Grammy Award-winner, Shania Twain, is one of country music's most successful female
artists; known for smash hits like "That Don't Impress Me Much" and "Man! I Feel Like A Woman."
But the singer-songwriter has endured many challenges, including a devastating betrayal
and struggles with her health.
Twain was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1965. Her birth name — Eilleen Edwards — was
changed to Eilleen Twain when she was just 4, and her mother remarried and she was adopted
by her stepfather Jerry Twain, who was a part of the Ojibwa tribe. The name Shania, an Ojibwa
word for "on my way," came once she was signed to a record label, according to The Guardian.
"I loved singing, I was always loved singing, I was always experimenting with my voice."
Twain was just 10 years old when she wrote her very first song, "Mama Won't You Come
Out to Play." As she explained to ABC News, it was her childhood attempt to convince her
mom to enjoy life more. She explained,
"My mother was always very isolating of herself. I don't still really understand why. She was
always that person that was watching life happen from inside, through a window."
Twain's career and personal life intersected when she fell in love with producer "Mutt"
Lange, marrying him just six months later, in 1993. Lange, who masterminded albums for
AC/DC and Def Leppard, redefined Twain's sound on her 1995 album, "The Woman in Me," sending
Twain soaring from country artist, all the way to the pop charts.
But it all came crashing down in 2008, when Twain announced she and Lange were separating.
Sources told People that Lange allegedly had an affair with the couple's personal assistant
— someone Twain considered to be one of her closest friends — adding,
"It's a multiple betrayal because it involves all the people around [Shania] the people
she is closest to. She is in absolute, total shock."
"I mean, it was written about all over the tabloids, so it's like, that was humiliating
at that moment, for me."
In an excerpt from her memoir "From This Moment On," Twain painted the assistant as a gold-digging,
two-faced, quote, "temptress secretary" who entrapped Lange, adding,
"I was disgusted that another woman's lust for a lifestyle upgrade was worth the devastation
of my family."
After an affair destroyed Twain's marriage, she found consolation in the other injured
party in the situation: Her assistant's husband, Frederic Thiébaud. In a truly unexpected
turn of events, the couple fell in love, got married in 2011, and remain happily hitched.
"I would say I'm a survivor, and that is where my comeback spirit comes in, really."
While Twain explained that Thiébaud was a friend when she needed one most, she also
admitted it wasn't easy to take the leap of faith required to put her trust in another
person again. She told People in 2020,
"I'm so grateful I found the faith and courage to love again — because the last thing you
want to do when you're crushed is love again. […] I'm really glad that that got turned
around for me, and that's what this relationship is."
Shania Twain's divorce from Lange marked a particularly dark period for the Canadian
singer, and she credits her son Eja for helping her make it through. During an appearance
on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," Twain explained how having a child forces a parent to think
beyond themselves, no matter what. She explained,
"What helps about that is that you're just not always so self-focused. [It's] a very
healthy — I don't want to say distraction, but preoccupation that you love and enjoy."
"You're like, no, I'm a mom and I'm gonna do my best, I'm committed to this."
To further illustrate her point, Twain shared a quote with Clarkson that was relevant to
helping her emerge from the darkness and into the light. She offered,
"You have to survive to tell the story so the hunter doesn't get the glory. Whatever
it is that has pounced on you or is challenging you or weighing you down, you can't let it
win."
In 2011, Twain started to lose her voice, which led doctors to eventually diagnose a
vocal cord disorder, as well as Lyme disease. She recalled to Today,
"It was devastating. I was very, very sad about it, to the point where I felt I had
no other choice but to just accept it."
"Losing my singing voice was like — I lost a serious pleasure in my life."
Twain then underwent two serious open-throat surgeries. While the procedures ultimately
saved her voice, they also changed it forever. After grieving the loss of her signature sound,
she eventually came to appreciate her second chance at making music. She told the outlet,
"It's given me more room to play, to be honest. I have gravel. […] I'm never gonna have
my old voice again. I'm OK with that. I've found a new voice. And I like it."
When it came to producing the video for Twain's second single, 1993's "Dance With the One
That Brought You," a celebrity fan offered his services as director — actor Sean Penn.
According to "Shania Twain: The Biography," the singer was thrilled when she heard that
Penn was interested in directing her video, since she was still relatively unknown.
As Entertainment Weekly reported, Twain revealed in her memoir "From This Moment On" that Penn
even gave her a hundred bucks to help her out until her career took off. While the money
was appreciated, she admitted,
"I was embarrassed to receive a handout like that."
In most cases, a Canadian entertainer working in the U.S. requires a visa or green card.
Twain, however, was able to sidestep that requirement via the Jay Treaty of 1794, which
grants rights to Native Americans. According to Windspeaker, Twain qualified because she's
legally registered under Native status, claiming to be 50 percent aboriginal on the side of
stepdad Jerry, a full-blooded Ojibwa. Her adoption by him afforded her the status as
an official member of the Temagami First Nation.
This eventually caused a bit of an uproar. While Twain's mother had always claimed her
biological father, Clarence Edwards, had Native heritage — something his family denied — Twain
was accused of being less than forthright about the truth, with critics saying she shouldn't
have listed Jerry as her father on her forms. Twain fired back with a statement insisting
Jerry, who was killed in a 1987 car accident with her mother, would have seen being called
her "stepfather" as a deep offense. She also confirmed to the Native community,
"I have not lied to them."
Twain burst onto the music scene in the '90s, but it would be more than two decades before
she would take a turn on the silver screen, starring opposite John Travolta in the 2019's
"Trading Paint." In the film, Travolta stars as race car driver Sam Munroe, with Twain
cast as his girlfriend, Becca. She told Entertainment Tonight,
"It's fun and it feels really natural. I thought I was going to be really intimidated."
"Listen, my son thinks you are smokin' hot. Don't tell him I said so, alright?"
"See? My students think I'm cool."
While the film didn't make much of a splash, Twain earned good reviews in an otherwise
critical flop. The Los Angeles Times dismissed the film as, quote, "blandly earnest" while
praising Twain, noting,
"[She] warmly [inhabits] an otherwise thankless role as Travolta's supportive girlfriend."
Twain's co-star was also full of praise for the new actor, telling ET,
"I think Shania is born to be on film. Her videos are a knockout but I think this is
such a beautiful role."
"I'm still myself, but I've changed. This is just me now."
When Twain released her 2017 album "Now," it arrived after 15 long years since her previous
release, "Up." That album, like many of her others, had been produced by her former husband
and musical collaborator "Mutt" Lange. But while the producer helmed Shania's previous
albums, Twain took control of her latest effort, working with several producers and writing
all the songs herself. But after all those years spent collaborating with her ex, she
found herself in unfamiliar territory, telling Rolling Stone,
"Now all of a sudden I'm alone. I'm starting over. And I don't know where to begin. I just
don't know what to do. I was lost."
The turning point came when she began to share the songs she had been working on, with others.
She recalled,
"The responses were really powerful and I thought, 'You know what, I'm gonna try to
do this alone. I'm gonna write the most honest experiences and emotions that I can in these
songs.'"
Twain was asked by Refinery29 what advice she would give to herself at age 26, and she
had a lot of suggestions to offer younger Shania. First, she said,
"Never, ever cake on your mascara. Keep your split ends cut — once they start they never
stop."
Twain also regretted getting her hair permed and wearing pencil jeans, and, in hindsight,
she wished she had gone without a bra more often. The singer also shared some thoughts
of a more philosophical nature that could apply to just about anyone, when she said,
"Listen more than you speak, and then apply what you learn. […] Be fearless [and] dare
to be yourself. There's only one you, so just be you."
In July of 2020, Twain shared a special message with fans on Instagram. She revealed that
she was about to add a new entry to her already-lengthy list of achievements: executive producer.
She shared that she had acquired the rights to novelist Debbie Macomber's bestselling
"Heart of Texas" book series and would be adapting the books into a new TV series. While
Twain has produced projects for TV before, she had never tackled a fictional show, having
previously crafted her own docuseries, as well as the singing competition show "Real
Country."
Twain also shared the big news on her website, revealing she would not just be an executive
producer, but would also be working in a creative capacity on the show, as well. According to
the announcement, the series features a trio of siblings struggling to hang onto the family
ranch after the unexpected death of both of their parents. She said in a statement,
"'Heart of Texas' is an exciting project for me to be involved in as I very much relate
to the dynamics and the powerful connection of friends and family of a small-town community.
It's a story of love, laughter and true grit, all elements that so strongly influence my
songwriting."
If just one Shania Twain video could be considered iconic, it would be the video for her 1997
hit "Man! I Feel Like a Woman." In the video, Twain kicks things off while wearing a long,
fitted black coat and a top hat, with a dramatic veil just barely covering her face. Later,
she changes things up a bit, rocking a short, skin-tight black dress under a white button-down
shirt, later donning a thick black choker. And looking amazing in all of it.
"Alright, boy do I have stories about 'Man! I Feel Like A Woman' outfit."
She shot that video more than 20 years ago, when she was in her early thirties. But in
April 2021 — nearly a quarter-century after the video's release, Twain took to Instagram
to share a snippet of the "Man! I Feel Like a Woman" video, featuring her iconic look.
But suddenly, the video cuts to Twain in the present, wearing the top hat. The camera then
pans out to reveal she's wearing the same exact outfit from the original video, looking
every bit as stunning as she did in 1997. Man, we sure hope to feel like this woman
who's clearly still got it!
In addition to branching out as a TV producer and becoming a social media superstar, Twain
further expanded her reach with the launch of her own show, "Home Now Radio," on Apple
Music. News of Twain's radio show was first announced in August 2020, with the Associated
Press reporting that Twain was one of several stars signed by Apple Music to launch new
radio shows, alongside the likes of Snoop Dogg and Carrie Underwood. According to the
streaming platform's description of "Home Now Radio," the show — which drops a new
episode every other week — features all the best of Shania Twain, adding that along
with welcoming some very special guests…
"[She will be] sharing her favorite classic hits, new discoveries, and some unlikely sources
of inspiration."
Among the musical acts she's welcomed to the show were sisters Este, Danielle, and Alana
Haim, known collectively as the band HAIM — who, back in 2017, covered Twain's mega-hit
"That Don't Impress Me Much." But when it comes to Shania, let's just say we're all
totally impressed.
"Ooh! F---, I'm good."
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