Country-pop superstar Shania Twain is pulling back the curtain on the painful struggles that shaped her life long before she became one of the best-selling artists in music history.
The 60-year-old singer, best known for hits like “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “You’re Still the One,” revealed in a candid new interview how the tragic loss of her parents forced her into a role most teenagers could never imagine.
Shania Twain at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards
In 1987, her mother, Sharon Morrison, and stepfather, Jerry Twain, were killed in a devastating car crash. At just 22 years old, Shania suddenly found herself raising her younger siblings.
“It was touch and go for me at that time,” she admitted. “I didn’t have the right clothes for the weather, I got frostbite more than once. I hauled water from the river, washed clothes by hand, and chopped wood. The pressure was overwhelming — and I barely slept.”
Those early years of survival, she explained, left deep scars but also built the resilience that carried her to global stardom.
Twain contrasted her humble beginnings with the dramatic lifestyle shift fame eventually brought. “I went from sleeping in cars to flying first class. It’s only now that I can really say I’m enjoying it all.”
This weekend, Twain will step onto one of the biggest stages of her career: Glastonbury Festival’s coveted “Legends” slot. The honor has been previously filled by icons such as Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, and Kenny Rogers — artists Twain herself calls heroes.
“To be asked to follow in their footsteps is surreal,” she told the BBC. “Everyone tells me it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. I just want to give the fans the show they deserve, filled with the hits they love.
Shania Twain performing on stage at the Washington-Grizzly Stadium
But even as she gears up for one of the defining performances of her career, Twain hasn’t forgotten the physical and emotional toll her life’s journey has taken.
On the How To Fail podcast earlier this year, she described her “scars” — some visible, many invisible. “I have scars from working in the bush, from cooking, and from emotional wounds. My childhood was tough, and later I went through throat surgery. But all of it made me who I am, and I wear those scars proudly.”
The singer, who grew up in poverty in rural Canada, also revealed her household was plagued by instability and violence. Food was scarce, money was tight, and she often witnessed turmoil between her parents.
Through it all, Twain leaned on songwriting. “I write down my feelings in the rawest way possible,” she said. “Sometimes those notes turn into lyrics, but I transform them into something hopeful. They become healed experiences — scars with a story.”
Twain also admitted it took her years to feel comfortable in her own skin. Early in her career, she was reluctant to wear revealing outfits. “The ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman!’ video was the first time I ever showed my legs,” she laughed. “Now, I’m perfectly fine with it. But it’s been a process.”
For Twain, every step — from childhood hardship to global superstardom — has been part of the same journey: survival, growth, and reinvention.
And now, with Glastonbury on the horizon, she’s ready to write her next unforgettable chapter.
