The Making of a Superstar

Before she became a global phenomenon, Shania Twain was dreaming big in Toronto while flipping burgers, hawking jeans and fronting cover bands. Today, the queen of country pop is touring the world with a new album, but she's still nostalgic about the city that made her

- Stéphanie Verge

Shania Twain has been famous-that stratospheric, no-need-fora-last-name kind of famous for almost 30 years. Certain details of her life, like her upbringing in northern Ontario, her domination of the country and pop charts, and the tabloid fodder end of her marriage to music producer Mutt Lange, are so well known that they've reached near-mythic status. Less familiar is Twain's connection to Toronto, where she moved in her teens to make it big.

Twain spent the first half of her 20s playing clubs in Toronto and performing in stage shows at Huntsville's Deerhurst Resort before signing with a Nashville label. Three decades later, the 57-year-old is back in town touring Queen of Me, her sixth studio album. Here, a conversation about her attachment to Honest Ed's, Toronto's glamorous gay bars and a fateful phone call with Prince.

You grew up in northern Ontario and first moved to Toronto the summer you turned 14, with your mother and three younger siblings. You were trying to get away from your father, who was abusive. What do you remember of that time?

Moving to the big city wasn't glamorous we initially lived in a shelter downtown. What I remember most was that it was very international. Even though it was a difficult time in our lives, I embraced how diverse and new everything was. We were living off food stamps, and Honest Ed's was the only store I knew for quite a while; you could find a lot of things for $1. I don't know if it's still there.

Actually, Honest Ed's was torn down several years ago and turned into mixed-use housing.

Oh, gosh! Those were my stomping grounds when we arrived. Being in Toronto was a real integration process for us, but it was great exposure, and I was inspired by it. Also, I learned how to play basketball there, across the street from the shelter. There were so many Toronto things that were part of my growth.