'I love to swim naked in the sea. It’s so liberating and the salty water is so healing and cleansing': Shania Twain gives her definitive answers to our most probing questions
By Rob Mcgibbon | Daily Mail - UK | November 10, 2017
We ask a celebrity a set of devilishly probing questions – and only accept THE definitive answer. This week it’s Canadian singer Shania Twain
The prized possession you value above all others… The only photograph I have of my parents Sharon and Jerry alone together, taken a month before they died in a car accident in 1987. They’re working in a forest in Canada. I have many copies because I’m so afraid of losing it.
The biggest regret you wish you could amend… Not getting the chance to say goodbye to my parents. I’d not seen them for a while because I was 22 and working in another city. Their car was hit head-on by a logging truck.
The temptation you wish you could resist… French fries. I love them! Once I start I have a hard time stopping.
The book that holds an everlasting resonance… Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr Seuss. It was a high school graduation gift. It’s all about embracing the adventures of life.
The priority activity if you were the Invisible Woman for a day… I’d have the power to heal and go around fixing people’s problems.
The pet hate that makes your hackles rise... People stepping on my heels while I’m walking.
The film you can watch time and time again… Dumb And Dumber with Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels when I need a good, brainless laugh.
The person who has influenced you most… My mother showed me how to be kind. She always had a smile for old people.
The piece of wisdom you would pass on to a child… Ignore self-doubt. I watched my mother struggle with that. It’s a waste of time and it’s destructive.
The unlikely interest that engages your curiosity… Playing basketball. I’m only 5ft 4in so at high school I was too short to take the ball to the basket – I got smothered – but I became really good at scoring from far out.
The figure from history for whom you’d most like to buy a pie and a pint… I’d love to meet The Beatles at their peak. I’ve been a fan since I was ten.
The treasured item you lost and wish you could have again… A chest containing all my most treasured childhood things, which got left behind during a house move when I was 15.
The unending quest that drives you on… To keep being successfully creative. This not only goes for music, but with anything I do. If I bake a good cake, I want the next one to be better.
The misapprehension about yourself you wish you could erase… That I’m very confident. I’m actually shy. I have had to force myself out of my comfort zone, especially when it comes to performing.
The song that means most to you… Yesterday by The Beatles. I always find it very moving.
The crime you would commit knowing you could get away with it… I would release all animals in cages because they all belong in the wild.
The event that altered the course of your life and character… My parents dying, especially my mother. Until then I’d felt my career was for her – I did it to make her happy. When she died I thought about quitting, but something kept me going. It was different this time because I was doing it for myself.
The poem that touches your soul… One called Life As It Is that I wrote eight years ago. It’s pessimistic, but by the end I feel transformed from being angry to a sense of peace.
The way you would spend your fantasy 24 hours, with no travel restrictions... I’d begin by kayaking out to a deserted beach near our home in the Bahamas to swim naked – it’s so liberating and the salty water is very healing and cleansing. I’d have packed a cooler with cheese and Cristal Champagne and I’d have some me-time before meeting my son Eja, 16 [from her first marriage], and my husband Frédéric. We love exploring, so we’d go somewhere we’ve never visited before – like the South American rainforest. We’d take a guide, then canoe down the Amazon. We’d camp next to the river and have dinner by a fire. Then, by magic, a giant bowl of French fries would appear! After that we’d head to the Alps near our home in Switzerland to sleep in a tree house in a forest.
The happiest moment you will cherish forever… My pregnancy was an incredible time. You become a mother before you even meet your child.
The saddest time that shook your world… The day my parents died. I think of them all the time.
The unfulfilled ambition that continues to haunt you… To live in a house where all kinds of animals – chickens, pigs, horses – can roam free inside.
The philosophy that underpins your life… Humility is everything. It’s where important things such as grace, kindness and generosity live.
The order of service at your funeral… I will let my loved ones choose the music, but I want everyone to wear colour and enjoy great food and wine with plenty of laughter.
The way you want to be remembered… For inspiring people with my music and for being kind. But I’m not so sure I’ll be remembered for that because I’m not always kind!
The Plug… Shania’s new album Now is out on Virgin/EMI and she tours the UK from 19 September 2018. For details visit shaniatwain.com.
The unlikely interest that engages your curiosity… Playing basketball. I’m only 5ft 4in so at high school I was too short to take the ball to the basket – I got smothered – but I became really good at scoring from far out.
So I see she is still lying about her actual height. She is certainly not 5'4. 5'4 is average and Shania is a shorty. I have seen her in person and she much closer to 5'1 the most....