Take A New Look At Rock Royalty On “Shannon & Sophie”

Shannon & Sophie

Shannon Tweed and Sophie Tweed-Simmons are used to the spotlight: Shannon is an actress, model and wife of KISS basist/ co-lead vocalist Gene Simmons, and Sophie grew up in front of the camera when she starred alongside her family on Gene Simmons Family Jewels, a reality series that aired on A&E from 2006-2012.

Shannon & Sophie
Shannon and Sophie may be best friends, but they still find ways to compete with each other.

Now the 21-year-old is forging her own path to stardom as an actress, singer and fashion designer and as she strides into the limelight, she does so with her mother and best friend by her side. The charming and beautiful dup star in UP’s new docu-series, Shannon & Sophie, premiering with back-to-back episodes on April 16.

Even though she grew up the daughter of two celebrities, Sophie is refreshingly unaffected by fame and fortune. Her parents’ larger-than-life on-stage personas are pretty far from their home life, and proves that you can still raise an incredible family while keeping your finger on the pulse of pop culture.

Because of her upbringing, Sophie is hard-working, humble and is outspokenly against Hollywood’s obsession with thinness. And she’s gorgeous, talented and funny to boot— so she’s good TV. After I watched the series’ first two episodes, I think it’s unlikely that we’ll see her face splashed in the tabloids for scandalous behavior.

In the first episode that I screened, “Sophie Gets A New Place,” Sophie decides it is time to move out of the family home, and she and best friend Rachel start their search for the perfect place. But when Sophie’s house hunt goes disastrously wrong, will mom come to the rescue?

Shannon & Sophie
Sophie (left) and friends react to a poster for a charity event that passed on a photo of Sophie in favor of an image of a thinner, sexier model.

In the second episode, “Sophie’s Not A Size 4,” tired of LA’s obsession with thinness, Sophie jokes online that she is extreme-dieting. But when she returns from a trip to Nashville where she performs with The Tenors, she finds that her comment — made in jest — has sparked unwanted rumors. And clever Sophie finds a novel and empowering way to set the record straight.

Dad and handsome elder brother Nick also make appearances in the eight-part series, but they’re relegated to supporting players, and rightfully so. This show is all about the ladies and the unflappable bond of this mother and daughter. They’re besties who support each other even when they’re smothering each other.

Shannon & Sophie > UP > Thursdays at 9pm & 9:30pm ET beginning April 16

2 Comments

  1. The show was first run in Canada last year. Also in a very good podcast interview last week Nick said he and Sophie share a home.

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