Jennifer Rush became one of the unforgettable voices of the 1980s when “The Power of Love” turned into an international sensation. She was just 25 when the soaring ballad conquered charts around the world in 1985 and transformed the New York-born singer into a global star.
The song reached No. 1 in numerous countries, although surprisingly not in Rush’s native United States. That finally changed when Céline Dion recorded her own version in 1993 and took it to the top of the American charts. Rush later admitted there was a feeling that the success could have been hers, but she never appeared bitter about Dion’s triumph.
Born Heidi Stern in Queens in 1960, Rush grew up surrounded by music. Her mother was a pianist and her father an opera singer. She spent part of her childhood in Germany, living in cities including Flensburg, Rendsburg, Wiesbaden and Munich, and later studied at New York’s prestigious Juilliard School.
After returning to Germany, Rush began pursuing music professionally. Her first album, recorded when she was 19, failed to make a major impact, but everything changed after she began working with producers Gunter Mende and Candy de Rouge. Songs such as “25 Lovers” and “Ring of Ice” helped establish her name before “The Power of Love” catapulted her to international fame.
More albums followed, but eventually Rush began stepping away from the spotlight. Her 2010 record “Now Is the Hour” became her most recent studio album, and major public appearances grew increasingly rare. She briefly returned to German television and live performances before largely disappearing from public view again in 2013. Her last prominent appearance in Germany at the time came that December at the Berlin premiere of “Ice Age Live.”
Then, after 13 years away from German television, Rush suddenly reappeared in May 2026. Now 66, the ’80s icon returned as a guest on “Riverboat,” giving viewers a rare chance to see her again and hear what she had been doing during her long absence. She recalled learning German as a child in Flensburg and revealed that before her music career took off, she had worked as a secretary in a Munich architecture office.
Rush also explained that her years away from show business took her in unexpected directions. She spent considerable time in South Africa, later lived through the disruptions of the pandemic and even became involved in building apartments with a team of tradespeople. She has since left that venture behind, but described the experience as fascinating and enjoyable. Decades after one song made her an international star, Jennifer Rush has clearly lived a very different life away from the cameras — and her surprise return proved she hasn’t been forgotten.
