Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer whose raspy voice helped make Total Eclipse of the Heart one of the defining pop songs of the 1980s, has died at 75.
Her death was confirmed after she was treated in Portugal following emergency intestinal surgery. Tyler, born Gaynor Hopkins in Skewen, Wales, built a career around a voice that was instantly recognizable. Its husky sound came after vocal cord surgery in the 1970s, and it became one of her strongest musical signatures.
Tyler first reached international audiences with It’s a Heartache, before reaching a new level of fame in 1983 with Total Eclipse of the Heart. The dramatic ballad topped charts and remained closely tied to pop culture for decades. She also became widely known for Holding Out for a Hero, another song that found a long life in film, television, and radio.
Tyler continued recording and performing for many years, including representing the United Kingdom at Eurovision in 2013. She was awarded an MBE in 2022 for services to music.