Shania Twain Height, Age, Husband, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shania Twain

• Her parents divorced when she was two years old. Her mother then moved to Timmins in Ontario, with her and her sisters.
  

  A childhood picture of Shania Twain

• In Ontario, her mother married Jerry Twain, an Ojibwa from the Mattagami First Nation. Jerry adopted the girls and changed their last name to Twain.

• When, her step-brother, Mark, was a toddler, Jerry and Sharon adopted Jerry’s baby nephew, Darryl, after Darryl’s mother died.

• According to Shania Twain, some people mistakenly think that she is of Ojibwa descent because of her step-father, Jerry.

• She is officially listed as a member of the Temagami First Nation, a city government office in Bear Island, Canada. She also owns its status card.

• As her stepfather, Jerry Twain belonged to Ojibwa, she has the rights from the Jay Treaty of 1795 and is legally registered as having 50% Indigenous American blood.

• Shania Twain once shared in a media conversation that as a child, her mother told her that her biological father belonged to the Cree community in Canada; however, later, his family denied this statement.

• Her maternal great-grandmother belonged to the family of renowned French carpenter Zacharie Cloutier. Her maternal grandmother, Eileen Pearce, belonged to Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland.

• During a media interview, Shania Twain once mentioned that her childhood was difficult. Her parents had little earnings, so the food at their home was often insufficient.
  

  A childhood picture of Shania Twain with her siblings

• Her mother and stepfather’s marriage was often disturbed, and she witnessed violence between them from a young age. Her mother struggled with depression. She did not tell school authorities about her situation, fearing they might break up her family.

• Shania Twain once convinced her mother to take her and the children to a homeless shelter in Toronto, but in 1981, her mother returned to her step-father, Jerry, with the children.

• In Timmins, Shania started singing at bars when she was eight years old to help pay her family’s bills. She used to earn $20 by singing for the customers between midnight and 1 a.m. after the bar stopped serving alcohol.

• As a teenager, Shania Twain used to work at McDonald’s for several years after school while singing in bars at night.

• She did not like singing in bars. In a media conversation, she once said that her love for singing motivated her to sing at bars. She said,
  

  My deepest passion was music and it helped. There were moments when I thought, ‘I hate this.’ I hated going into bars and being with drunks. But I loved the music and so I survived.”

• Shania Twain was invited to perform on the CBC’s Tommy Hunter Show when she was 13 years old.
  

  Shania Twain while singing on the CBC’s Tommy Hunter Show

• When she was studying at Timmins High and Vocational School, she sang for a local band called Longshot, which was a top music band.
  

  Shania Twain while posing with the other members of the Longshot music band

• In 1980, Stan Campbell made a music album titled “Heavy on the Sunshine” with Canadian musician Tim Denis, and Shania Twain was featured as a backing vocalist of the song.

• In the early 1980s, she worked for her father’s reforestation business in northern Ontario, which employed about 75 Ojibwe and Cree workers.
  

  Shania Twain in the 1980s

• When the Longshot band stopped, Shania Twain joined another band called Flirt.
  

  Shania Twain pictured with the band ‘Flirt’

• During this time, she began taking singing lessons from Toronto-based trainer Ian Garrett. She often cleaned his house as payment.
  

  Shania Twain posing with her music trainer Ian Garrett

• In 1984, Stan Campbell, a Toronto-based DJ, noticed her talents and wrote about her in a Country Music News article. He wrote,
  

  Eilleen possesses a powerful voice with an impressive range. She has the necessary drive, ambition, and positive attitude to achieve her goals.”

• Once, singer Mary Bailey saw her performing in Sudbury, Ontario and was impressed by her voice. Bailey praised Shania Twain during a media interview and compared her to singer Tanya Tucker. Mary Bailey said,
  

  I saw this little girl up on stage with a guitar and it blew me away. She performed Willie Nelson’s ‘Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain’ and Hank Williams’ ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.’ Her voice reminded me of Tanya Tucker, it had strength and character, a lot of feeling. She’s a star, she deserves an opportunity.”

• On 1 November 1987, her mother and stepfather died in a car accident about 50 kilometres north of Wawa, Ontario. She then moved to Timmins to care for her younger siblings. Later, she relocated them to Huntsville in Ontario. She then began performing music shows at the nearby Deerhurst Resort and earned money to support her siblings.

• Several years later, when Twain’s siblings became independent, she released a demo tape of her songs. Her manager in Huntsville presented her tape to some record executives.

• Shania Twain caught the attention of a few labels, including Mercury Nashville Records, who signed her within a few months.

• In 1991, she was offered a singing recording contract in Nashville in the U.S. Later, she applied for U.S. immigration status.

• During this time, she changed her name from Eilleen Regina Edwards to Shania Twain, which was rumoured to be an Ojibwa word meaning ‘on my way.’ However, her biographer, Robin Eggar, pointed out in his book that no Ojibwe or Cree phrase means ‘on my way.’

• Before the release of her debut album, she sang backing vocals for other Mercury artists including on Jeff Chance’s album “Walk Softly on the Bridges” (1992) and Sammy Kershaw’s album “Haunted Heart” (1993).

• Her debut album was released on 20 April 1993 in North America and attracted audiences outside Canada.
  

  Shania Twain while promoting her debut album on a news channel in 1993

• Soon after the release of her debut album, Shania Twain reached no. 67 on the US Country Albums Chart and received positive reviews from critics.

• Initially, the album did not sell many copies, but later its success earned it a certified platinum in 1999 by the RIAA. It sold over 1 million copies.

• In the United States, the album produced two hit singles “What Made You Say That” and “Dance with the One That Brought You.” The third single, “You Lay a Whole Lot of Love on Me,” failed to succeed.

• When rock songs producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange heard Twain’s original songs from her debut album, he offered to produce and write songs with her.

• After many telephone conversations, they met at Nashville’s Fan Fair in June 1993. Twain and Lange became very close and got married on 28 December 1993.

• On 7 February 1995, Shania Twain released the album “The Woman in Me.” The album’s first single “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” reached No. 11 on the Billboard Country Chart.
  

  Shania Twain on the poster of her song Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?

• In 1995, her music album “Any Man of Mine,” reached the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

• The title track of the album ranked at No. 14, and three other songs became hits. These were “(If You’re Not in It for Love) I’m Outta Here!,” “You Win My Love,” and “No One Needs to Know.” ‘No One Needs to Know’ was featured on the original soundtrack for the 1996 film ‘Twister.’

• The album also included a song titled “Home Ain’t Where His Heart Is (Anymore)” and a re-recorded gospel version of “God Bless the Child” with new lyrics.

• In Australia, five of these songs were remixed for the pop market. The song “I’m Outta Here!” became Shania Twain’s breakthrough hit, reaching No. 5 on the ARIA charts.

• Later, she performed at some international venues and television shows including two CMA Fan Fair performances with Nashville guitarists Randy Thomas and Dan Schafer.
  

  Shania Twain performing with Dan Schafer

• During this period, Shania Twain made television appearances on shows The Late Show with David Letterman, Blockbuster Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and the American Music Awards.

• In 1997, she released her album, “Come On Over,” which had sixteen tracks in it, and twelve of them were singles. It went to No. 1 on the UK album charts for 11 weeks.

• In 1998, Shania Twain released the album “From This Moment On,” which was a duet with singer Bryan White. The album reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 list and stayed on the charts for the next two years. It sold 40 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling album of all time by a female musician.

• Her songs “You’re Still The One” and the pop version of “From This Moment On” reached the Top 10 of the UK charts, while the song “When” was listed in the Top 20.

• Her pop-remixed singles “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” attracted European attention. It was listed third in the UK and France.
  

  Shania Twain on the cover of her music album ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’

• In 1998, Shania Twain launched her first major concert tour, the Come On Over Tour, which was a success and won the “Country Tour of the Year” award in the 1998 and 1999 Pollstar Concert Industry Awards.

• In 1999, her song “You’ve Got a Way” was remixed for the film “Notting Hill” soundtrack.
  

  Shania Twain on the poster of her song ‘You’ve Got a Way’ which was remixed for the film ‘Notting Hill’

• Billboard magazine declared Shania Twain the most-played adult contemporary artist on US radio in 1999.

• Two years after the birth of her son Eja (pronounced ‘Asia’), she returned to her work along with D’Angelo and Lange.

• On 19 November 2002, Shania Twain’s music album “Up!” was released.

• After that, a special episode of the show ‘Top of the Pops 2’ (also known as TOTP2) was dedicated to her, where she performed her hit songs from the album Up!

• On 26 January 2003, Shania Twain performed in the Super Bowl XXXVII halftime show.
  

  Shania Twain while performing at the Super Bowl XXXVII halftime show