Who Is Ronnie Turner? Everything About Tina Turner’s Son

Ronnie Turner is the son of Tina Turner who is a songwriter, and actress. Tina is widely referred to as the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll”, and one of the greatest music artists of the 20th century.

Ronnie is among the four children of Tina. He is also the son of an equally famous father, Ike Turner. His parents together and individually won several prestigious accolades throughout their careers.

So, has the son of such famed parents a legacy of his own. Is Ronnie Turner as good in music as his parents were? Or is he completely on a different career path? Know all these along with some other knowledge about Ronnie Turner down in the article below.

Ronnie Turner’s Early Life

Ronnie Turner (fully Ronald Renelle Turner) was born on October 27, 1960, in Los Angeles, California. As of 2021, he is 61 years old. From his father’s side, Ronnie is a Creole.

From the maternal side, he carries African, European, as well as a Native American ancestry.

Career

Ronald played bass guitar in a band called Manufactured Funk with songwriter and musician Patrick Moten. He also played bass in his mother’s band after his parents separated and he later played in his father’s band.

With Manufactured Funk, he performed several acts like Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Natalie Cole, New Birth, & Rufus. Ike and Tina’s son also played bass guitar for Santa Barbara and Los Angeles-based band, The Prophets, back in 1999.

Additionally, Ronald appeared in What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993). It was based on the life of his mother, Tina, and her abusive marriage with Ike.

Ronnie Turner’s Mother Is A 12 Times Grammy Awards Winner

As mentioned Ronnie’s mother, Tina Turner is one of the greatest artists of the modern era. She is a successful solo performer. With her former husband and Ronnie’s father, Ike, she released hits such as “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine”, “River Deep – Mountain High”, the Grammy-winning “Proud Mary”, and “Nutbush City Limits.”

Ronnie’s mother hit song “What’s Love Got to Do with It”, won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Also, this became her first and only No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. At age 44, Tina was the oldest female solo artist to top the Hot 100.

During her Break Every Rule World Tour in 1988, Ronnie’s mother set a then-Guinness World Record for the largest paying audience (180,000) for a solo performer.

Tina is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, having sold over 100 million records. The mother of five has received 12 Grammy Awards. These include eight competitive awards, three Grammy Hall of Fame awards, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Tina was the first black artist and first female to be on the cover of Rolling Stone.

His Father  

Much like his mother, Ronnie’s late father, Ike Turner was also into music. His father was a bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. Ike is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with his then-wife and Ronnie’s mother, Tina Turner as the leader of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

Ike was an important factor in the early careers of various blues musicians such as B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, and Bobby “Blue” Bland.

Ronnie’s father won five Grammy Awards, including two competitive awards and three Grammy Hall of Fame Awards.

Ike died on December 12, 2007, at the age of 76, at his home in San Marcos, California. A month later, on January 16, 2008, the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office reported that Ronnie’s father had died from a cocaine overdose. Early on, while Ike was still alive, he was diagnosed with emphysema.

Ronnie Turner’s Parents Relationship

His parents first met in 1957 until 1960. Their affair began when Ronnie’s father, Ike was with his live-in girlfriend Lorraine Taylor.

Tina and Ike became intimate when she went to sleep with him after another musician threatened to go into her room.

After recording “A Fool In Love,” Turner told Ike that she didn’t want to continue their relationship. Consequently, he responded to her by striking her in the head with a wooden shoe stretcher. Ronnie’s mother recalled the incident was the first time he “instilled fear” in her.

However, Tina decided to stay with him because she “really did care about him”.

After the birth of their son Ronnie in October 1960, Tina and Ike moved to Los Angeles in 1962 and married in Tijuana.

The Downfall Of His Parents’ Relationship

With I, Tina later revealed Ike was abusive and promiscuous throughout their marriage. This even led to her suicide attempt in 1968 by overdosing on Valium pills. Ronnie’s mother it was her relationship with Ike that made her most unhappy. At first, she had really been in love with him.

But, at times he would go totally unpredictable. Ronnie’s father later turned out to be bipolar in his old age.

Tina left Ike after they got into a fight on their way to the Dallas Statler Hilton on July 1, 1976. She drifted away from him with only 36 cents and a Mobil credit card in her pocket. On July 27, Ronnie’s mother filed for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. They officially separated on March 29, 1978.

In his autobiography Takin’ Back My Name, Ike confessed to having slapped Ronnie’s mother. He also wrote that they had fights and there were times when he punched her to the ground without thinking. But he never beat her.

In 2007, Ronnie’s father told Jet that he still loved her. Also, he had written a letter apologizing for “putting her and the kids through that kind of stuff”, but he never sent it.

Tina has lived in Switzerland since 1994 with German music producer Erwin Bach. The couple married in 2013. Dailymail reported, after her divorce from Ike, Tina remained distant from her sons for years.

Ronnie Turner Said Divorce Destroyed His Father Big Time

In December 2015, Ronald to Ebony Magazine said, his father took it unbelievably hard when his mother left him in 1976 and how he never got over it up until the very day that he died.

After their bitter divorce, Ike and Tina had no contact in more than three decades. Ronnie said he saw a lot in his time as a child while his parents were together. He described the instances where his father used to ramble around and try to look for his mom’s phone number.

The article also explained the childhood trauma of Ronnie’s father. It revealed the incidents where Ronald’s grandfather received fatal beatings from a white mob and how Ike, himself was a victim of sexual abuse in childhood.

Ronald’s Siblings

Ronnie has two half-siblings Ike Turner Jr. (born October 3, 1958) and Michael Turner (born February 23, 1960). The two names mentioned were from his father’s relationship with another woman. However, his mother, Tina later adopted them and raised them as their own.

Ike Turner Jr. worked as a sound engineer at Bolic Sound and briefly for Turner after her divorce. He later won a Grammy Award for producing his father’s album Risin’ with the Blues. Turner Jr toured with former Ikette Randi Love as Sweet Randi Love and the Love Thang Band. He stated that he and his brothers have a distant relationship with their mother (Tina).

Ronald had one more half-brother, Raymond Craig born, on August 20, 1958. Craig was the son of Tina and Kings of Rhythm saxophonist Raymond Hill. Ike Turner later adopted him subsequently turning his name to Craig Raymond Turner.

In July 2018, Craig died due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

From his father’s other relationships, Ronald also has two half-sisters, Mia Turner (b. 1969) from Ike and Ann Thomas’ union, and Twanna Melby Turner (b. 1959). Melby was born through Ike’s relationship with Pat Richard.

Ronnie Turner’s Married Life

Ronnie married French-American singer Afida Turner in July 2007. Alfida has also appeared in several films and televisions. Her most notable features in show biz include Loft Story and Criminal Minds. In addition, she is also a   songwriter, producer, author, actress, and TV host.

Together, Ronald and his wife, Alfida are parents to two children. In 2010, Ronald and Afida lived in a 120 m2 duplex in a district of Los Angeles.

Ronnie said the first time they had met it was love at first sight.

His Wife Lost A Baby

In early June 2016, Ronnie’s wife, Alfida announced her miscarriage. Through her social media, she said as she entered her third month of pregnancy, she had painful contractions followed by bleeding. She had to stay in bed for five days. The symptoms persisted and she consequently lost her baby.

Ronnie’s partner said she was devastated. She also mentioned how she had to lose weight to regain her confidence, to forget the nightmare.

Later that same year in the month of October, she announced that she would have surgery for two tumors, one in the uterus and the other in the breast. For that, she checked into the hospital in Paris for few days.

Ronnie’s Wife Ran For Presidency

On May 31, 2020, Ronald’s spouse announced her candidacy for President of France in the 2022 election. She also ran on a platform opposing police violence and in favor of the Yellow Vests Movement.

However, on January 11, 2021, Alfida announced she was withdrawing her candidacy. Had she won, she would have been the first female and first North African President of the Republic.

Ronnie Turner Was Arrested For Possessing Cocaine

Eight years after his father’s death from a cocaine overdose, RadarOnline in 2016, reported Ronnie entangled himself on the same tragic path.