Bonnie Tyler, the singer known for hits including “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out for a Hero” died on Wednesday, according to a statement attributed to her family and team. She was 75.
The Welsh singer died in a hospital in Portugal, where she was being treated for an illness, according to the statement, which was posted on the singer’s official social media channel.
“We will issue a further statement shortly but for now ask for privacy to deal with this tragedy,” the statement said.
Born Gaynor Hopkins on June 8, 1951, in Wales, Tyler’s distinctive husky voice helped her climb the charts. She landed her first big hit in 1977 with the track “It’s a Heartache,” which peaked at #3 in the U.S. and #4 in the U.K.
But it was the 1983 hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” that launched her career to superstardom. The track, written and produced by Jim Steinman, known for his hits with Meat Loaf, spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the charts in the U.K. and several other countries. The song’s video has been watched over 1 billion times on YouTube, and the tune has been streamed over 1 billion times on Spotify.
The track, which appeared on Tyler’s fifth studio album, Faster than the Speed of Night, earned Tyler a Grammy nomination for best female pop vocal performance. It went on to sell over 6 million copies and has been certified Gold by the RIAA.
Tyler’s other big U.S. hit was “Holding Out For a Hero,” also written by Steinman, which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1984 film Footloose; it later appeared on her sixth studio album, Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire. While the song was only a top-40 hit in the U.S., peaking at #34, it grew in popularity over the years thanks to its use in a variety of commercials and movie trailers, including the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy and the 2026 film Masters of the Universe.
While her biggest successes came in the ’80s, Tyler continued to put out music, releasing 18 albums over the course of her career. Her last album was 2021’s The Best Is Yet to Come.
Among Tyler’s accolades, she was nominated for three Grammy awards and three Brit Awards. In 2022 she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.
Tyler’s family shared a statement in May saying that she was in “seriously ill but stable” condition after being put in a medically induced coma as she recovered from emergency intestinal surgery.
A month later, her family shared another statement, saying Tyler was still recovering and that she “remains very unwell and in intensive care” in a hospital in Portugal.
Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
