Iconic ’80s Singer Hospitalized for Emergency Surgery

Bonnie Tyler is recovering after being hospitalized for emergency intestinal surgery.

News that the “Total Eclipse of the Heart” singer, 74, had been hospitalized in Portugal broke on Wednesday with a statement to her official website and Instagram Story.

“We are very sorry to announce that Bonnie has been admitted to hospital in Faro, Portugal, where she has a home, for emergency intestinal surgery,” the statement reads. “The surgery went well and she is now recuperating.”

“We know that all of her family, friends, and fans will be concerned about this news and will be wishing her well for a full and swift recovery,” the statement concluded.

No further details about Tyler’s health or recovery have been shared at this time.

The Welsh singer, best known for the classic songs “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out for a Hero,” first found fame with the release of her 1977 album The World Starts Tonight and its singles “Lost in France” and “More Than a Lover.”

She would go on to venture into rock music with her 1983 U.K. chart-topping album Faster Than the Speed of Night, teaming up with songwriter and producer Jim Steinman for both of her biggest ’80s hits — “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out for a Hero.”

Tyler became the first British female artist to debut at No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart and is the only Welsh artist to have a song reach No. 1 on the U.K. Singles Chart. Throughout her career, she earned three Grammy Award nominations and three Brit Award nominations — including two British Female Solo Artist nods — and in 2022, she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to music.

Her most recent record, The Best Is Yet to Come, was released in 2021.

In 2024, Tyler told Good Morning America that even though “Total Eclipse of the Heart” was released over 40 years ago, she hasn’t tired of performing her biggest hit.

“I still get excited when I hear the song on the radio,” she said at the time. “Every time the eclipse comes, everyone all over the world, they play ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ and I never get tired of singing it.”

Calling the Grammy-nominated tune “an amazing song,” Tyler went on to praise Steinman for writing “the most iconic” songs for her and for artists like Meat Loaf and Celine Dion. “In fact, [‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’] was offered to me before Celine Dion,” she recalled. “When I first heard it, I thought, ‘Oh my God, this song is amazing.’ You know, I couldn’t believe he was giving it to me.”