Here’s a certainty in an uncertain world: the Canadian music scene would be infinitely drearier if Bif Naked wasn’t in it.
Now 56 and based in Toronto after decades in Vancouver, the multihyphenate performer – singer, songwriter, actor and author, not to mention breast cancer survivor, humanitarian and a darn nice person – has, in just the last two years, been the subject of the documentary Bif Naked, issued an album (2024’s Champion), re-issued it on vinyl for Record Store Day 2025, toured and updated the afterward to her 2016 memoir, I, Bificus.
A production deal has also been signed for a film adaptation of I, Bificus. And more recently, the producers developed a pilot proposal for a six-part TV series. “I’m open to anything,” she says, including whoever might play her on screen. “For me, it’s just very humbling to think that anyone would want to make a movie based on my book.”
Amid all of that, a volume of poetry, another of essays and a new album, The Secret, are in the wings. Yet Bif Naked remains a delightfully square peg, just as she was back in her punk rock days before early hits like Spaceman and I Love Myself Today propelled her up the pop charts.
“It’s very comical, getting older. Plus, with age comes wisdom,” she says, adding that her pal L7 and Belly musician Gail Greenwood, 66 – who last year toured with Gang of Four – remains a huge inspiration. “I am coming into my own now, and I love it. I love getting older. I don’t really care what people in line behind me at the grocery store think. And I could not have anticipated that.”
What I thought I knew …
“I have a million answers, but the main one is, I thought marriage was forever. I’ve just gone through my third shiny divorce. I have many dear friends who simply do not believe in marriage. I’m still the same hopeless romantic I was when I married my drummer at 18. That’s the optimist in me. In relationships, we give people the benefit of the doubt and we should fall in love as hard as we can. And why not? We cannot regret it.”
What I know now …
“Love truly is my prime motivation. You accomplish nothing without the love of something.”
What I’m letting go …
“I’m letting go of the negatives. I refuse to keep chasing the shiny objects.”
What I’m still seeking …
“I am still seeking spirituality, and I will forever be a seeker.”
Lasting thought …
“Truthfully, the lasting thought is that combining all of these things will always be my true path for happiness.”
Photographer and Art Director: Alkan Emin
Makeup Artist: Buffy Shields for Judy Inc.
Hair Artist: Mandy Jacobs
Fashion Styling: Paul Raymond
Retouching: Olga Baklan
