Tennessee-born Anna Mae Bullock began her music career in the 1960s after meeting blues musician Ike Turner. She went on to marry him, and changed her name to Tina Turner as her music career took off. Based on her autobiography ‘I Tina’, this movie documents Tina Turner’s violent marriage to Ike, her struggle to escape his abuse and her subsequent attempts to rebuild her career.
Made in 1993, What’s Love Got to Do with It bagged numerous awards, including a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for lead actress Angela Bassett.
The biography film genre seemed to explode in the 1990s, probably growing in tandem with the public’s increasing love of reality TV and fact-based dramas. Check out this list to see how many other biopics have emerged over the past two decades.
Turner was 54 when this film was made and she’s recently toured worldwide at the age of 69. She’s a true diva, and it would be strange if a depiction of her life story didn’t exist on film.
Having said that though, I can think of a few equally celebrated divas who are yet unrepresented on film. Three that come to mind are Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Diana Ross (Dreamgirls doesn’t really count). Is there a yet unmade biopic that you’d love to see? What's Love Got to Do with It is showing on Sky Drama tonight at 11pm
