Bonnie Tyler, voice of 'Total Eclipse of the Heart', dies at 75 in Portugal
The Welsh singer, known for her husky voice and 1980s hits like 'Total Eclipse of the Heart', died unexpectedly on 8 July in a hospital in Faro, Portugal, following an intestinal illness.
Death announced
Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer whose raspy voice powered some of the 1980s' most enduring anthems, died on the night of 8 July 2026 at a hospital in Faro, Portugal. She was 75. Her family confirmed the news in a statement posted to her official Facebook page on Thursday, 9 July.
The family and Bonnie's team are heartbroken to announce that Bonnie passed away unexpectedly last night in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness she was being treated for.
The statement asked for privacy and said a further update would follow. Tyler had been living part-time in the Algarve region for decades.
Health battle
Tyler was first rushed to hospital on 30 April, and by 6 May she had been admitted to the Hospital de Faro for emergency intestinal surgery. Two days later, doctors placed her in an induced coma to aid recovery. In mid-June, her family disclosed that she had suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest but was out of the coma, though she remained in intensive care and was described as very weakened.
- Rushed to hospital in Portugal
- Admitted to Hospital de Faro; undergoes emergency intestinal surgery
- Placed in induced coma
- Out of coma; family reveals earlier cardiorespiratory arrest
- Dies unexpectedly in hospital
A voice of the 1980s
Born Gaynor Hopkins in Skewen, Wales, on 8 June 1951, Tyler was discovered in 1975 while performing with her band at a club in Swansea. She signed with RCA Records and scored early hits with "Lost in France" and "It's a Heartache". Her career-defining moment came with the 1982 album Faster Than the Speed of Night, which included the power ballad "Total Eclipse of the Heart". The single went platinum in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, and decades later, in 2017, it reached number one on the US iTunes chart during the first total solar eclipse visible across the country in nearly a century.
Other hits such as "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Bitterblue" followed, and she received three Grammy nominations. In 2013, she represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, finishing 19th with "Believe In Me".
Personal life
Tyler is survived by her husband, Robert Sullivan, whom she married more than 50 years ago. The couple divided their time between the United Kingdom and the Algarve, where she was a familiar presence. Her family described her death as a tragedy and asked for time to grieve privately.
