Birth Name : Eilleen Regina Edwards
Height : 5' 4" (1.63 m)
Shania Twain was born Eileen Edwards, on August 28, 1965, in Ontario, Canada. She was raised in the small mining town of Timmins, Ontario, by her mother, Sharon, and stepfather, an Ojibway Indian named Gerald Twain. (She later changed her name from Eileen to "Shania"; an Ojibway word meaning "I'm on my way").
Twain was already singing and writing songs by age 10; as a teenager, she performed on Canadian television. In 1987, her mother and stepfather were tragically killed in a car accident, leaving Twain to care for her three younger siblings.
After several years spent earning money by singing at a local resort, Twain went to Nashville in 1993. She immediately signed with Mercury Records and released her self-titled debut album. That same year, Twain married South African music producer Robert "Mutt" Lange, who was known for his work with the heavy metal bands AC/DC, Def Leppard, and Foreigner.
With the help of Lange, Twain released The Woman in Me in 1995, which sold 12 million copies, becoming the bestselling country album by a female artist in history. The album, which yielded the hit songs "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" "Any Man of Mine," and "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!" earned Twain a Grammy Award for Best Country Album.
In 1997, Twain released her third album, Come On Over, which contained eight hit singles, including "You're Still the One," "Love Gets Me Everytime,"
"That Don't Impress Me Much," "Honey, I'm Home," "From this Moment On," and "You've Got a Way." Certified by the Recording Institute Association of America (RIAA) for sales of 17 million copies, Come On Over holds the notable distinction of being the bestselling country album of all time.
Shania Twain's combination of a powerful voice and sexy image has made her one of the most popular singers in both country and pop music. Her popularity opened the door for such female country crossover acts as Faith Hill and LeAnn Rimes. In the late 1990s, Twain signed a reported $3 million contract with Revlon cosmetics to endorse their products.
In 1999, she released a fourth album, On the Way. Twain also re-recorded the single "You've Got a Way" for the motion picture soundtrack Notting Hill (1999). In 2002, Twain released the album "Up!" She released a Greatest Hits album in 2004, which included a duet with Billy Currington, "Party For Two." In 2005, she released "Send It With Love" and "Beginnings."
Early ChangesParty of Four
Twain parents are killed in a head-on collision. Only 22, Twain cares for her three teenage siblings by singing at the upscale Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ontario. "I was overwhelmed with a lot of decisions," Twain later tells PEOPLE. But, she adds, "What I learned through all of that was how strong I was capable of being. I didn't fall apart. I kept it together, paid the bills, took care of the kids, did the groceries, cooked and cleaned and still kept down a job."
Born Eilleen Regina Edwards, Twain is only 2 when her father, Clarence Edwards, divorces her mother, Sharon. In 1971, Sharon remarries Jerry Twain, an Ojibwa Indian, and he adopts and raises Shania in the rural Canadian mining town of Timmins, Ontario. "My dad's side of the family was the side we grew up with," Twain tells PEOPLE of her upbringing with Jerry. "So it was the Indians that were really our family." By 8, she's singing in clubs in the middle of the night. Her parents often wake her at 1 a.m. to go perform after last call. Stardom was "their dream," she tells PEOPLE in 1995. "I dreamed about being a kid."
Party of Four
Twain parents are killed in a head-on collision. Only 22, Twain cares for her three teenage siblings by singing at the upscale Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ontario. "I was overwhelmed with a lot of decisions," Twain later tells PEOPLE. But, she adds,
"What I learned through all of that was how strong I was capable of being. I didn't fall apart. I kept it together, paid the bills, took care of the kids, did the groceries, cooked and cleaned and still kept down a job."
Finding a Mutt
Once her siblings are old enough to take care of themselves, Twain pursues her dreams in Nashville, signing a record deal with Mercury Nashville, which releases her 1993 self-titled debut album. Around that time, Twain begins writing songs over the phone with reclusive London-based producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. In June 1993, after months of working together, they finally meet in person. By December, they're married. "It was just like a dream," Twain tells EW