitted to hospital near her home in Faro two months ago. Doctors placed her into an induced coma following surgery before confirming in June that she had regained consciousness, although she remained “very unwell and in intensive care”.
Who was Bonnie Tyler?
Born Gaynor Hopkins in south Wales, Tyler first found success in the late 1970s after talent scout Roger Bell spotted her performing in a Swansea nightclub. Her second single, ‘It’s a Heartache’, became an international hit, reaching the UK top five and peaking at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.
She became one of the defining voices of 1980s pop with ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’, the Jim Steinman-written ballad that topped the charts in both Britain and the United States. Steinman originally wrote the song under the title ‘Vampires in Love’ for a planned stage adaptation of Nosferatu.
The single earned Tyler a Grammy nomination and remains one of the biggest-selling songs of the decade. Earlier this year it passed one billion streams on Spotify, more than 40 years after its release.
Tyler represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013
Steinman later reunited with Tyler on ‘Holding Out for a Hero’, recorded for the 1984 film Footloose. She went on to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 and received an MBE for services to music in 2023.
Tyler continued releasing new music throughout her career. In 2025 she teamed up with David Guetta and Hypaton on Together, a dance reinterpretation of ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’.
She is survived by her husband, Robert Sullivan, whom she married in 1973.