Tragic Details About Elton John's Life
Elton John, whose given name is Reginald Kenneth Dwight, has made hundreds of millions of dollars as one of the world's most successful musicians. He's performed at some of the most iconic venues in the world. He had a personal relationship with Queen Elizabeth. He wrote the score for "The Lion King." He's one of 19 performers in history to achieve EGOT status. He's friends with Ed Sheeran. From the outside, John has had an incredible life, one that most would only dream of.
But no matter how much money, success, awards, or famous friends a person has, they're not immune to tragedy. A musical genius, John faced plenty of adversity to find initial success in the entertainment industry, and difficulties in his personal life haven't made it any easier for him to maintain his success. From childhood until his later years, these are the tragic details about Elton John's life.
Elton John's father wasn't in his life much as a child
Elton John was born in Pinner, Middlesex, to Stanley Dwight and Sheila Eileen. He was surrounded by music in his home, with artists such as Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and George Shearing often being played. John's father was a musician himself — a good trumpet player — but he worked as a flight lieutenant in Britain's Royal Air Force. Because of his work, Dwight was not around for much of John's childhood. When he was around, Dwight and John were often at odds. "But the bit in between was hard to take because I dreaded my dad coming home because it would be a row immediately. And then I would retreat to my room, you know, look at my books, look at my records, look at my toys," John told NPR in 2019 of the moments when he was with his father.
John's relationship with Dwight was further strained by his lack of support for John's career aspirations. Despite being a musician himself, Dwight did not see music as an admirable career path. Even when John found success, his father wasn't supportive. That lack of support is still with John, even though Dwight died in 1991. "It's crazy, but I just wanted his approval. I'm still trying to prove to him that what I do is fine — and he's been dead for almost 30 years," John said in a 2019 interview with the BBC.
His parents divorced when he was a teenager
Another part of the reason Elton John's father wasn't in his life much as a child is because his parents divorced when he was a teenager. "My father and my mother should never have gotten married. They got married very quickly after the war, which a lot of people did. They were totally unsuited to each other," John told NPR. Stanley Dwight and Sheila Eileen married after World War II, as many of their peers did, and were afraid to get divorced for many years out of fear of what others might think. Eventually, though, Dwight and Eileen separated, and they went on to remarry. "The nice thing about it is that they got — when they did get divorced and my mother found Fred and my dad found Edna is that they found the love of their lives — that I'm very happy about," John said.
Home life was difficult no matter where John ended up. He spent lots of time with his maternal grandmother, whom he credits with raising him, but he still experienced trauma in her presence as she did not get along well with his mother. "They were like oil and water, the two of them," John said about his mother and grandmother.
Elton John struggled with substance abuse
Many a music superstar has experienced substance abuse. Elton John dealt with multiple addictions at the beginning of his music career, alcohol and cocaine being two of his biggest opponents. John can recall the first time he tried cocaine. The singer had never done drugs in his life, but he saw his manager John Reid doing a line, and he asked to try some. Despite throwing up after trying it, John did another line of cocaine, and his addiction took off from there. "So it made me talk. And I was quite a shy person. So I thought, oh, this is the drug that can open me up and make me feel relaxed and be able to talk to people. And of course, it was fool's gold. That was the start of a love-hate relationship with it for 16 years, basically," John told NPR of the reason he liked the drug.
Although he enjoyed doing cocaine, John didn't like the grand-scale effect it was having on his life. "I hated my addiction. I hated the way I behaved. I hated how I treated people. I hated what I'd become," he said. But today, the singer sees it as a positive. "I'm grateful that I had it because then I learned how to become who I am now, and I'm proud of who I am now."
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
He went through a difficult divorce
Elton John was able to understand the pain of divorce from a different standpoint as an adult. John married Renate Blauel, whom he had met while recording his iconic album "Too Low for Zero," in 1984. At the time, John said publicly that he wanted to settle down and start a family, but privately, he was struggling. In addition to experiencing substance abuse while married, John was hiding his sexuality. "I presumed that you had to marry a girl because that was the way things were done," John said to NPR of his decision to marry Blauel.
After four years of marriage, John and Blauel divorced. The two maintained publicly that their split was civil, but rumors swirled about its nature and the true impetus. A few years later, in an interview, John detailed his perspective of the split. "Even though I knew I was gay, I thought this woman was attractive and that being married would cure me of everything wrong in my life," he said to The Los Angeles Times. "But it didn't change my way of life. I wasn't a sexual philanderer during that time, but I certainly didn't stop taking drugs and alcohol, and when you take that amount, you can't have any relationship." Despite wanting to remain friends with Blauel, John went years without speaking to her after their divorce.
Elton John attempted suicide
Elton John has struggled with his mental health in the past, especially before he came out publicly and while he was experiencing addiction. Before John married Renate Blauel, he was engaged to another woman, Linda Woodrow. John knew he didn't want to get married, and he attempted suicide because of it. "So I got absolutely smashed, went back home, got very depressed, stuck my head in a gas oven, and left all the windows open," John said in a 1997 interview on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." His musical partner Bernie Taupin walked in on him, and Taupin found the scene ridiculous. "But Bernie couldn't stop laughing. Elton had set the gas on low with all the windows open. What's more, he was resting his head on a pillow," author David Buckley said in "Elton: The Biography," as reported by Ultimate Classic Rock. "It was a little cry for help," John said.
A few years later, John had another cry for help, but in a much more alarming and public fashion. In 1975, while at a party he threw at his home, John overdosed on Valium and threw himself into his swimming pool. The singer announced that he would soon die, and paramedics came to save him. "It was stress. I'd been working non-stop for five years," John said to the Telegraph of his second suicide attempt.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org
He dealt with an eating disorder
While Elton John was experiencing addiction to alcohol and cocaine, he was also dealing with another disorder: bulimia. The singer described his disorder in detail in an interview. "It was all through being paranoid about my weight but not able to stop eating. So in the end I'd gorge, then make myself sick," John told the Mirror in 2019. "For breakfast I'd have a fry-up, followed by 20 pots of cockles and then a tub of ice cream, so I'd throw it all up. I never stood still. I was always rushing, always thinking about the next thing. If I was eating a curry, I couldn't wait to throw it up so that I could have the next one," he said.
John managed to keep his bulimia under wraps even to those closest to him. "I had no idea that he was in such extreme pain. I knew as much about what was going on in his life as much as anybody could and I personally didn't know about the bulimia," John's manager John Reid said in an interview, as reported by The Los Angeles Times.
If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).
Elton John ultimately went to rehab
After years of dealing with multiple addictions, Elton John decided it was time to get sober. "I had reached the lowest ebb in my life — the absolute bottom. I hated myself so much. I was consumed with shame. All I wanted to do was get well. I put all of the energy I had left toward my recovery," John said to Variety of his decision to seek help. John sought rehabilitation centers to check into, but he struggled to find one that worked for him as he had multiple addictions he needed to work through. Eventually John found a suitable facility, but he still struggled with his ego. "So I went back, and I ate humble pie. You have to have humility to get sober. And I — you know, I needed humility. And I listened, and I listened, and I listened," John told NPR of finally surrendering to accept help.
After John left rehab, he had to find ways to stay committed to his sobriety. Aside from one obligation, John took an entire year off work to adjust to his new lifestyle. When he was ready to return to work, John began touring again, and he attended support meetings while on the road, including ones in non-English-speaking countries. "I left every meeting feeling better and more empowered than when I walked in. Those meetings kept me grounded," John said.
His ex-wife sued him after he released his autobiography
An occupational hazard of writing an autobiography is the potential that not everyone who's mentioned in the book will be happy with what's written. Elton John knows that better than most. The legendary singer released "Me: Elton John Official Autobiography" in 2019, and several months later, his ex-wife, Renate Blauel, sued him for millions, claiming he had not honored their agreement to abstain from speaking about why they split up. John agreed to omit certain passages from his book, but some information still made it to the ether. "I'd broken the heart of someone I loved and who loved me unconditionally, someone I couldn't fault in any way. Despite all the pain, there was no acrimony involved at all," John said about Blauel in his autobiography, as reported by NME. "For years afterwards, whenever something happened to me, the press would turn up on her doorstep, looking for her to dish the dirt, and she never, ever has."
Thankfully for both parties, the legal spat didn't last too long. Within months, everything was resolved, though the terms of the settlement were not made public. After the settlement, a member of John's team shared, "They will not be discussing each other, or their marriage, in future and will be making no further comment about the case," as reported by The Guardian.
Elton John has been hospitalized multiple times
No matter how famous or successful, everyone still faces the trials of aging. Elton John has had some physical health scares in the past causing hospitalizations and some delays in his professional life. In the summer of 2023, while spending time at his home in the south of France, John fell and was taken to the hospital. "We can confirm that following a slip yesterday at his home in the south of France, Elton visited the local hospital as a precautionary measure," a representative of John's said to the Daily Mail. "Following check ups, he was immediately discharged this morning and his now back at home and in good health."
While John's slip was not dire, he did have a more serious scare just a few years prior. In September 2021, John announced that he would be postponing the remainder of his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour until 2023 after suffering a nasty fall. "I have been advised to have an operation as soon as possible to get me back to full fitness and make sure there are no long-term complications," the singer said in a statement. When John was able to return to touring, he ended on a high note, grossing nearly $1 billion from the string of shows that would serve as his last tour.
He nearly died from surgery
Elton John is no stranger to near-death experiences. In his 2019 book "Me: Elton John Official Autobiography," the singer revealed that after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017, he underwent surgery to remove the cancer from his body. The surgery was successful regarding the cancer treatment, but it unfortunately resulted in an infection that nearly killed John. Per the musician, he was a day away from dying. While in the hospital, John realized that, although he loves music, nothing matters more to him than his family.
Though John was saved from the infection, it took over 10 days in a hospital to fight it, and the complications didn't end there. "I literally had to learn how to walk again. I was extremely sick. All I could think about when I was lying in my hospital bed was, 'Please don't let me die, I want to see my children,' and luckily I survived it," John said in a BBC1 documentary, as reported by the Independent. Thankfully John made a full recovery. "Now I'm fine, but there's very few bits of me left. There's no hair, there's a pacemaker, there's no tonsils, there's no prostate, there's no appendix, I've had kidney stones. I'm like the Bionic Woman."
Elton John has lost multiple close friends and family members
Elton John has known some remarkable people in his life. He's also lost many of them. In 2022, the singer shared that he had lost an aunt. "My beautiful Auntie Win passed away this morning at 95 years of age. I loved her so much and will miss her terribly. She was kindness personified," John said on Instagram of her passing. The following year, John lost his close friend and revered musician Tony Bennett. "Without doubt the classiest singer, man, and performer you will ever see. He's irreplaceable. I loved and adored him," John said of Bennett on Instagram.
By that point, John had already experienced tremendous loss. In 1997, the world mourned the loss of Princess Diana, but John was particularly affected as he and the royal were close friends. John revealed in his 2019 book "Me: Elton John Official Autobiography" that he and Diana had a riff after she refused to write the foreword for his book of photography made to benefit the AIDS Foundation. The two made up at Gianni Versace's funeral, but unfortunately, Diana died just weeks later. John performed "Candle in the Wind 1997" at her funeral, and he has stated in subsequent interviews that he doubts he'll ever sing the song again.