Shannon Tweed

Shannon Tweed Biography

Shannon Lee Tweed (born March 10, 1957) is a Canadian actress and model. One of the most successful actresses of mainstream erotica, she is identified with the genre of the erotic thriller. Tweed lives with her husband Gene Simmons, of the band Kiss, and their two children.

Early life

Tweed was born in St John's, Newfoundland, to a mink rancher and was raised on a mink ranch in Markland. Shannon is one of seven children. She has four sisters, Tracy (born May 10, 1965, who is an actress), Sara Tweed (who lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) and a third sister, Kim. Shannon and Tracy shared the screen in the film Night Eyes 3, and have appeared nude together in a Playboy spread. Tracy occasionally makes appearances on Family Jewels. She also has two brothers, Lance and Jeff.

After their father was badly injured in a car crash, her mother was left to care for the children on her own while her father was recuperating. Eventually her mother had to sell the ranch to support her seven children. Mrs Tweed did not tell her husband that she had sold the ranch and when he found out, he divorced her. Shannon's mother moved the family to her home town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Tweed attended Mount Royal Collegiate in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan but never graduated. She became involved in beauty pageants at a young age. In 1978, she was Miss Ottawa and fourth in the Miss Canada Pageant. She won the Miss Canada talent competition (her specialty was singing).

Career

After the Canadian wish-fulfilment TV series Thrill of a Lifetime arranged for her to pose for Hugh Hefner's Playboy, she was chosen to be the Playmate of the Month for the November 1981 issue and eventually the Playmate of the Year for 1982. Since then, Tweed has primarily acted in TV series such as the HBO comedy 1st and Ten, the prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest and guest appearances on Frasier, as well as B movies. Tweed also appeared in an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard in the seventh and final season. In 1985, she landed a role on Days of our Lives as Savannah Wilder, remaining with the show until 1987.

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 Gene Simmons in 1999.

Personal life

Tweed had a relationship with the CFL linebacker Ron Foxx, who then played for the Ottawa Rough Riders. After a brief relationship with Hugh Hefner (which coincided with her Playmate appearances and being named 1982 Playmate of the Year), Tweed has lived with Gene Simmons since 1983. The couple have two children, Nicholas Simmons (born January 22, 1989) and Sophie Alexandra Simmons (born July 7, 1992).

The family members star in a reality television show on A&E entitled Gene Simmons Family Jewels. On October 1, 2011, Shannon and Simmons married at the historic Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

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. Council approved the request and the street is located in the neighborhood of Rosewood.

Selected filmography

Of Unknown Origin (1983)
Hot Dog"The Movie (1984)
The Surrogate (1984)
Meatballs III: Summer Job (1986)
Steele Justice (1987)
Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1988)
Last Call (1991)
In the Cold of the Night (1991)
The Naked Truth (1992)
Night Eyes 2 (1992)
Sexual Response (1992)
Cold Sweat (1993)
Night Eyes 3 (1993)
Indecent Behavior (1993)
No Contest (1994)
Possessed by the Night (1994)
A Woman Scorned (1994)
Hard Vice (1994)
Night Fire (1994)
Indecent Behavior 2 (1994)
The Dark Dancer (1995)
Victim of Desire (1995)
Illicit Dreams (1995)
Body Chemistry 4: Full Exposure (1995)
Indecent Behavior 3 (1995)
Stormy Nights (1996)
Electra (1996)
White Cargo (1996)
Human Desires (1997) as Alicia Royale
Shadow Warriors: Assault on Devil's Island (1997)
Bimbo Bash Movie (1997)
Dead by Dawn (film)|Dead by Dawn (1998)
Forbidden Sins (1998)
Naked Lies (1998)
No Contest II (1998)
Powerplay (1999)
Detroit Rock City (1999)
The Rowdy Girls (2000)
Dead Sexy (2001)

Selected television appearances

The Hitchhiker (Season 2, Episode 6, entitled "Videodate," 1984)
Days of our Lives (as Savannah Wilder - 142 episodes, 1985-1986)
21 Jump Street (Episode "You Oughta Be in Prison", 1987)
Dear John (1989)
Baywatch (Episode "If Looks Could Kill", 1991)
Married" with Children (Episode "The Two That Got Away", 1995)
Frasier (episodes "You Scratch My Book...", 1995; and "Don Juan in Hell: Part 2", 2001)
Murder, She Wrote (Episode "Twice Dead", 1995)
Wings (Episode "Oedipus Wrecks", 1997)
The Parkers (Episodes "Out with the Old, in with the New", 2003; "Mother's Day Blues", 2001; and "Moving on Out", 2000)
Gene Simmons Family Jewels (All Episodes, 2006-2012)
SpongeBob SquarePants (Episode "20,000 Patties Under The Sea", 2007)
United States of Tara (Episode "Dept. of F'd Up Family Services", 2010)
Republic of Doyle (Season 3,"Head Over Heals", 2012)