Shannon Tweed

Early life

Tweed was born in St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador to Donald Keith Tweed, a mink rancher, and Louise (Wall) Tweed She was raised on a mink ranch in Markland. She is one of seven children and has three sisters, including actress Tracy Tweed.

After her father fell into a coma after a car crash, Tweed moved the family to her mother's home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, studying nursing while the family survived on welfare. She became involved in beauty pageants following breast enhancement surgery at age 20. In 1978, she was third runner-up in the Miss Ottawa event and won the Miss Canada talent competition for her singing.

Career

After the Canadian wish-fulfilment TV series Thrill of a Lifetime arranged for her to pose for Playboy magazine, Tweed was chosen to be the Playmate of the Month for the November 1981 issue and eventually the Playmate of the Year for 1982. Tweed and her sister Tracy appeared together in a Playboy spread.

Tweed resided at the Playboy Mansion for around 14 months as Hefner's partner. The Mansion was the location of her first meeting with her future husband, musician Gene Simmons.

Tweed primarily acted in TV series such as the HBO comedy 1st and Ten, the prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest, and appeared as a guest on Frasier, as well as B movies. She also appeared in an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard as well as Married... with Children. In 1985, she landed a year-long role on Days of Our Lives as Savannah Wilder.

Her first major theatrical film appearance was in the teen sex comedy Hot Dog... The Movie in 1984. Since then, Tweed has appeared in more than 60 films including Detroit Rock City, produced by Simmons, in 1999. Tweed and her sister Tracy co-starred in the film Night Eyes 3.

Tweed was featured along with her family on the television reality show Gene Simmons Family Jewels from 2006 until 2012. One of the highlights of the series was Simmons' proposal to her and their subsequent marriage at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, US. Her sister Tracy occasionally made appearances on Gene Simmons Family Jewels and in one episode she offered her sister her frozen embryo, as Tweed had been considering adoption.

In 2010, an episode of the series was taped in Tweed's former hometown of Saskatoon. During the visit, she was presented with an honorary street sign denoting the (nonexistent) "Tweed Lane". Tourism Saskatoon subsequently requested Saskatoon City Council approve the naming of a real Tweed Lane in her honor. The Council approved the request and the street is located in the neighborhood of Rosewood.

She has a video game featuring her voice and appearance called Shannon Tweed's Attack Of The Groupies.

Tweed is the narrator of the reality TV show, Ex-Wives of Rock.

Personal life

After a brief relationship with Hugh Hefner (which coincided with her Playmate appearances and being named 1982 Playmate of the Year), Tweed has been in a relationship with Gene Simmons since 1983. Simmons explained in a 2011 interview, "I need Shannon in my life. Not just because of love and family but because she holds me accountable." After 28 years together, the couple wed in an outdoor evening ceremony on the crystal lawn of the Beverly Hills Hotel on October 1, 2011.