Shannon Lee 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 currently lives with her longtime partner Gene Simmons of Kiss and they have two children.

Early life

Tweed was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, to a mink rancher. She was raised on a mink ranch in Whitbourne, Newfoundland and Labrador, along with six siblings. Tweed graduated from Mount Royal Collegiate in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and became involved in beauty pageants at a young age. In 1978, she was Miss Ottawa and the third runner-up in the Miss Canada Pageant. She won the Miss Canada talent competition (her specialty: singing).

Career

After the Canadian wish-fulfillment 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 over 60 films, including Detroit Rock City, produced by Gene Simmons in 1999.

She occasionally acts with her younger sister, Tracy, and has also appeared in Playboy photo spreads.

In 2006, Tweed authored an autobiography, Kiss and Tell, published by Phoenix Press.

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 lived with Gene Simmons of Kiss since 1985. Their two children are Nicholas (born January 22, 1989) and Sophie (born July 7, 1992). The family members star in a reality television show on A&E entitled Gene Simmons Family Jewels. She also has two younger sisters, Tracy (born May 10, 1965), who is an actress and Sarah Tweed, who lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Shannon and Tracy shared the screen in the film Night Eyes 3, have appeared nude together in a Playboy spread and Tracy occasionally makes appearances on Family Jewels.

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)
* 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 (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

* Days of Our Lives (as Savannah Wilder - 142 episodes, 1985–1986)
* Baywatch Hawaii (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)
* Dear John (1989)
* Murder, She Wrote (episode "Twice Dead", 1995)
* Gene Simmons Family Jewels (All Episodes, 2006–present)
* United States of Tara (episode "Dept. of F'd Up Family Services", 2010)
* 21 Jump Street (episode "You Oughta Be in Prison", 1987)
* Spongebob Squarepants (episode "20,000 Patties Under The Sea", 2007)

Trivia

In the TV Show Gene Simmons Family Jewels she legally changed her name to Shannon Tweed-Simmons.