Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out For A Hero,” has died at age 75.

Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out For A Hero,” has died at age 75.

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Michael Ochs Archives / Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images

By

Chris Lavergne

The rasp that made him famous came from an accident. After undergoing vocal cord surgery in 1977, doctors told him to rest his voice. But when he screamed one day, his voice changed forever, giving him the bad sound that was heard on his biggest hits.

A black and white photo of a blonde woman with bright hair singing into a microphone wearing a leather dress, a guitar can be seen behind her.
Microphone in hand at the Maison de la Chimie in Paris on December 17, 1984, Tyler delivered a powerful performance backed by a guitarist. Photo by Philippe Wojazer / AFP via Getty Images.

Tyler died on Wednesday at a hospital near Faro, Portugal, where he had lived for years, according to a post on his official Facebook account. The reason was the illness he was being treated for. Back in May, the account said he underwent emergency bowel surgery and was placed in a coma, and a rep later said he was “very unwell and in intensive care.”

The exterior of a multi-story hospital building with a red cross sign at the entrance, a black car driving by, under a partly cloudy sky.
The entrance to Faro Hospital in Portugal, where Bonnie Tyler was admitted for emergency bowel surgery, pictured on May 8, 2026. Photo by Joao Matos / AFP via Getty Images.

Jim Steinman wrote “Total Eclipse of the Heart” for an unfinished musical about the vampire Nosferatu, and pitched it to Meat Loaf. When Meat Loaf lost his voice during recording, Steinman gave it to Tyler for his 1983 album “Faster Than the Speed ​​of Night.” He knew it the moment he heard it: “I knew this was the song I had been waiting for all my life.” It hit No. 1, and later Meat Loaf said to him, “Dang.

Bonnie Tyler performing on stage at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest final in Malmö, Sweden.
Bonnie Tyler takes the stage at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, representing the UK in the final in May 2013. Photo by Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP via Getty Images.

Gaynor Hopkins was born in Skewen, South Wales, the youngest of six children of a coal miner. He rode his voice from the Welsh pub-rock scene to international hits including “Heartbreak,” “Lost in France,” and “Holding Out for a Hero” from “Footloose.”

A young blond woman with blue eyes wearing a yellow vest over a white t-shirt, standing by a stone arch outside.
A young Bonnie Tyler poses in a yellow vest and matching jeans, her signature blue eyes and feathered blonde hair on full display, 1980. Photo by Michael Ochs/Getty Images.

He represented Britain at Eurovision in 2013 and was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2022 for services to music. He continued to record in the 70s, releasing his last album, “In Berlin,” in 2024.

Blonde woman in a black off-the-shoulder dress smiling on stage with blue bokeh lights in the background.
Bonnie Tyler takes the Eurovision stage at Malmö Opera Hall in Sweden on May 18, 2013, representing the UK with her song “Believe in Me.” Image via REUTERS/Scanpix Sweden.

She married civil engineer Robert Sullivan in 1973 and they lived together for the rest of her life. They had no children, but he told the Guardian that “there are no children missing in my life,” listing five grandchildren, 16 nieces and nephews, and 12 nieces and nephews.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office called him “one of Britain’s greatest recording artists, an iconic figure,” and said his catalog “continues to touch lives, flood dance floors, and fill karaoke booths.”

An elderly blond woman wearing a blue jacket and a black shirt standing in front of a red curtain background.
At Madame Tussauds in Berlin, Bonnie Tyler attends the unveiling of ABBA wax figures on April 20, 2013, wearing a blue jacket over a black shirt. Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images.

He didn’t seem worried about living in the shadow of his biggest hit. “How can you imagine it would still be so big today,” he said last year, “and people who weren’t even born then would be singing it at karaoke?”

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A black and white photo of a blonde woman with bright hair singing into a microphone wearing a leather dress, a guitar can be seen behind her.

Microphone in hand at the Maison de la Chimie in Paris on December 17, 1984, Tyler delivered a powerful performance backed by a guitarist. Photo by Philippe Wojazer AFP via Getty Images.

The exterior of a multi-story hospital building with a red cross sign at the entrance, a black car driving by, under a partly cloudy sky.

The entrance to Faro Hospital in Portugal, where Bonnie Tyler was admitted for emergency bowel surgery, pictured on May 8, 2026. Photo by Joao Matos AFP via Getty Images.

Bonnie Tyler performing on stage at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest final in Malmö, Sweden.

Bonnie Tyler takes the stage at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, representing the UK in the final in May 2013. Photo by Jonathan Nackstrand AFP via Getty Images.

A young blond woman with blue eyes wearing a yellow vest over a white t-shirt, standing by a stone arch outside.

A young Bonnie Tyler poses in a yellow vest and matching jeans, her signature blue eyes and feathered blonde hair on full display, 1980. Photo by Michael Ochs Getty Images.

Blonde woman in a black off-the-shoulder dress smiling on stage with blue bokeh lights in the background.

Bonnie Tyler takes the Eurovision stage at Malmö Opera Hall in Sweden on May 18, 2013, representing the UK with her entry “Believe in Me.” Image via REUTERS/Scanpix Sweden.

An elderly blond woman wearing a blue jacket and a black shirt standing in front of a red curtain background.

At Madame Tussauds in Berlin, Bonnie Tyler attends the unveiling of ABBA wax figures on April 20, 2013, wearing a blue jacket over a black shirt. Photo by Adam Berry Getty Images.





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