biography

She was born Eilleen Twain on August 28th, 1965 in Timmins, Ontario. She was the second of five children who grew up very poor. At a very young age she was inseparable from her guitar. Her mother noticed her talent and began booking Shania any where she could. Part of the legend has 8-year-old Shania being dragged out of bed at midnight to sing with the house band at a local bar after the nightly liquor curfew went into effect. She would later spend summers working with her father as the foreman of a dozen-man reforestation crew in the Canadian bush, where she learned to wield an axe and handle a chain saw as well as any man. In the winter season, she would sing in clubs and do television and radio performances as often as her schooling would allow.

She lost her parents when she was 21 in an auto accident. She then took on the responsibility of raising and providing for her younger siblings. She found work at Ontario's Deerhurst Resort. The job not only supported her family it gave Shania an education in every aspect of theatrical performance, from musical comedy to to Gershwin. It was quite different from the bar gigs she grew up doing.

When her siblings were old enough to provide for themselves, she adopted the Ojibway name of Shania. It means "I'm on my way." She made a demo tape of her own songs and began to promote herself in Nashville. Although she was initially signed on the basis of her original material, her self-titled debut album of 1993 featured only one of her songs "God Ain't Gonna Getcha For That."

She received a phone call from an admirer that same year. It was from rock producer Mutt Lang (AC/DC, Def Leppard, Cars). The couple met and wrote a half an album's worth of songs together before a December wedding. In 1995 their musical collaboration came together in the album "The Woman In Me." The LP sold over 12 million copies and includes such hits as "Whose Bed Have Your Boot's Been Under?," "Any Man of Mine," "(If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here!," "You Win My Love," and "No One needs To Know."

Shania next released the album that would propel her into the international superstar she always knew she wanted to be. "Come On Over," held the key for Shania to step from country music superstar to superdiva status. It's hit single, "You're Still The One," brought everyone outside of country music to listen to her music. The LP was hailed as the "Thriller" of the '90's for it's massive record sales, number of hits, and number of weeks in the Top 40. "Come On Over' spawned no less than eight hit singles, including "Love Gets Me Everytime," 'From This Moment On," "Honey I'm Home," and "That Don't Impress Me Much."

Now that her world tour reached it's conclusion in Dublin, Ireland in July of 1999, staging a total of 152 concerts, her fans wait patiently for her next album and her next tour. Her fourth album is due out this year.