This Star’s ‘Education Was in a Bar’ While Her Family Struggled to Afford Food — Years Later, She Achieved Her Dream of Becoming a Singer 45

In the 1970s, a young girl in Ontario, Canada, lived with her mother, stepfather, two sisters, and two brothers, scraping by on what little they had. While other children her age attended school to pursue their passions, she earned her “education” by singing late into the night at bars.

Her mother believed in her musical talent as a way out of poverty. However, this caused tension at home, with frequent arguments over the cost of supporting her singing career. This tough environment and personal traumas built the resilience that later defined her success.

Early Life: A Star Born from Struggles

Life for her family in Ontario was an uphill battle. With her stepfather working in reforestation and her mother struggling with depression, putting food on the table was a constant challenge. Grocery shopping was a rare event to be celebrated, and simple luxuries like non-bruised apples were out of reach.

“We’d be down to mouldy bread, whatever the absolute bare minimum would be,” she once revealed. “If there was only mustard in the fridge, we would just put mustard on the bread and take that to school.”

In addition to financial struggles, her stepfather, Jerry, who adopted her as a young child, faced racial discrimination. He bore the stress of providing for his large family and often resorted to domestic violence. For the would-be singer, this tension was compounded by his sexual abuse, which began when she was just 10 years old.

Singing offered her an escape and a sense of purpose. She performed in local bars from an early age, pushed by her mother, who believed in her talent fiercely. “I was her hope, the one who would make it,” she said.

But the reality of pursuing this dream seemed unattainable. “In terms of economic status, I couldn’t afford to go to a performing arts school – my education was in a bar,” she narrated. Even getting to the bar to perform created tension at home.

Her parents often argued over the cost of gas to drive her to performances. “They wanted success for me, but they just couldn’t afford it,” she recalled. She added that while her mother loved her, she was overly passionate about her talent.

Turning Point: Embracing Responsibility

At just 22 years old, her world was shattered when both her parents were killed in a tragic car accident. She was in Toronto at the time, studying computer programming—a practical backup plan in case her dreams of a music career didn’t pan out.

Her sister delivered the devastating news, and her life changed overnight. “As rickety as it was, it was still a foundation,” she said of her home life before the tragedy. “My whole life history was there, with them, and many of the associations fell along the way, away, after my parents died.”

With three of her four siblings still minors, she returned home to care for them, becoming their primary caregiver. “We all agreed that they shouldn’t be separated,” she explained. With no other relatives able to take the children in, she had to step in.

Rise to Stardom: From Parenting Siblings to Superstardom

After years of caregiving, she finally had a chance to focus on her dreams. In 1993, she released her debut album, marking the start of what would become an iconic career. Her powerful voice and unique blend of country and pop quickly set her apart, paving the way for her to rise to international fame.

By the late 1990s, she had taken the music industry by storm, winning numerous awards. Her rise to stardom was meteoric, and her 1997 album “Come On Over” became a global phenomenon. The Country Music Association named her Entertainer of the Year in 1999, making her the first non-U.S. citizen to earn the honor.

For someone who once performed in bars to support her family, this was a monumental achievement. With hits that dominated the charts, she became a household name, paving the way for her success in the early 2000s with albums like “Up!”

Health Crisis: Battling Lyme Disease

At the height of her career, tragedy struck again—this time in the form of a tiny tick. While on tour in Norfolk, Virginia, she noticed a tick fall off her, but the immediate effects were far worse than she could have imagined.

Soon, she began experiencing alarming symptoms, including dizziness so severe that she almost fell off the stage during performances. “I was very, very dizzy and didn’t know what was going on. It’s just one of those things you don’t suspect,” she later explained.

Eventually, she was diagnosed with Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness that would dramatically alter her life. The disease affected her vocal cords, causing dysphonia, a disorder that left her unable to sing.

Years of uncertainty followed as she tried to determine the best course of action to regain her voice. “Lyme disease can be so much more devastating. It can go to your brain,” she shared.

“I never thought I’d sing again,” she admitted. For years, she underwent rigorous speech therapy and ultimately required laryngoplasty, an invasive procedure to reconstruct her vocal box. Although the operation left her with a visible scar across her neck, it helped her overcome performance anxiety.

Personal Struggles: Divorce and Betrayal

Shania Twain’s health struggles were compounded by heartbreak in her personal life. In 2008, her 14-year marriage to producer Robert “Mutt” Lange ended in a devastating betrayal. Lange had been having an affair with her close friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud.

Describing the ordeal, she said, “My divorce was like a death. A genuine death of commitment and love.” Her heartbreak deeply affected her ability to work, and for a time, she stopped writing music altogether.

She secluded herself in her Swiss mansion, grappling with anger, confusion, and an obsessive need for answers. In the aftermath, Twain turned to self-help books, therapy, and the support of family and friends to cope with the emotional pain.

Finding Love Again: A Bond Forged from Pain

As she grieved her broken marriage, she found an unlikely confidant in Frédéric Thiébaud, Marie-Anne’s ex-husband, who had also been betrayed. Their shared pain brought them closer, and what started as a friendship blossomed into a deep bond.

“That is a really strong bond that builds over time, that is rare, that you don’t have in every relationship if you don’t have those deep scars in common,” she explained.