- Tina Turner’s parents are Floyd Richard Bullock and Zelma Priscilla; they died in 1967 and 1999 respectively
- Turner’s mother had three biological children while her father had two – Ruby Alline Bullock and Tina Turner
- Zelma and Bullock’s marriage was abusive and they later got a divorce when their last child, Tina was about 11 years old
Floyd Richard Bullock and Zelma Priscilla Currie were American celebrity parents who became famous for being Tina Turner’s parents. On their own, Floyd was a Baptist deacon and an overseer of sharecroppers while Zelma was a farmer of part-Cherokee and Navajo descent.
Who Were Tina Turner’s Parents?
Her Father was a Sharecropper
Tina Turner’s father was an overseer of sharecroppers and also a Baptist deacon. He was born on 31 July 1912 in Nutbush, Haywood County, Tennessee, USA.
Perhaps, his career may have influenced part of the early life of Turner – the Queen of rock ‘n’ roll who was born Anna Mae Bullock. In a report, Turner picked cotton as a young girl.
Whatever the case, it was not the older Bullock’s career that gave him fame. He became famous for Tina’s music career which started in 1957 when he was 45.
Also, his oldest daughter, Alline Bullock was a songwriter and music manager. This also contributed to Floyd Bullock’s fame.
The Tenessee native died at 54 on 18 January 1967 and was laid to rest in Wayne, Wayne County, Michigan, United States.
Tina Turner’s Mother was a Farmer of part-Cherokee Descent
Zelma Currie, the mother of Tina Turner was a farmer of part-Cherokee and Navajo descent. This is why Turner had claimed her being a Native American.
In any case, Zelma was born on 18 November 1918 in Brownsville, Haywood County, Tennessee, USA.
She was largely part of Turner’s life and even helped take care of the singer’s children while she was married to Ike Turner – father of Ike Turner Jr.
She later died at 80 on October 9 1999 at Studio City, Los Angeles County, California, and was buried in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles County.
What to Know About the Marriage, Children, Divorce, and Controversies of Tina Turner’s Parents
Floyd Bullock and Zelma Currie were married in 1936. Prior to that, Tina’s mother had another child, Evelyn Juanita Currie in 1934.
In 1936, they had their first child together, Ruby Alline Bullock Selico, and in 1939, they had their last child together, Tina Turner.
The marriage was not smooth as it was abusive. According to RollingStone in an article about the death of the Rock ‘n’ Roll legend, Turner’s parents didn’t love each other and this was why they were always fighting and abuse also came in.
Well, in 1950 when Turner was 11, the former couple ended the marriage and Currie moved to St. Louis to start a new life while the singer’s father remarried and took Anna Mae (Tina Turner) to her grandmother.
In 1956, Tina left her grandmother to move in with her mother Zelma Currie in St. Louis.
