17 best Tina Turner quotes: inspirational messages from the iconic singer on life, strength and happiness

The music world is in mourning following the death of iconic singer Tina Turner, who passed away on Wednesday (24 May) at the age of 83.

Her spokesperson said: "Tina Turner, the 'Queen of Rock'n Roll' has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Kusnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model."

Turner was one of the best-selling recording artists of all time: she won 12 Grammy Awards and had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was also the first Black artist and first woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stone, and the publication also ranked her among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. She also survived a period of terrible abuse at the hands of her husband Ike Turner, which nearly killed her.

Tina Turner is known for songs such as The Best, Proud Mary and What’s Love Got to Do With It, but it wasn’t just her lyrics that left an impression on her fans. She spoke and wrote candidly about her life story, and shared her views on various topics, in interviews and books over the years. In tribute to Turner, we have rounded up 17 of her most memorable and inspiring quotes.

On happiness

“If you are unhappy with anything . . . whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity, your true self, comes out," Turner said in an interview in the November 1986 issue of Ebony, where she was the cover star.

On success

"The real power behind whatever success I have now was something I found within myself - something that's in all of us," Turner said in the same Ebony interview.

On motivation

"I believe that if you'll just stand up and go, life will open up for you. Something just motivates you to keep moving," Turner told Oprah in the May 2005 issue of O, the Oprah Magazine.

On religion

Speaking about her decision to become a Buddhist, Turner said: “I don't believe everyone has to chant just because I chant. I believe all religion is about touching something inside of yourself. It's all one thing. If we would realise this, we could make a change in this millennium,” in the same interview with Oprah.

On life

Encouraging everyone to live their best life in the same interview with Oprah, Turner said: “There's an expression, ‘You'll never get out of this world alive’. It's true. We won't. Go forward. Do your best with your makeup, hair, and clothes.”

On health

“I think health has a lot to do with happiness. When you're healthy, you think more clearly, and you can work on yourself. But it's not about extremes. I eat everything I ever ate, just not too often. Another principle is that I shouldn't allow others to influence me,” Turner said in the same interview with Oprah when discussing what principles she lives by.

On herself

“I like me very much. When I look in the mirror and my skin glows back at me, I think, 'Wow, that sure is pretty.' I have a simple, childlike view of life, and I want to keep it," Turner said in the same interview with Oprah.

On ageing

"Fifty is the new 30. Seventy is the new 50. There are no rules that say you have to dress a certain way, or be a certain way. We are living in exciting times for women. Keep up with fashion, keep up with your figure and the clothes you wear. If you look good and you can still do it, then go and do it. I have never worried about age," Turner told the Daily Express in November 2009.

On her legacy

“My legacy is that I stayed on course from the beginning to the end, because I believed in something inside of me that told me that it can get better,” Turner told Oprah during an August 2013 interview. “So my legacy is a person that strived for wanting it better and got it.”

On beauty

“My greatest beauty secret is being happy with myself. It’s a mistake to think you are what you put on yourself. I believe that a lot of how you look has to do with how you feel about yourself and your life,” Turner told Woman & Home magazine in 2016.

On her public image

“When people think of Tina Turner, they think of the voice, the hair – but mainly the legs. I still wear a short skirt on stage – that’s the only thing that works for me. I’ve tried other clothes but I just can’t move if I feel restricted. I think my leg shape comes from decades of carrying round heavy luggage in very high heels. On top of that, there was the dancing. I never did one kick where I could do three, I never did one turn if I could do two,” Turner said in the same Woman & Home interview, explaining her image and fashion choices.

On age and beauty

“You can’t get hung up on age or beauty because you’re then always chasing after something you’ll never get back," Turner said in the same Woman & Home interview.

On her past

"People think my life has been tough, but I think it's been a wonderful journey. The older you get, the more you realise it's not what happened, it's how you deal with it," Turner told Marie Claire South Africa in May 2018.

On being strong

“I didn’t have anybody. Really, no foundation in life, so I had to make my own way. Always, from the start. I had to go out in the world and become strong, to discover my mission in life," Turner wrote in her 2018 memoir, My Love Story.

On how to live life

“You know what I say to people who ask, ‘What do you do when all the odds are against you?’ I say, ‘You keep going. You just don’t stop. No matter, if there’s one slap to the face, turn the other cheek. And the hurt you’re feeling? You can’t think about what’s being done to you now, or what has been done to you in the past. You just have to keep going’,” she wrote in memoir My Love Story.

On life choices

“At every moment, we always have a choice, even if it feels as if we don’t. Sometimes that choice may simply be to think a more positive thought," she wrote in her book Happiness Becomes You.

On tackling challenges

“Don’t worry if you think you’re the only one facing challenges. If the people around you don’t seem to have problems, that just means you don’t know them well enough to see their troubles, or they’re very good at hiding them. Problems are inescapable for all living beings,” Turner wrote in the book Happiness Becomes You.