Shania Twain celebrates his 60th birthday: singer gave the way to Taylor Swift

Shania Twain (60) is one of the most successful singers of all time. The Canadian musician, who is now celebrating her 60th birthday, shaped an entire genre with her mix of country and pop, broke sales records and laid the foundation for careers of stars such as Taylor Swift (35). But behind the fame there is an eventful story.

Shania Twain was born on August 28, 1965 as Eilleen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ontario. She never met her biological father. After her parents’ divorce, her mother Sharon moved to Timmins with the children. She met Twain’s stepfather, the ojibwe-indigenous Jerry Twain, who adopted Shania and her sisters.

But Twain’s childhood was anything but harmonious: violence shaped family life, their stepfather is also said to have sexually abused Twain. At times, her mother fled with the children into a homeless accommodation. To support your family financially, Twain sang in bars at the age of eight.

At the age of 13 she appeared on television for the first time. Performances in a holiday resort became aware of labels on Twain, which had to cope with the loss of the parents at the time. In November 1987, they died in a car accident. At the age of just 22, Twain took responsibility for her younger siblings and lived on the poverty line.

At the beginning of the 1990s, Shania Twain signed her first record deal and gave itself the stage name Shania – supposedly inspired by the culture of her stepfather. “Shania” should mean as much as “I’m on my way” in the Ojibwe’s language. Under the new name, Twain published her debut album in April 1993, which was largely ignored.

The breakthrough followed in 1995 with the second LP “The Woman in Me”: The singer secured her first Grammy and was successful in both the country and pop charts. The third record “Come on Over” (1997) finally became a milestone: around 40 million units sold made it the best -selling album of a solo artist ever. It is unmatched in the country genre. Hits like “That Don’t Impress Me Much” or “Man! I feel like a woman!” made Twain known worldwide.

For Twain, however, it was not only a time of success, but also of loneliness. “And the workload was enormous. In addition, not many people were always so friendly to me,” she added in an interview with “Variety”. You often didn’t feel welcome.

Then the health setback in 2003: After a tick bite, Twain affected by Lyme Borreliosis, which was only diagnosed years later. In the meantime, she fought with dizziness, blackouts and her voice on stage. The latter was “never again as before,” said the country pop star in the documentary “Not Just A Girl”. “I thought I had lost my voice forever,” added Twain.

Turbulent times also came to her privately: in 2008 she separated from her husband and producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange (76) with whom she had a son. The reason: Twain had cheated with her close friend Marie-Anne Thiébaud for a long time. In 2011 Twain then married her ex-husband Frédéric Thiébaud.

After 15 years of albump break, Shania Twain celebrated her big comeback with “Now”. In 2018 she returned to the stage. Her current album “Queen of Me” was released in 2023 – and as she revealed at the beginning of the year, it shouldn’t have been her last.

After over three decades in the music industry, their influence can be clearly seen. Shania Twain has established the Country pop genre in the mainstream and thus prepared artists like Taylor Swift. Swift himself raved in a Tikkok: “I learned from the best.” Twain, in turn, passed this praise to Dolly Parton (79). In addition to Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood (42) also sees a role model in Twain. And even apart from the country pop, it is considered inspiration for stars like Harry Styles (31) and Rihanna (37).