Tina Turner has long been one of my role models. Born in Nutbush, Tennessee in 1939, international superstar Tina Turner (née Anna Mae Bullock) moved to St. Louis in her teen years and from there she left for California. Although Tina lived in the Los Angeles area for about 25 years, in 1986 she moved to Europe and has lived there since. Living first in London, she later moved with her then boyfriend (current husband) to Cologne, Germany.

Tina formally filed paperwork with the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland on October 24, 2013 to relinquish her United States citizenship, declaring that she “has no plans to reside in the United States in the future.” But before she lived in Switzerland full time, Tina divided her time between Zurich and Nice, France at the French Côte d’Azur. Just like countries everywhere in the world, France adores Tina.

Photo 1: Tina Turner, Paris, 1984: “Tina’s fantastic. She’s one of the best, original entertainers [and] performers in rock ‘n’ roll, in the world. I actually just happened to be in Paris, found out Tina was there shooting a video and went and met her there. It’s kind of great, because Tina’s such a classy lady. To have a picture of her in Paris in front of the Eiffel Tower is just kind of a natural, because she is such a world-class celebrity. Paris is the city of romance, and it’s a great place for her to be.” ~Bob Gruen, Rock N Roll Photographer

In 1996, Tina was awarded with France’s highest honor, the Legion D’Honneur Award. “France is very special to me. I received my first encore here in Paris.” > http://youtu.be/ot_JfudQv3c.

In Photo 2 at Paris’ Élysée Palace on July 3, 2008 at France’s Prestigious Legion D’Honneur Award celebrating Giorgio Armani.

Photo 3: Tina Turner receiving the honorary citizenship of Villefranche sûr Mer, her [former] home in France, August 7, 1995.

Photo 4: Those famous legs on the back cover of her 1984 Private Dancer album, Tina’s fifth solo album. It has been alleged that Tina’s trademark legs were insured for upwards of $3 million.

Photo 5: Singer Tina Turner performs in concert at Bercy in Paris on April 29, 2009.

Photo 6: Tina Turner on the front cover of Architectural Digest. Her house in France was built especially for her and she decorated it herself > http://ow.ly/tHOtf. Video of her former home in France via Oprah: http://youtu.be/GfpwyzSz_mY.