Shania Twain

Shania Twain
REAL NAME: Eilleen Regina Edwards BIRTHDAY: August 28, 1965 BIGGEST SINGLE: "From This Moment On" (1999) BIGGEST LP: Come On Over (1997) GRAMMY AWARDS: 5

Shania Twain was born Eilleen Regina Edwards on August 28, 1965 in Ontario. Shania is an Ojibway name (Shania's stepfather was an Ojibway Indian) translated as "I'm on my way." At an early age, Shania was on was to be a music star as she was encouraged by her parents to sing and she began to write and play her music, "The many different styles of music I was exposed to as a child not only influenced my vocal style, but, even more so, my writing style." When Shania was 21, she was confronted with the duty of raising her siblings when their parents were killed in an auto accident in 1987: "My personal life changed drastically. When my parents died, my brothers and younger sister were still living at home. My brothers were only 13 and 14 years old and I became sister-mom. I had responsibilities, so I couldn't just go around getting gigs here and there, or writing only when I felt like it. I took a job singing at a resort, I bought a house, a family truck and settled down... I thought, forever." Shania was able to combine her musical talents with the need for money at a resort where she sang some country music and mostly show tunes under the name Eilleen Twain. By the mid-90s, Shania had become a best-selling country artist, and had crossed-over to the pop world in a huge way. Shania also prides herself as a songwriter: "Songwriting is my favorite part of what I do. I like to give every song its own personality and attitude and to sing each one in its own style."