Jordan Karlesson
Shania Twain is the best-selling female country performer ever. The multi-hyphenate is also a songwriter, actress, and philanthropist.
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Twain’s most impressive feat might be her accomplishment of all those feats pretty much all on her own. She is a self-made entertainer who came from nothing and pulled up her bootstraps — an undisputed embodiment of the American spirit.
Shania Twain’s Humble Beginnings
Unlike some other artists, Shania Twain didn’t get a handout early in her career. According to Shania Twain: The Biography, written by Robin Eggar and released in 2001, she actually worked menial jobs to make ends meet early in her career.
Born in Ontario, Canada, in August 1965, Twain embarked on her music career in 1983. She honed her voice, songwriting, and guitar-playing abilities at a very early age (some say when she was 3 years old).
Crafting her skills at an early age was a smart idea, as Shania Twain’s talents won her a contract with Mercury Nashville Records in 1990, according to her website. At that point, she formally became a professional musician.
Adding to her humble beginnings, Twain performed many of her early gigs at Deerhurst, a resort in Ontario. That’s according to 2001’s Shania Twain: The Biography, written by Robin Eggar.
“She knew that Deerhurst was not where she wanted to be in 10 years,” Eggar wrote.
Indeed. It didn’t take too long for Shania Twain to release her self-titled debut, which she did in 1993. While that album eventually went platinum, her next albums The Woman in Me (1995) and Come on Over (1997) solidified her status as a major artist.
She hadn’t looked back since.
Shania’s Latest Comeback
This year, Shania Twain, 57, guest-stars on the new country-music drama Monarch. She is working on a new album to boot.
But that’s only the half of it. Last month, the Academy of Comedy Music bestowed the Poet’s Award to Twain at the storied Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. And next month, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame will induct Twain among their ranks.
Much more lies ahead for Shania Twain, including her long-awaited new album. She recently spoke with CNN broadcaster Chris Wallace about Friday’s release of Shania Twain’s new single, “Waking Up Dreaming.”
“Every time something brings me down or tries to bring me down, it fuels more determination,” she said in the interview that CNN published on Friday. “I’m feeling stronger than ever now in my life. And, and it feels good.”
