Ike Turner Jr. (real name: Izear Luster Turner Jr.; born in 1958), is a 66-year-old African American musician and actor who is best known as the son of the late Ike Turner.
Ike Turner was also a musician, and Ike Turner Jr. is the son he had with his former live-in girlfriend, Lorraine Taylor. Read on as we get to know more about Turner Jr.
Summary of Ike Turner Jr.’s Bio
- Full name: Izear Luster Turner Jr.
- Nickname: Ike Turner Jr.
- Gender: Male
- Date of birth: 1958
- Ike Turner Jr.’s Age: 66
- Ethnicity: African American
- Nationality: American
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Ike Turner Jr.’s Parents: Izear Luster Turner aka Ike Turner (father), Lorraine Taylor (biological mother), Tina Turner (adoptive mother)
- Siblings: Michael Turner, (brother) Ronald “Ronnie” Turner (half-brother brother), Craig Turner (half-brother, deceased), Mia Turner (half-sister), and Twanna Melby Turner (half-sister)
- Ike Turner Jr.’s Height in Inches: 5 feet 9 inches
- Ike Turner Jr.’s Height in Centimeters: 175 cm
- Occupation: Actor, Musician
- Ike Turner Jr.’s Net worth: Est. $5 million
- Famous for: Being Ike Turner’s son
Ike Turner Jr. Was Born In the Year 1958
Ike Turner Jr. is 66 years old. He was born in 1958, in East St. Louis, Illinois, United States. His exact date is unknown but he is an American citizen. Turner Jr. is the son of the late musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout Izear Luster Turner aka Ike Turner. The junior Ike is the son he had with one of his ex-girlfriends.
Ike Turner Jr. belongs to the African American ethnic group. He spent most of his formative years in East St. Louis, Illinois, alongside his parents and a younger brother named Michael Turner.
Tina Turner Is Not His Birth Mother
While no one can deny the tremendous role the Last Action Hero actress, Tina Turner, played in raising Turner Jr. and his brother, Michael Turner, it must be stated categorically that she is not their birth mother. That honor and privilege belong to a woman named Lorraine Taylor.
It has been a prevailing misconception that Ike Turner Jr.’s parents were a married couple. However, the reality remains that she was his live-in girlfriend for the duration of their time as a couple. The late Ike Turner and Lorraine Taylor met in the mid to late 1950s when the former moved to East St. Louis following the end of his marriage to Annie Mae Wilson, his pianist at the time.
Lorraine Taylor’s parents owned the Taylor Sausage Factory, a thriving enterprise in St. Louis at the time. When the musician’s parents met, his mother Lorraine was already a mother of 2 and following the birth of Ike Jr. and his brother Michael, they became guardians to four children. They all lived in an apartment with Ike Sr.’s saxophonist, Raymond Hill and his girlfriend Tina Turner, who was known as Anna Mae Bullock at the time.
She Became His Adoptive Mother In 1962
Ike Turner Jr. was just four years old when he was adopted by singer, dancer, songwriter, and actress, Tina Turner. Born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in Brownsville, Tennessee, Tina Turner is the youngest daughter of Zelma Priscilla (née Currie) and Floyd Richard Bullock. She had an older sister named Ruby Alline Bullock December 1, 1936 – September 4, 2010) and an older half-sister named Evelyn Juanita Currie.
Tina Turner met Ike Turner at a Manhattan Club in St. Louis, in 1957. An interesting factor of their relationship revolves around the fact that they started off as only friends as Tina Turner (the Anna Bullock) was dating Ike Turner’s Saxophonist, Raymond Hill, while Ike Sr. was still together with Loraine Taylor.
However, a twist of fate brought the now-former couple together. The events included in this twist of fate are the departure of Raymond Hill when Tina Turner was pregnant with their son, Craig, and Lorraine Taylor’s suspicion that her boyfriend, Ike Sr. was responsible for the actress’ pregnancy. That paranoia even led Taylor to attempt suicide and while she was unsuccessful, she ended her relationship with the late musician not long after.
Tina Turner welcomed her son, Craig, in August 1958, the same year as Ike Turner Jr.’s birth. One thing led to another and Ike Turner and Tina Turner began dating each other for real. She became pregnant again in January 1960 and after the birth of Ronnie Turner, their only child together, in October 1960, the late Ike Turner and Tina Turner tied the knot in 1962, in Tijuana.
After the ceremony, Ike Turner officially became the adoptive father of Craig Turner, the singer’s son with Hill, while she became the adoptive mother of Turner Jr. and Michael Turner, his two sons with Taylor. Ike Turner Sr.’s cocaine abuse and subsequent addiction completely ruined his relationship with his wife Tina and she eventually filed for divorce on July 27, 1976. Less than two years later, the divorce was finalized on March 29, 1978.
Ike Turner Jr. did not have the easiest childhood due to the various forms of abuse he suffered at the hands of his heavily drug-addled father long before he and his adoptive mother went their separate ways. His formal education suffered when he was pulled out of school at the age of 13 to assist in the studio as a sound engineer.
Ike Turner Jr. Is A Musician And An Actor
It really doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Turner Jr. has followed in the footsteps of the couple who raised him to be a musician and an actor. His music career was heavily inspired by his time working as a sound engineer in his father’s studio.
He played various musical instruments as well before dropping the album “Hard Labor” in 1987. His highest recognition as a musician came in 2006 when he received a Grammy Award for his contribution to his late father’s 2006 album “Risin’ with the Blues.” He linked up with his father’s old band member Sweet Randi Love in 2017 and they worked together to release the single Freaky in 2017 after forming the band named The Love Thang.
As an actor, he appeared in the 2021 documentary, Tina, alongside his brothers Michael, Craig, and Ronnie. The documentary chronicled the life and achievements of his adoptive mother, Tina Turner. He is also working on releasing the movie Ike Turner, which tells the story of his father’s life from a viewpoint few have seen before. He is also listed as the producer of the biopic on his IMDb page.
Ike Turner Jr. Is Secretive About His Marital Status
For some reason, the actor has been reluctant to reveal his marital status to the public. He has also been quite careful about revealing any piece of information that will lead to the disclosure of his relationship status. As a result, we can’t accurately say if he is married or has children of his own.
Regarding his relationship with Tina Turner, the musician and actor once revealed that he had a better relationship with the veteran singer than with his biological mother. He further stated that she began taking care of him after his mother left when he was only two years old.
