Shannon Lee Tweed Simmons (born March 10, 1957) is a Canadian model and actress. One of the most successful actresses of mainstream erotica, she is identified with the genre of the erotic thriller cinema. Tweed has appeared in more than 60 films and several television series. She was named Playboy's Playmate of the Year in 1982.
Shannon Tweed | |
|---|---|
Tweed in 2007 | |
| Born | Shannon Lee Tweed March 10, 1957 |
| Occupation(s) | Model, actress |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Playboy centerfold appearance | |
| November 1981 | |
| Preceded by | Kelly Tough |
| Succeeded by | Patricia Farinelli |
| Playboy Playmate of the Year | |
| 1982 | |
| Preceded by | Terri Welles |
| Succeeded by | Marianne Gravatte |
Tweed is also known for Gene Simmons Family Jewels, a reality TV show that portrayed the life of her family from 2006 until 2012. She is married to Gene Simmons, bassist and co-lead singer of the band Kiss; Tweed and Simmons have two children, Nicholas Adam Tweed-Simmons and Sophie Alexandra Tweed-Simmons.
Early life
editTweed was born on March 10, 1957,[1] in St. John's, Newfoundland. She is the daughter of Donald Keith Tweed, a mink rancher, and Louise (née Wall) Tweed,[2][3] and was raised on a mink ranch in Whitbourne. She is one of seven children and has three sisters, including actress Tracy Tweed.[4]
After Donald Tweed fell into a coma after a car crash, Louise moved with her children to her mother's home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 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.[2]
Career
editIn 1978, Tweed was the third runner-up in the Miss Ottawa event and won the Miss Canada talent competition for her singing.[2]
After the Canadian wish-fulfilment TV show 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.[5][6][7][8] Tweed and her sister Tracy appeared together in a Playboy spread.
Tweed primarily acted in B movies and in television series such as the HBO comedy 1st and Ten[9] and the prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest,[5][8] 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.[8][4] Tweed has appeared as a guest on Frasier.[10] She has also lent her voice to the Nickelodeon cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants in the episode "20,000 Patties Under the Sea", which also featured Gene Simmons as a guest.[11]
The first major theatrical film 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.[12] She is known as one of the most successful actresses of mainstream erotica.[13] Vanity Fair has described Tweed as "one of home video's most rented erotic thriller goddesses".[14]
Tweed was featured along with her family on the reality TV 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.[15] 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.[16] The Council approved the request, and the street is located in the neighbourhood of Rosewood.[17]
Tweed is the narrator of the reality TV show Ex-Wives of Rock.[18]
Personal life
editTweed resided at the Playboy Mansion for approximately 14 months as Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's partner.[19] The relationship coincided with her Playmate appearances and with being named 1982 Playmate of the Year.[2] The Mansion was the location of her first meeting with her future husband, musician Gene Simmons.[19] 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."[20] 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.[21]
Filmography
editFilms
edit| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Curtains | Body Double | Uncredited |
| Of Unknown Origin | Meg Hughes | ||
| Playboy Video Playmate Review | Herself | ||
| 1984 | Hot Dog…The Movie | Sylvia Fonda | |
| The Surrogate | Lee Waite | ||
| 1986 | Meatballs III: Summer Job | The Love Goddess | |
| 1987 | Steele Justice | Angela Spinelli | |
| Dragnet | Baitmate | Uncredited | |
| Code Name Vengeance | Sam | ||
| 1988 | Lethal Woman | Tory MacAllistair, Ex-Pilot | |
| The Firing Line | Sandra Spencer | ||
| 1989 | Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death | Dr. Margo Hunt | |
| Night Visitor | Lisa Grace | ||
| Playboy Playmates of the Year: The 80's | Herself | Documentary | |
| 1990 | In the Cold of the Night | Lena | |
| 1991 | Last Call | Cindy / Audrey | |
| The Last Hour | Susan | ||
| 1992 | Liar's Edge | Heather Burnz | |
| Night Eyes 2 | Marilyn Mejenes | ||
| The Naked Truth | The First Class Stewardess | ||
| 1993 | Cold Sweat | Beth Moore | |
| Night Eyes 3 | Zoe Clairmont | ||
| Indecent Behavior | Dr. Rebecca Mathis | ||
| 1994 | Possessed by the Night | Carol McKay | Direct-to-video |
| Scorned[22] | Patricia Langley / Amanda Chessfield | ||
| Hard Vice | Andrea | ||
| Night Fire | Lydia | ||
| Indecent Behavior 2 | Dr. Rebecca Mathis | ||
| Illicit Dreams | Moira Davis | ||
| 1995 | No Contest | Sharon Bell | |
| Victim of Desire | Carla Duvall | ||
| The Dark Dancer | Dr. Margaret Simpson | ||
| Body Chemistry IV: Full Exposure | Dr. Claire Archer | Direct-to-video | |
| Indecent Behavior 3 | Dr. Rebecca Mathis | Associate producer | |
| 1996 | Stormy Nights | Jennifer McCormick | |
| Electra | Lorna Duncan / Electra | ||
| White Cargo | Alexia | ||
| Playboy: 21 Playmates Centerfold Collection | Herself | Documentary | |
| 1997 | No Contest II | Sharon Bell | |
| Human Desires | Alicia Royale | Direct-to-video Associate producer | |
| Bimbo Bash Movie | Margo | ||
| Java Heads: The Movie | |||
| Playboy Celebrity Centerfold: Shannon Tweed | Herself | Documentary | |
| 1998 | Naked Lies | Cara Landry | Associate producer |
| Dead by Dawn | Wendy Marsh | ||
| Playboy: Celebrities | Herself | Documentary | |
| Playboy: Babes of Baywatch | Herself | Documentary | |
| 1999 | Detroit Rock City | Amanda Finch | |
| Forbidden Sins | Maureen Doherty | ||
| Scandalous Behavior | Lisa Blair | Direct-to-video Associate producer | |
| Playboy: Playmate Pajama Party | Herself | Documentary | |
| 2000 | The Rowdy Girls | Velvet McKenzie | Co-producer |
| Diaries of Darkness | |||
| 2001 | Dead Sexy | Kate McBain | Direct-to-video Executive producer |
| 2002 | Wish You Were Dead | Lesbian Hitwoman | |
| 2003 | Sex at 24 Frames Per Second | Herself | Interviewee Documentary |
| 2004 | Playboy: 50 Years of Playmates | Herself, Miss November 1981 | Documentary |
| 2014 | Sex, Marriage and Infidelity | Margaret | |
| A Very Satan Christmas | Herself | Short | |
| The Ultimate Wedding Planner | Herself | Documentary | |
| Gone South: How Canada Invented Hollywood | Herself | Documentary |
Television
edit| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Drop-Out Father | Beautiful Woman | TV film |
| 1982–1983 | Falcon Crest | Diana Hunter | 21 episodes |
| 1983 | Fantasy Island | Celina Morgan | Season 7 episode 7: "The Wedding Picture/Castaways" |
| Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour | Herself | Panelist 5 episodes | |
| 1984 | The New Mike Hammer | Karen Thorsen | Season 1 episode 9: "The Perfect Twenty" |
| Family Feud | Herself | Episode: "Battle of the Perfect 10's: Wilt's Wows vs. Debbies Dudes; Richard's Rosebuds vs. Phyllis Fighters" | |
| The First Olympics: Athens 1896 | Woman | Mini-series Uncredited | |
| The Dukes of Hazzard | Betty Jo Page | Season 7 episode 2: "Welcome, Waylon Jennings" | |
| 1984–1987 | The Hitchhiker | Barbara / Dr. Rita de Roy | Season 2 episode 6: "Videodate" Season 4 episode 6: "Doctor's Orders" |
| 1985 | Three's a Crowd | Princess Leanna | Episode 20: "King for a Day" |
| Playboy Mid Summer Night's Dream Party 1985 | Herself | Documentary | |
| 1985–1986 | Days of Our Lives | Savannah Wilder | 142 episodes |
| 1986 | Cagney & Lacey | Vicki Barrington | Season 6 episode 5: "Role Call" |
| Highway to Heaven | Nina Van Slyke | Season 3 episode 12: "Oh Lucky Man" | |
| 1987 | The Last Fling | Joanne Preston | TV film |
| CBS Summer Playhouse | Beth | Season 1 episode 15: "Sirens" | |
| Nine to Five | Tiffany Crystal | Season 5 episode 1: "Meet Mr. Felb" | |
| Ohara | Randi | Season 2 episode 1: "Y' Wanna Live Forever?" | |
| L.A. Law | Jocelyn Miller | Season 2 episode 1: "The Lung Goodbye" | |
| 21 Jump Street | Jody Kleinman | Season 2 episode 9: "You Oughta Be in Prison" | |
| Hooperman | Season 1 episode 7: "Hot Wired" | ||
| Rags to Riches | Babe Adair | Season 2 episode 9: "Beauty and the Babe" | |
| Sex Symbols; Past, Present and Future | Herself | Documentary | |
| 1988 | Our House | Maxine Denton | Season 2 episodes 16 and 17: "Trouble in Paradise: Part 1" and "Trouble in Paradise: Part 2" |
| Longarm | Sally "Crazy Sally" | TV film | |
| 1989 | Dear John | Margo | Season 1 episode 20: "Margo" |
| Desperado: The Outlaw Wars | Uncredited | ||
| 1989–1991 | 1st & Ten: The Championship | Kristy Fullbright | 30 episodes |
| 1990 | Hollywood Dog | TV film | |
| 1991 | Tagteam | Leona | TV film |
| Parker Lewis Can't Lose | Ms. Mason | Season 2 episode 5: "The Undergraduate" | |
| Baywatch | Allison Fowles | Season 2 episode 11: "If Looks Could Kill" | |
| Fly by Night | Sally "Slick" Monroe | 13 episodes | |
| 1992 | Civil Wars | Luree | Season 1 episode 8: "For Better or Perverse" |
| Sexual Response | Eve Anderson | ||
| 1993 | Matrix | Andrea Hopper | Episode 2: "To Err Is Human" |
| 1994 | Hot Line | Rebecca | Season 1 episodes 5 and 6: ""Payback" and "Payback" |
| Model by Day | Shannon | TV film | |
| 1995 | Married... with Children | Shannon Tweed | Season 10 episode 9: "The Two That Got Away" |
| Murder, She Wrote | Priscilla Lake | Season 11 episode 15: "Twice Dead" | |
| Marker | Samantha Kent | Episode 12: "Factor X" | |
| 1995–2001 | Frasier | Dr. Honey Snow | Season 2 episode 15: "You Scratch My Book..." Season 9 episode 2: "Don Juan in Hell: Part 2" |
| 1996 | Pacific Blue | Sheila Silver | Season 1 episodes 1 and 8: Pilot and "Burnout" |
| 1997 | Homeboys in Outer Space | Delia | Episode 18: "The Naked and the Dred, or the Toast of the Town" |
| Wings | Emily Palmer | Season 8 episode 21: "Oedipus Wrecks" | |
| Nash Bridges | Bess | Season 3 episode 2: "Payback" | |
| Assault on Devil's Island | Hunter Wiley | TV film | |
| 1997–1998 | The Tom Show | Maggie Amross | Episodes 2, 12, and 16: "Bad Publicity," "Maggie Returns," and "The Centerfold" |
| 1999 | Assault on Death Mountain | Hunter Wiley | TV film |
| Powerplay | Jacqueline Knight | TV film | |
| V.I.P. | Herself | Season 1 episode 15: "Val on the Run" | |
| Beggars and Choosers | Shannon Tweed | Season 1 episode 8: "Unsafe Sex" | |
| Get Real | Joanna Parsons | Episode 3: "Passages" | |
| 2000–2003 | The Parkers | Sophia Van Lowe | Season 1 episode 19: "Moving on Out" Season 3 episode 20: "Mother's Day Blues" Season 5 episode 11: "Out with the Old, in with the New" |
| 2002 | My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star | Mom | 11 episodes |
| 2003 | Run of the House | Ms. Dee Dee Cole | Episode 5: "Where There's Smoke, There's Fire" |
| Banzai | Herself | Uncredited | |
| 2004 | Frasier: Analyzing the Laughter | Dr. Honey Snow | Uncredited |
| When Playboy Ruled the World | Herself | Documentary | |
| 2006 | Playboy: Celebrity Centerfolds | Herself | Documentary |
| 2006–2012 | Gene Simmons Family Jewels | Herself | 158 episodes |
| 2007 | SpongeBob SquarePants | Woman Fish | Voice Season 5 episode 17: "20,000 Patties Under the Sea/The Battle of Bikini Bottom" |
| 2008 | Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? | Herself, Audience Member | |
| 2009 | Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel | Herself: Playmate of the Year 1982 / Actress | Documentary |
| 2010 | United States of Tara | Knatasha Knightblade | Season 2 episode 7: "Dept. of F'd Up Family Services" |
| Bill Zucker's Day with the Simmons | Herself | ||
| 2012 | How Playboy Changed the World | Herself | Documentary |
| America's Book of Secrets | Herself | Season 1 episode 6: "The Playboy Mansion" | |
| 2012–2013 | Republic of Doyle | Frances Lemont | Season 3 episode 2: "Head Over Heels" Season 5 episode 7: "Hook, Line and Sinker" |
| 2014 | Seed | Wendy Maybely | Season 2 episode 7: "Mother Sucker" Credited as Shannon Tweed-Simmons |
| Canada's Smartest Person | Herself, Lie Detector Guest | Season 1 episode 6: "#1.6" Credited as Shannon Tweed-Simmons | |
| 2013 | Ex-Wives of Rock | Herself | Narrator |
| 2014 | Shannon & Sophie | Herself | Executive producer |
| 13 Nights of Elvira | Dr. Margo Hunt | Episode 1: Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death | |
| 2015 | Sunday Brunch | Set decorator Episode 6: "The Smoking Pistol" | |
| 2017 | Hell's Kitchen | Herself | Season 17 episode 4: "Just Letter Cook" |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Playmate data". Archived from the original on May 3, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Buchalter, Gail (December 6, 1982). "That New Bird on Hugh Hefner's Arm Is a Falcon Crest Fledgling from Canada Named Shannon Tweed". People. Archived from the original on August 18, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- ^ Maria Thiesson Obituary Archived May 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Legacy.com
- ^ a b Riggs, Jonathan. "Shannon Tweed- Biography". Yahoo! Movies Canada. Yahoo!. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ^ a b de Arakal, Byron (April 1983). "Hanging Around with Shannon Tweed, Falcon Crest's Confident Belle". Orange Coast (April 1983): 18–25. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
- ^ Axworthy, Tom (1987). Our American Cousins: The United States through Canadian Eyes. Toronto: Lorimer. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-88862-878-7.
- ^ Wolfe, Morris (1987). Jolts: the TV wasteland and the Canadian oasis. Toronto: Lorimer. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-88862-648-6.
- ^ a b c "Today leads morning ratings". Toledo Blade. July 9, 1985. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2019 – via news.google.com.
- ^ Dinsmore, Jef (November 11, 2013). "HBO Classics: 1ST & TEN". HBO Watch. Reinhart Web Development LLC. Archived from the original on January 19, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ^ "Shannon Tweed". Filmbug. MISJA.COM. 1998–2014. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ^ Riggs, Larry. "Gene Simmons Is Guest Voice On "Spongebob Squarepants."". WFMY News 2. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
- ^ Andrews, David (January 1, 2006). Soft in the Middle: The Contemporary Softcore Feature in Its Contexts. Ohio State University Press. pp. 313–. ISBN 978-0-8142-1022-2.
- ^ Green, Phillip. Cracks in the Pedestal: Ideology and Gender in Hollywood. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1998: 170
- ^ Liebenson, Donald (March 20, 2017). ""The Sexpendables": How Basic Instinct Birthed a Schlocky, Sexy Cottage Industry". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
- ^ Strause, Jackie. "EXCLUSIVE: Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed Renew Wedding Vows!". Life and Style magazine. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
- ^ "Saskatoon street could be named after Shannon Tweed". CBC News. June 28, 2011. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
- ^ Hutton, David (June 29, 2011). "Tweed Lane new jewel on city map". The StarPhoenix. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
- ^ Bourdeau, Annette (August 30, 2012). "'Ex-Wives of Rock': Hello, Guilty Pleasure". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
- ^ a b "Shannon Tweed". Askmen. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ^ "The Smart Ass Wedding Announcement". TMZ.com. September 1, 2011. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ^ McNiece, Mia (October 1, 2011). "People Exclusive: Gene Simmons Is Married". People. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ Lel, Jedadiah (August 17, 2017). "A Movie A Day #221: Scorned (1994, directed by Andrew Stevens)". Through the Shattered Lens. Archived from the original on January 28, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019.