Afida Turner | |
|---|---|
 Afida Turner (2020) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Hafidda Messaï |
| Born | December 22, 1976 Auchel, Hauts-de-France, France[1] |
| Occupation(s) | TV personality |
| Website | afidaturner |
Afida Turner (born Hafidda Messaï on December 22, 1976) is a French media personality. In 2007, she married musician Ronnie Turner. In 2011, she released the singles Come With Me, followed by Born an Angel, from her studio album Paris-Hollywood.
Turner has appeared in small roles in several films.
She also starred in the stageplay Requiem for une conne (2022). In 2022, she released the single Étienne.
Afida Turner was born in Auchel, France.[2] Her father was from Algeria and her mother from Réunion. When she was two years old, her father beat her mother to death. She lived with foster families until she was 16.[3] She then worked as a saleswoman in ready-to-wear and was once employed by the Parisian bar-lounge Buddha Bar.[4]
In the 1990s, she started a singing career, releasing the song "Crazy About You" in 1998.[5] She came to the public and media attention in 2002 by appearing in the second season of Loft Story, a reality show, as Lesly.
In 2002, Turner signed with Sony Music and released her first album called Rock Attitude under the name Lesly Mess.[6]
Turner made appearances in three films, Shut Up and Shoot (2006), The Sweep (2008) and Single Black Female (2009).
In 2011, she released her second album called Paris-Hollywood, including the smash hit single Come With Me.[7] She subsequently appeared as a guest star and host on various French TV shows.
In 2013, she played a role in the film Visions Interdites.[8]
In 2018, she played a role in the drama Lumière Noire by Enguerrand Jouvin.[9]
In 2022, she played the lead in Requiem pour une conne by Baptiste Souriau at Théâtre Trévise, Paris[10] starting in January and running successfully for six months.[11]
In July 2022, she released a cover version of Guesch Patti′s song Étienne.[12]
She had a relationship with Coolio lasting two years and also with American boxer Mike Tyson. In 2007, she married musician Ronnie Turner, the son of Ike Turner and Tina Turner.[13] She started to use the name Afida Turner.[14][15][16] Ronnie Turner died aged 62 from colon cancer in Los Angeles on December 8, 2022.[17][18]
On May 31, 2020, Turner announced her candidacy for President of France in the 2022 election. She ran on a platform opposing police violence and in favor of the Yellow Vests Movement.[19] If elected, she would have been the first female and first African President of the Republic. However, on January 11, 2021, she announced that she had withdrawn her candidacy.
