Shania Twain has bravely spoken out about her traumatic childhood and how she overcame it to become the star she is today - as she takes to the stage at Glastonbury.
The country music star went from performing to drunk crowds aged eight and battling her abusive stepdad to becoming the Glastonbury queen , performing tonight. Shania has revealed she faced childhood poverty, abuse, and heartbreak .
The singer was born in Canada in 1965, one of three daughters to parents Sharon and Clarence. Her parents sadly divorced when Shania was just two years old and her mother's second husband Jerry Twain adopted her and her two sisters.
READ MORE: Shania Twain and Frederic Thiebaud's relationship timeline as star talks forgiving cheating ex
READ MORE: 'I went on holiday with Beyoncé and was coerced into becoming her model'
Speaking about her tough childhood, Shania said her family was so poor and she would often go to school hungry. She recalled being woken in the middle of the night to perform in bars full of drunk punters, when her mom realized she could sing.
" I would go to do the after-hours set and everyone was already intoxicated,” the five-time Grammy winner has revealed. "It was a terrible environment for a kid. But I was very professional about it and I took it very seriously,"
Shania said if she did not earn enough cash for the family, her stepfather would take his anger out on her mother. Shania said Jerry would beat her mum unconscious and later turned his attention towards his stepdaughter.
The That Don't Impress Me Much star, 58, admitted: "You didn't want to be a girl in my house" as she spoke about her guardian. Shania said she took drastic measures to keep herself safe at home as she defended herself against physical and sexual abuse.
Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sport and entertainment stories.
Explaining she would 'flatten her boobs to go unnoticed', Shania said: "I hid myself and I would flatten my boobs. I would wear bras that were too small for me, and I'd wear two, play it down until there was nothing girl about me. Make it easier to go unnoticed."
She told The Sunday Times : "Because, oh my gosh, it was terrible." The star previously opened up about her stepfather's abuse in her 2011 memoir From This Moment On.
When Shania was about to make her big breakthrough in the music industry, she was given the news that her mum and stepdad had both been killed in a car crash. Her dreams had to be put on hold as she became a carer for her sisters.
Shania said she became a "single mum" overnight and barely slept with the pressure. Thankfully, despite her tough hand, the star did not give up on her ultimate dream and when her siblings were old enough to take care of themselves, she sent off demo tapes of her singing to record companies across Nashville and was finally handed a lifeline.
Shania went on to become one of the best-selling music artists of all time, shifting more than 100million records. The star has hailed her Glastonbury Legends slot this weekend as a "once in a lifetime invite" while reflecting on the challenges of being a woman in music.
Most Popular
Comments / 0