GLORIA GAYNOR

The 'I Will Survive' legend on the power of positive thinking

- SOPHIE HAMILTON

If ever a song suited its singer, it's Gloria Gaynor's “I Will Survive.” The uplifting 1978 disco anthem was recorded while she was in a back brace after sustaining a severe spinal injury that led to decades of rehabilitation.

She recounts this and much more in the 2024 film Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive (Prime Video), which documents her abusive childhood, marital troubles (she divorced her husband and manager, Linwood Simon, in 2005 after 26 years), career crisis at age 65 and comeback - with a Grammy-winning gospel album - a decade later.

Today, at 81, Gloria isn't just surviving but thriving as she continues to perform at venues across the globe. “I still love what I'm doing,” she tells Hello! from her New Jersey home. “When I don't love it anymore, I'll quit. I don't see that happening.”

Here, the resilient and ever-youthful singer talks about the meaning behind her newest song, her relationship philosophy and the spiritual help she needs to keep doing CrossFit three times a week.

DISCO DIVA