Shannon Lee Tweed Simmons (born March 10, 1957) is a Canadian model and actress. One of the most successful actresses of mainstream
erotica
Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erot ...
, she is identified with the genre of the
erotic thriller
The erotic thriller is a film subgenre defined as a thriller with a thematic basis in illicit romance or sexual fantasy. Though exact definitions of the erotic thriller can vary, it is generally agreed "bodily danger and pleasure must remain i ...
cinema. Tweed has appeared in more than 60 films and several television series. She was named ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
''s
Playmate of the Year
This is a list of models who were chosen as a Playboy Playmate of the Year for the American edition of ''Playboy'' magazine.
List of Playmates of the Year
*1953: Marilyn Monroe
*1954:
*1955:
*1956:
*1957: Lisa Winters
*1958:
*1959:
*1960: ...
in 1982.
Tweed is also known for ''
Gene Simmons Family Jewels'', a
reality
Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways.
Philosophical questions abo ...
TV show that portrayed the life of her family from 2006 until 2012. She is married to
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...
, bassist and co-lead singer of the band
Kiss
A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
; Tweed and Simmons have two children,
Nicholas Adam Tweed-Simmons and
Sophie Alexandra Tweed-Simmons.
Early life
Tweed was born on March 10, 1957,
in
St. John's,
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
. She is the daughter of Donald Keith Tweed, a
mink
Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...
rancher, and Louise () Tweed,
and was raised on a mink ranch in Whitbourne. She is one of seven children and has three sisters, including actress Tracy Tweed.
After Donald Tweed fell into a coma after a car crash, Louise moved with her children to her mother's home in
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
, and studied nursing while the family survived on welfare. Shannon had breast enhancement surgery at the age of 20 and subsequently became involved in beauty pageants.
Career
In 1978, Tweed was the third runner-up in the Miss Canada Pageant event and won the Miss Canada talent competition for her singing.
After the Canadian wish-fulfilment TV show ''
Thrill of a Lifetime'' arranged for her to pose for ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' magazine, Tweed was chosen to be the
Playmate of the Month
A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...
for the November 1981 issue, and eventually the
Playmate of the Year
This is a list of models who were chosen as a Playboy Playmate of the Year for the American edition of ''Playboy'' magazine.
List of Playmates of the Year
*1953: Marilyn Monroe
*1954:
*1955:
*1956:
*1957: Lisa Winters
*1958:
*1959:
*1960: ...
for 1982.
Tweed and her sister Tracy appeared together in a ''Playboy'' spread.
Tweed primarily acted in
B movie
A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
s and in television series such as the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
comedy ''
1st and Ten'' and the prime-time soap opera ''
Falcon Crest
''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera created by Earl Hamner Jr. that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Cha ...
'',
She also appeared in an episode of ''
The Dukes of Hazzard
''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of List of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes, 147 ...
'' as well as ''
Married... with Children''. In 1985, she landed a year-long role on ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
'' as
Savannah Wilder.
Tweed has appeared as a
guest
A guest is person who is given hospitality.
Guest or The Guest may refer to:
* Guest (surname), people with the surname ''Guest''
* USS ''Guest'' (DD-472), U.S. Navy ''Fletcher''-class destroyer 1942–1946
* Guest appearance, guest actor, guest ...
on ''
Frasier
''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...
''. She has also lent her voice to the
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
cartoon ''
SpongeBob SquarePants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...
'' in the episode "
20,000 Patties Under the Sea", which also featured Gene Simmons as a guest.
The first major
theatrical film
A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...
in which Tweed appeared was the horror film ''
Of Unknown Origin'' (1983). 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.''
She is known as one of the most successful actresses of mainstream
erotica
Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erot ...
. ''
Vanity Fair'' has described Tweed as "one of home video's most rented erotic thriller goddesses".
Tweed was featured along with her family on the
reality TV
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...
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
The Beverly Hills Hotel, also called the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. One of the world's best-known hotels, it is closely associated with Hollywood film stars, rock stars, and ...
in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. 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 honour. The Council approved the request, and the street is located in the neighbourhood of
Rosewood
Rosewood is any of a number of richly hued hardwoods, often brownish with darker veining, but found in other colours. It is hard, tough, strong, and dense. True rosewoods come from trees of the genus '' Dalbergia'', but other woods are often ca ...
.
Tweed is the narrator of the reality TV show ''Ex-Wives of Rock''.
Personal life
Tweed resided at the
Playboy Mansion
The Playboy Mansion, also known as the Playboy Mansion West, is the former home of ''Playboy'' magazine founder Hugh Hefner, who lived there from 1971 until his death in 2017. Barbi Benton convinced Hefner to buy the home located in Holmby H ...
for approximately 14 months as ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' founder
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...
's partner.
The relationship coincided with her Playmate appearances and with being named 1982 Playmate of the Year.
The Mansion was the location of her first meeting with her future husband, musician Gene Simmons.
Tweed has been in a relationship with Simmons since 1983. In a 2011 interview, Simmons said, "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
The Beverly Hills Hotel, also called the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. One of the world's best-known hotels, it is closely associated with Hollywood film stars, rock stars, and ce ...
on October 1, 2011.
Filmography
Films
Television
See also
*
List of people in Playboy 1980–1989
This list of people in ''Playboy'' 1980–1989 is a catalog of women and men who appeared in ''Playboy'' magazine in the years 1980 through 1989. Not all of the people featured in the magazine are pictured in the nude.
Entries in indicate that ...
References
External links
*
AskMen.com: Shannon Tweed
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tweed, Shannon
1957 births
Actresses from Newfoundland and Labrador
Canadian film actresses
Canadian television actresses
Participants in American reality television series
Entertainers from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
People from Whitbourne, Newfoundland and Labrador
1980s Playboy Playmates
Playboy Playmates of the Year
Living people
People from Newfoundland (island)