Luisa Marshall, a Vancouver-based entertainer who has made a name for herself as a Tina Turner impersonator and is on tour with her Hope Beyond Thunderdome show, will be performing at the Kamsack Legion Hall tonight (June 30).
A singer, performer, tribute artist, TV host, editor, scriptwriter, producer and anti-bullying advocate, Marshall has won awards for her Tina Turner tribute show which has enabled her to share her passion and love of the arts through music, said her biographical information. She often uses her talents to donate her time and efforts to various charitable causes all over the world.
Marshall’s popular TV show, Simply the Best, is a local independent production on the Shaw Multicultural Channel which aims to inspire, educate and entertain viewers from all walks of life, it said.
In 1995, while on stage with her band during a show in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Marshall gave in to the persistent request of a fan to wear a wild Tina Turner wig while she and her band performed Proud Mary, it said. The combination of her strong vocals, her rock ‘n’ roll attitude and her astounding resemblance to the Queen of Rock brought the house down.
“That night, Luisa’s career as a tribute artist was born, however, it wasn’t until late 1999 that she decided to take her Tina Turner tribute act seriously,” it said. “Within a few years, in 2003, she competed in and won the grand prize as the World Rock ‘N Roll Tribute Artist Champion, beating out participants from all over the world.”
Marshall’s uncanny resemblance to Tina Turner has heads turning everywhere she goes, it said. Often this celebrity lookalike and sound alike is mistaken as the real Tina Turner. From the legs, the lips, and the rock and roll attitude, no other artist can emulate Tina Turner like Luisa Marshall does.
“Audiences from all walks of life simply adore her powerful live vocal renditions of Tina Turner’s greatest hit songs such as Proud Mary, The Best, Better Be Good To Me, Private Dancer, What’s Love Got To Do With It, Let’s Stay Together and We Don’t Need Another Hero to name a few.
“Luisa Marshall as Tina Turner is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that makes this live tribute show to Tina Turner the most spectacular, fun, energetic, and entertaining tribute to the Queen of Rock & Roll. Luisa Marshall is Simply the Best!”
After winning the grand prize as the World Rock ‘N Roll Tribute Artist Champion, in 2004, Marshall performed for the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in a grueling show tour that included war-torn Bosnia and Sarajevo. She was invited again the following year to perform for the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in Israel and Egypt.
In 2005, Marshall had the pleasure of entertaining the audience of the Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago by rendering an impromptu song number. Tina Turner was the featured guest at the time.
“Luisa had the surreal experience of seeing Miss Turner in awe, watching her perform The Best as it was played back on the studio’s big screen. Three years after, Luisa was called by Oprah’s producer to dress up like Tina Turner on Oprah’s Biggest Show Ever that was held at Caesar’s Palace Colloseum with the comeback of two icons, Cher and Tina Turner. She was called to perform Proud Mary in front of the 4,000 screaming fans.”
In 2006 to 2007, Marshall played the challenging role of Tina Turner in the most spectacular stage musical TINA, A Rock ‘N Roll Journey. For three years, she toured all over north America and the US with her band and dancers and became an internationally-acclaimed stage performer.
Her performance as Tina received rave reviews and standing ovations all over, it said.
Marshall was the main organizer of the highly successful 2009 Celebrity Tributes For A Cause in Vancouver to raise money for the Philippine Typhoon Ondoy flood victims which raised more than $40,000 and 100 per cent of the proceeds went to the Canadian Red Cross for the Ondoy victims.
Marshall has performed in the most celebrated high-profile fundraising events, including the Bermuda Red Cross in Southampton Resort Hotel, Bermuda. She was officially invited to the most fabulous 71st Golden Globe Awards red carpet and ceremony in January 2014, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles and met award-winning Hollywood actors and actresses including Jared Leto, John Voight, Lupita Nyong’o and Jane Seymour.
In 2010, Marshall received one of the highest awards given to an alumnus by her alma mater University of Santo Tomas, the AB Gantimpala Award for Outstanding Achievement in Entertainment and Media for Overseas. The following year, she flew to Las Vegas, Nevada to accept an exemplary award, the Mother Ignacia Del Espiritu Santo (MIDES) Award, presented by the Gracean Worldwide Inc. in recognition and appreciation of her dedication, commitment, leadership and exemplary service to benefit the underprivileged and the community following the Ignacian spirit of Mother Ignacia Del Espiritu Santo, a Filipino religious sister of the Roman Catholic Church.
In April 2012, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association chairman Ruben V. Nepales published his first book My Filipino Connection, The Philippines in Hollywood that highlights outstanding talents of Filipino heritage making it in the international stage. Marshall was honoured to have been one of the 23 international artists recognized and also one of the two Filipino Canadians highlighted.
In 2013, Luisa was voted and became a recipient of the Royal Bank of Canada’s 25 Top Canadian Immigrants, alongside two-time National Basketball Association’s most valuable player Steve Nash.
“Her story of success in the field of entertainment overcoming big challenges is an inspiration to all,” the information said. “She is a big role model to all the young girls with big dreams and a very influential avid supporter of various diverse communities.”
