Tina Turner’s departure from the United States in the mid-1990s marked more than a change of address; it was a bold move toward reclaiming herself. Settling in Küsnacht, a calm suburb of Zurich, she traded the relentless glare of fame for a life of quiet intimacy with her partner—later husband—Erwin Bach. Here, she didn’t just retire from performing; she reinvented what it meant to be a global icon.
Switzerland gave Tina what America couldn’t: a chance to be ordinary. She worked in her garden, took strolls by Lake Zurich, and became a familiar face at local cafés. Ricco Zandonella, co-owner of a lakeside restaurant she frequented, recalled how she once surprised patrons by joining a friend—turning an executive VIP into a neighbor at the table. Even after she became Swiss in 2013, she remained delightfully discreet, often skipping menus and mingling quietly among the locals.
What really startled people wasn’t that she built a Swiss home worth tens of millions—that Chateau Algonquin near the water—or that she helped finance Christmas lights and a rescue boat for her community. It was when she quietly co-founded Beyond, a spiritual music group blending Buddhist chants and Christian hymns, a deeply personal reflection of her inner world. This was a rock legend speaking through prayer, not amps.
Her transformation wasn’t sudden—it was deliberate. She embraced Buddhism, donated her kidney in 2017 with Erwin’s help, and shared her journey with candid humility. In interviews, Tina spoke of how she no longer sang on stage, preferring quiet evenings, tending to her garden, and reading by the lakeside. Some thought she had disappeared—but that was the point.
Looking back, her move to Switzerland culminated in a life vastly different from the one that catapulted her to stardom. The glitz and glory stayed behind. What replaced them was serenity, connection, and meaning. She may have shouted “rollin’” under stadium lights decades ago, but her final act was peaceful: trading chart-topping hits for heartfelt chants and shared silence beside one of Europe’s most tranquil lakes.
When she died in May 2023, 83 years old, she passed away not as an exhausted diva, but as a fulfilled woman who found sanctuary in simplicity. Tina Turner’s last years prove that even legends can step away—and in that stepping, discover inner harmony that reverberates louder than any applause.