Shania Twain was born as Eilleen Regina Edwards in 1965, the middle of three daughters to Clarence and Sharon Edwards (sister Jill is two years older and Carrie-Ann three years younger). When she was six, her mother remarried Jerry Twain, a full-blooded Ojibwa native from Timmins, Ontario, who adopted her as his own, making her 50% native in the eyes of the law. She started out singing in bars as a child after hours, and, at 13, appeared on The Tommy Hunter Show. When she was 22, her parents were killed in an accident, and she became the legal guardian of her half-brothers (Mark, then 13, and Darryl, then 14) and sister, putting her musical career on hold to raise her family. In 1991 she changed her name to Shania (meaning "I'm on my way" in Ojibwa, it was the name of a co-worker), and signed a contract with Mercury Nashville that same year. Her first album went by without notice, but her second album (produced with (Mutt) Robert John Lange, who she wed in 1993) broke world records with its sales!


Listed in "People Weekly"s "Most Intriguing People" list. (December 25, 1995/January 1, 1996 issue) Gave birth to first child, a son, Eja (pronounced "Asia"). [12 August 2001] Has scored seven No. 1 hits on Billboard magazine's country singles chart. Her biggest hit is the country-pop smash "You're Still the One" (1998, No. 1 country, No. 2 Hot 100); the song won Grammy Awards for Best Country song and Best Female Country Performance. Named the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year in 1999. She also received the CMA's International Achievement Award that same year. Her other country No. 1 hits: "Any Man of Mine" (1995); "(If You're Not in it for Love) I'm Outta Here!" "You Win My Love" and "No One Needs to Know" (1996); and "Honey I'm Home" (1998). Other big hits include "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under" and "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)" (1995); "Don't Be Stupid," "From This Moment On" and "That Don't Impress Me Much" (all 1998, the second a duet with country singer Bryan White); and "Man! I Feel Like a Woman," "You've Got a Way" and "Come On Over" (all 1999). Uses her married (and legal) name Eilleen Lange in the credits for her latest CD, titled 'Up.' It is her first release since 1997's multi-platinum effort 'Come on Over.' Performed at the National Football League's Super Bowl half-time show where it was well known that she had been lip-synching the song. [January 26, 2003] She received a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (June 25, 2003). Her heritage is Irish and French-Canadian. She was raised in the Ojibway Indian culture by her stepfather, a full blooded Ojibway native. Shares a birthday with LeAnn Rimes. The album, tour and merchandising for the album "Come On Over" made over $40,000,000 in Australia alone, where it still remains one of the longest charting albums in Australia. Received the "Order of Canada", Canada's highest honor on November 18, 2005. Lives in Switzerland with her husband and son. Named #33 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement. (2005) Her nephew, whose last name is also Twain, got his big break in entertainment when featured on Canada's Much Music cable station in 2004. Had a poster of Tony Danza on her wall when she was a little girl.