Shania Twain has opened up about the struggles she faced as a child growing up in Canada.
When in CBS News On Wednesday, the 58-year-old singer-songwriter shared that she had to act at a young age to bring money to her family.
One of her performances was singing in a bar when she was only eight years old.
The country singer was on the verge of tears as she recounted what it’s like to work in a 21-and-up environment.
Twain began by saying that she didn’t like acting as a child because she had to perform in seedy bars where there was risqué behavior and drunken men.
Shania Twain has opened up about the hardships she faced as a child. On Wednesday, when she appeared on CBS News, the 58-year-old singer-songwriter shared that she had to act at a young age to bring in money for her family.
One of her jobs was singing in a bar when she was just eight years old. The country singer was on the verge of tears as she recounted how she worked in a 21-and-over environment.
“I felt very uncomfortable with that. Maybe it was because I was performing in adult venues,” she shared, adding that some of those bars had cages.
The artist did not say so, but it was implied that there were scantily clad women in those cages.
Shania, who was on CBS News to talk about her Las Vegas residency, felt it was wrong.
“Adults thought I should be a star, they thought I should be the next Tanya Tucker,” she added during her interview.
Twain wanted to be a veterinarian or an architect or engineer, but she was forced to sing for money.
“Music was a passion, not a profession for me. It was something I liked to do when I was alone,” she said.
‘So if my parents were fighting, I’d go out into the backyard, light a fire, and sit there with my guitar and pretend like it was all gone.’
Twain held back tears during the conversation.
“I felt very uncomfortable with that. Maybe it was because I was performing in adult venues,” she shared, adding that some of those bars had cages. Here she is seen in elementary school.
The legendary singer, 59, admitted she used to sing for drunk men in bars when she was young to please her mother and earn “a few bucks” for her family (pictured as a teenager).
She revealed in 2018 that her stepfather Jerry had sexually abused her and was violent towards her mother; her parents died in a car accident when she was just 22 (pictured).
This comes after she spoke about how difficult her experience was when her parents died and she had to raise her siblings.
In 1987, her mother Sharon Morrison and stepfather Jerry Twain died in a car accident, leaving Shania to raise the younger members of her family.
She said The Sun newspaperIt was a very delicate period in my life. I suffered from frostbite many times simply because I didn’t have the right clothing.
‘I would have to go down to the river and bring coolers of water to drink and wash clothes there by hand.
“I was cutting my own firewood and stacking it. It was a lot of pressure,” he added.
Twain at BST Hyde Park in Hyde Park on July 7 in London
‘I barely slept.’
And Shania has spoken out about the huge changes music stardom has brought to her life.
She said: “I went from sleeping in cars to travelling first class. But only now am I enjoying life to the fullest.”
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, she said: “It was a very delicate period in my life. I suffered frostbite many times simply from not having the right clothes.” Seen in 1999
“I had to go down to the river and bring coolers of water to drink and wash clothes there by hand. I cut my own firewood and stacked it. It was a lot of pressure,” she added. Seen in 1995
In May, she said she has “many emotional and physical scars” from her childhood.
The hitmaker Man! I Feel Like A Woman! has been through a lot in her nearly six decades on the planet.
Talking to Elizabeth Day about the How to failThe hitmaker said: ‘I have a lot of scars.
“I have a lot of scars from cooking. I have a lot of scars from working in the fields with sharp tools. I have a lot of emotional scars…”
“I had a difficult childhood and then I had open throat surgery. Over time, I realized that all those experiences have made me the person I am today and I handle them well.”
The Man! I Feel Like A Woman! singer has been through a lot in her nearly six decades on the planet. In an interview with Elizabeth Day on the How to Fail podcast, she said: “I have a lot of scars.”
She said she grew up poor in Canada because her parents made little money.
There was often not enough food in the kitchen.
The singer added that her mother and stepfather’s marriage was stormy at times, and from an early age she witnessed violence between them.
And when life gets tough, she channels her pain into words.
She shared: ‘I document my feelings, I write things down, they are very raw, they are very real, they happen in the moment and I live them. I like to live my suffering.’
Some of the notes will turn into lyrics, but she likes to change them up to make them more cheerful.
She explained: ‘Now they are reflections of what I have been through.
“But they are on the other side. They are the experience healed with a scar.”
The You’re Still the One hitmaker admits she can feel comfortable in her own skin one day and not the next.
“Over time, I’ve realized that all of those experiences have really made me who I am today and I’m handling them well,” she added; seen June 30.
She said: “I’ve been a person who’s been finding my comfort level my whole life. I think it’s just a process. I live it every day.”
Shania also admitted that she used to be too shy to show off her body in revealing outfits for years.
She insisted: “I am perfectly fine now.”
“But for me it was a process. The video ‘Man! I feel like a woman!’ was the first time I acted with my legs.”