Shania Twain : Biography
Eilleen Regina Edwards was born on August 28, 1965 in Windsor, Ontario to Clarence and Sharon Edwards. Although her heritage is Irish and French-Canadian, she was raised in the Ojibway Indian culture because when she was six years old, her mother remarried full-blooded Ojibway native, Jerry Twain. Jerry Twain adopted Eilleen, making her legally 50% native. She has two sisters, Jill who is two years older, and Carrie-Ann, who is three years younger. She also has two younger half-brothers.
Shania Twain married producer, Robert John Lange (Mutt), on December 28, 1993. Their son, Eja, was born on August 12, 2001. Shania and Mutt now live in Switzerland, where Shania is learning to speak French. Shania also owns a cottage near the town of Huntsville in the Muskoka region of Ontario, Canada. Notice that Shania uses her legal, married name, Eilleen Lang, in the credits for Up!, instead of Shania Twain.
Shania Twain: Career
Eilleen started her singing career as a child, singing in bars after hours, and anywhere else she could find an audience including church and community events. At 13, she showcased her talents on The Tommy Hunter Show (1965). After graduating from high school, Shania went to Toronto to pursue a professional singer/songwriter career. In 1987, when she was only 22, her parents were killed in an auto accident, and she was left as the legal guardian to her two half brothers and younger sister. Her career was put on hold, and in order to support her siblings Shania worked at a resort, singing and dancing. In 1991, she changed her name to Shania, which means "I'm on my way" in Ojibwa (after one of her co-workers), finally made a demo, and signed a contract with Mercury Nashville.
Shania's first album, Shania Twain, went by without notice, but her second album (which she produced with her future husband), The Woman in Me (1995), sold 18 million copies, and produced several hit singles. Shania's third album, Come On Over, sold 34 million albums worldwide, and become the best-selling album by a female solo artist and the best-selling country album of all-time. Her latest album, Up! (2002), has already sold several million copies. Shania has produced an amazing six #1 hits on Billboard magazine's country singles chart. And, her success brought her a lucrative contract as a Revlon cover model.
During the course of her music career, Shania has earned many awards, including: Grammy Award for Best Country Song and Best Female Country Performance for "You're Still the One" (1998); Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year (1999); Country Music Association's International Achievement Award (1999); Juno- Fan Choice Award, Artist of the Year Award, and Country Recording of the Year (2003). On June 25, 2003, Shania also received a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame in Toronto. On a lighter note, she has been voted "sexiest vegetarian alive" by PETA.
Shania Twain: Albums
The Complete Limelight Sessions (unauthorized), Shania Twain (1993), The Woman in Me (1995),Come on Over (1997), Up! (2002), Greatest Hits (2004),
