Shania Twain, now a global superstar, had a difficult childhood in Timmins, Ontario, growing up in poverty with a depressed mother and an abusive stepfather. As one of five children, she often lacked basic necessities and had to care for her siblings. Music became her escape, and by age 8 she was performing in bars under her mother’s guidance.
She worked at McDonald’s for meals and income while singing late into the night, enduring abuse and trauma, including sexual abuse by her stepfather. At 22, after her mother and stepfather died in a car crash, she became responsible for her younger siblings, taking a singing job at a resort to support them.
Twain eventually recorded a demo, signed with Mercury Nashville, and launched her music career, collaborating and marrying producer Robert “Mutt” Lange. After vocal setbacks from Lyme disease and later discovering Lange’s affair, she found love again with Frédéric Thiébaud, marrying him in 2011. Twain has since embraced her past, acknowledging her ex-husband’s role in her career and cherishing the life she’s built.