Entertainment Music Who Is Gene Simmons' Wife? All About Shannon Tweed Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed dated for 28 years before getting married in 2011 By Tabitha Britt Tabitha Britt Contributor, PEOPLE People Editorial Guidelines Updated on April 23, 2024 09:30AM EDT Close Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed attend the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures' 'The Nun' on September 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Rock legend Gene Simmons has been with his wife, Shannon Tweed, for decades. The KISS bassist and the model first met in 1983 and have been together ever since — although they waited 28 years to officially tie the knot. "It was a great evening of music and fun," Simmons told PEOPLE of his 2011 wedding to Tweed. "I look at my wedding band and think, 'What was I afraid of all this time?' " Over the course of their relationship, the couple have also welcomed two children: son Nicholas, born in 1989, and daughter Sophie, born in 1992. The family of four shared their lives with fans on the reality show Gene Simmons Family Jewels, which ran for seven seasons on A&E. So, what is there to know about Gene Simmons' wife and the matriarch of the Simmons family? Keep reading to learn more about Shannon Tweed. She is Canadian Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty Tweed was born in Newfoundland, Canada, according to CBC Radio Canada. She grew up on a mink farm, where she enjoyed fishing and horseback riding. When her father fell into a coma following a car accident, her mother moved the family to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. After leaving home at 14, Tweed moved to Ottawa and began working in restaurants — even opening a bar of her own called Shannon's — however, she had her sights set on modeling. In 1978, she was third runner-up in the Miss Ottawa Pageant and won the Miss Canada talent competition for her singing. Tweed's modeling career took off after that and by age 22, Tweed "had most of what I wanted in Canada and was ready for the U.S." Her dream was to model for Playboy because "it was tasteful." She was named Playmate of the Year in 1982 Bettmann Tweed rose to fame in the early '80s when she was named Playmate of the Month by Playboy magazine in November 1981 and later, Playmate of the Year in 1982. During this time, Tweed lived at the Playboy Mansion and briefly dated Hugh Hefner. In fact, she first met Simmons at the mansion through Hefner. In September 2017, when Hefner died, Tweed posted a throwback photo of her, Simmons and the Playboy founder on Facebook. "[Hefner] will be missed by us both and many more around the world. He had a profound effect on my life. My husband and Hef often talked about the many things they had in common aside from me. Movies, comics, politics philosophies and love," she wrote in the caption. She's an actress Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic In addition to modeling, Tweed also worked as an actress. She began her acting career in 1981 with a recurring role on the soap opera Falcon Crest. "I never really decided to be an actress, but I got an agent, was called back on every show I auditioned for, and finally decided I was meant to be an actress," Tweed told PEOPLE in 1982. Tweed went on to appear in several television shows, movies and erotic films, including Days of Our Lives, Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death and Naked Lies. Tweed also starred in the 1999 film Detroit Rock City, which her husband produced. She and Simmons have two children Steve Granitz/WireImage Simmons and Tweed first became parents on Jan. 22, 1989, with the birth of their son, Nicholas "Nick" Simmons. Three years later, the couple welcomed a daughter, Sophie Simmons, on July 7, 1992. Today, the Simmons children have successful careers of their own. Sophie is a singer, TV personality and model, while Nick is a writer, musician and voice-over actor. Both Nick and Sophie appeared on their family's reality show, Gene Simmons Family Jewels. In July 2022, Sophie got engaged to James Henderson. A few months later, Simmons said in an interview that he was "not ready" for his little girl to be all grown up. "One second, she's just a pair of cheeks with little legs walking around. Next second, she's a grown woman I'm not ready. But it's happening. She's getting married, and he's a great guy," he said. Sophie and Henderson got married on Feb. 22, 2023, in the backyard of Tweed's "she-shed" in Malibu, California. "The view truly can't be beat and I love that it is intimate and family oriented," Sophie told PEOPLE the next day. "James and I never wanted a big wedding so this is the perfect space for us." Sophie also shared that her mother had a say in the reception venue. "I had a smaller venue in mind, but mom ixnay-ed it," she said. "She was like, 'It ain't it.' " The couple ended up holding the party at Delilah in West Hollywood. She and Simmons starred in a reality TV show together Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection The reality television series, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, premiered on A&E in August 2006. The show ran for seven seasons and gave fans an inside look at Simmons and Tweed's life together with their two kids. Upon the show's cancellation in 2012, the family said in a statement, per Entertainment Weekly, "With Kiss on tour and with my other business commitments, we have decided to draw the final curtain on our show. It has been a wonderful, life-altering experience for our family, and after seven successful seasons, we feel it's time to move on ... This is not the end of our story, it's the beginning of a new chapter." She dated Simmons for 28 years before he proposed Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage Simmons and Tweed dated for 28 years before the KISS rocker popped the question during a family vacation in Belize. The proposal was caught on camera for the season 6 finale of Gene Simmons Family Jewels. "I come with so much baggage, but you're the only friend I've got. You're the only one I love … and you're the only one I ever will love," Simmons told Tweed. "I've never said those words to anybody. And I don't ever want to … funny, I used to watch movies where they say I can't live without you, but for me it's true." She and Simmons got married in 2011 C Flanigan/FilmMagic Following their on-screen proposal, Tweed and Simmons tied the knot on Oct. 1, 2011, at the Beverly Hills Hotel in front of 400 guests. The couple made a point to include the entire family in the ceremony: their daughter served as the maid of honor, their son as a groomsman and Snippy, the family dog, served as the ring bearer. At the reception, Simmons and his KISS bandmates performed. She created a video game called Attack of the Groupies Rich Polk/Getty In 2012, Tweed joined forces with her daughter and her sister, Tracy Tweed, to create an app-based video game called Shannon Tweed's Attack of the Groupies. In the game, players can use various weapons to prevent groupies from sneaking backstage. "The characters were my ideas, and Sophie's, and they are true to form," Tweed said in an interview with Noisecreep. "As far as choice of weapons, we kept it PG this time so kids can play with it, but I'd like to do a more hardcore version of the whole thing down the line." Simmons says he will "never" leave Tweed even if she cheated on him Simmons is committed to making it work with Tweed. "Would I ever leave if Shannon dilly-dallied like I had? No, absolutely not. That will never happen," he told The Guardian in September 2023. "This will be the only marriage I ever have because my definition of marriage isn’t based on that stuff, it’s based on somebody who in a real sense will give their life for you." The rockstar continued: "We’ve proved it in creating two new, wonderful, amazing forms of life — our kids. Nobody else can do that. At the end of the day, my life will be judged by Shannon, Nick and Sophie.”