Lisbon, July 9, 2026 (Lisboa) - The Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler, known for hits from the 1980s such as “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “It’s a Heartache”, died on Wednesday evening at the age of 75, her family announced in a statement.

“Bonnie’s family and team are heartbroken to announce that Bonnie passed away unexpectedly last night in a hospital in Portugal, as a result of the illness for which she was being treated,” read a statement posted on the singer’s Facebook account, as reported by the AP, France Presse and EFE news agencies.

The 75-year-old singer, who had a home in the Algarve, was admitted to Faro Hospital in May following emergency surgery.

Bonnie Tyler, the stage name of Gaynor Hopkins, was born on 8 June 1951 in the village of Skewen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK, where she grew up.

The singer was discovered by producer Roger Bell at a nightclub in Swansea, and released her first single, “Lost in France”, in 1977.

In the same year, she recorded the ballad “It’s a Heartache”, which began to make her name, and went on to achieve international success with “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in 1983 – a song which, at the time, spent two weeks at number one in the UK charts and four weeks at number one in the US. This year, her music surpassed one billion streams on Spotify, the BBC reported.

The success of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” earned Bonnie Tyler a Grammy nomination, as did the album “Faster Than the Speed of Night” and the single “Here She Comes”.

In 2013, Bonnie Tyler represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest, finishing 19th out of 26 entrants.

In 2023, she was awarded the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to music.

Bonnie Tyler’s most recent performances in Portugal include concerts at the Casino Estoril and Campo Pequeno in Lisbon in 2023, and at the Coliseu dos Recreios and the Coliseu do Porto in 2024.

CP/AYLS // AYLS

Lusa