At A Glance
Born: August 28, 1965
Where: Windsor ON
First Big Break:
A Nashville entertainment lawyer, Dick Frank, comes to see her sing at the Deerhurst Resort in 1991. Shania was signed to Mercury Records in 1991.
Notable Achievements:
2000 Best Songwriter, Juno Award (Canada)
2000 Best Country Female Artist, Juno Award (Canada)
2000 People's Choice Award Favorite Female Musical Artist
2000 Entertainer of the Year, Academy of Country Music Awards (US)
1999 Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Country Performance for "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!"
1999 Grammy Award for Best Country Song "Come On Over"
1999 Entertainer of the Year Country Music Association Awards (US)
1999 Entertainer of the Year Academy of Country Music Awards (US)
1999 Favorite Female Country Artist, American Music Awards
1999 Favorite Female Pop/Rock Artist, American Music Awards
1999 Favorite Single, Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (US)
1999 Favorite Overall Single, Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (US)
1999 Country Female Vocalist of the Year, Juno Award (Canada)
1998 Grammy Award Best Female Country Performance for "You're Still The One"
1998 Grammy Award Best Country Song "You're Still The One"
1998 Favorite Female Country Artist, American Music Awards
1998 Female Artist of the Year, Billboard Music Awards (US)
1997 Best Female Country Artist, American Music Awards
1997 Country Female Vocalist of the Year, Juno Awards (Canada)
1997 International Achievement Award, Juno Awards (Canada)
1996 Country Album of the Year (The Woman in Me), Billboard Music Awards (US)
1996 Favorite New Country Artist, Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (US)
1996 Country Female Vocalist of the Year, Juno Awards (Canada)
1996 Entertainer of the Year, Juno Awards (Canada)
1996 World's Best Selling Country Artist, World Music Awards
1995 Grammy Award Best Country Album, The Woman In Me
1995 Top New Female Vocalist, Academy of Country Music Awards(US)
1995 Album of the Year (The Woman in Me), Academy of Country Music Association Awards (US)
1995 Favorite New Country Artist, American Music Awards
1995 Favorite Female Country Artist, American Music Awards
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How does a girl raised in small town Northern Ontario become the biggest-selling female artist of all time? A rare mix of ambition, creativity, passion for singing, and fortune has made Twain the most successful crossover artist to date.
Born Eilleen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ontario, in 1965, she moved to her mom's hometown of Timmins, Ontario as a child after her parents divorced. Her mother Sharon remarried, and she and her sisters Jill and Carrie Ann were adopted by her step-dad Jerry Twain. Two younger brothers came along shortly after.
Times were tough, but the family persevered through hard work and a shared love of music. A young Twain sang and performed around the community, and by age 10 she began writing her own songs. As a teen she would sometimes skip classes to work on her songwriting.
In the mid-1980s she headed south to Toronto where she worked a day job and performed nights. Then tragedy struck: Twain's parents were killed in a car accident. She returned to the North and assumed the responsibilities of executrix of her parent's estate and raising her younger siblings. She moved her family to Huntsville, Ontario where she landed a job singing at the Deerhurst Resort. There she blossomed from a barroom singer to a theatrical performer. In 1990 she adopted the name 'Shania,' an Ojibway word meaning "on my way," as a tribute to her stepfather's native heritage and a symbol of her determination.
Some Nashville music executives saw her perform at the resort and offered her the chance to produce a demo, which led to her record deal with the Mercury Nashville label. Her first self-titled album was released in 1993 with mostly other artists' material.
When legendary music producer Robert "Mutt" Lange (AC/DC, The Cars, Def Leppard, Foreigner, Brian Adams, The Corrs) caught her video on Country Music Television Europe he was hooked. Lange and Twain teamed up write her second album The Woman in Me and fell in love along the way. The couple married in December 1993 and solidified one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in music today. With more than 34 million copies sold, Twain's third album Come on Over is the biggest-selling country recording by any artist and is tied for the fifth best-selling record of all time.
Twain has earned Billboard's Top Country Album (1996), five Grammys for Best Country Album, two Best Country Songs and two Best Female Country Vocal Performances. She has also won numerous other honours for her music from the American Music Awards, The Junos, the Canadian Country Music Awards and the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards.
In the summer of 2001, The City of Timmins officially opened the Shania Twain Centre. The attraction houses an exhibit of Twain's memorabilia and pays tribute to the town's favorite country star.
Twain recently released her fourth record, Up!, to unprecedented success. Since its release on November 19, 2002, UP! has sold more than 1,000,000 records in Canada alone. It has also set a new record for consecutive weeks in the #1 chart position at 11. UP! was the highest selling record (foreign or domestic) in Canada in 2002.
Shania performed at the 2002 Grey Cup game in Edmonton, Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego, and is set to host the 2003 Juno Awards in Ottawa on April 6th, 2003. Shania is nominated for five 2003 Juno Awards: Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Country Recording of the Year and the fan-voted "Fan Choice Award."
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Inductees
