Dawna Friesen was born on October 8, 1964, in Winnipeg, Canada. Her parents were non-practicing Mennonites. The Mennonites are a group of Christians named after Menno Simons. Simons taught his followers with lessons from early Swiss Christians around the 15th century. The religious group promoted adult baptism and rejected military service and politics. Even though Friesen’s parents weren’t actively practicing their religion, her childhood still reflected a rural Christian lifestyle.

Friesen was raised on a grain farm that was 40 minutes west of Winnipeg. As a young girl, she learned to work on the farm including driving a tractor. Her parents needed an extra hand on the farm and they didn't want to outsource the work to a family outsider. They believed putting Friesen to work would teach her a lot of life lessons. She would learn discipline because the long farm hours required her to wake up early. Friesen did not turn down many tasks that her parents assigned her. Even when a job was more fit for a boy, Friesen still wanted to do it.

Her parents were shocked that she ended up with a career on television. She was considered to be very shy when she was growing up. During social gatherings, she hated being the center of attention. Friesen graduated from Red River College with a degree in Communications.

Dawna is married to Tom Kennedy who is a Correspondent of CTV which is based in London. They gave birth to a baby boy in 2005.

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