The best-selling Canadian artist, the winner of Eurovision 1988, five Grammys and one of the most powerful and recognizable voices in the world – Celine Dion’s accolades are endless. Unfortunately, personal dramas and health problems directly affected the artist’s work.
On March 30, 1968, the youngest of 14 children was born to the Canadian family of Adhemar Dion and Therese Tanguay – a girl named Celine in honor of Hugues Offray’s song. The little girl performed for the first time at her brother Michel’s wedding, and later sang with her brothers and sisters in her parents’ piano bar Le Vieux Baril, which meant she had no time to study or communicate with her peers.
Some might say that Dion lost her childhood due to frequent concerts, but later she did not regret anything, because she was moving towards her main dream – to become a singer. At 12, together with her brother Jacques, Celine wrote the song Ce n’était qu’un rêve. Another brother sent the recording to producer René Angélil, who was so delighted with the teenager’s vocals that he mortgaged his house to finance the artist’s debut single.
And so it began – in 1982, the singer became the best performer at the Yamaha Festival in Tokyo, then received the “Discovery of the Year” award in France and won the Eurovision in Dublin. A competent manager advised the artist to have dental surgery and take an English course in order to achieve success around the world. And in the 90s, the producer also became the star’s husband, despite the age difference. How this love story ended and what Celine Dion is living now – in our article.
The Power of Love
Although Angelil promised Celine’s parents that working in show business would not affect her studies, the artist dropped out of school at 14, simply not having time for classes due to rehearsals. But at 16, the singer could boast of performing at the Montreal Olympic Stadium in front of 65 thousand spectators.
Since Celine was self-taught in music, in 1989 she had serious problems with her main instrument – it turned out that the artist overstrained her vocal cords, which is why she lost her voice. The girl was offered an operation, but she chose a softer way to correct the situation – she was silent for a month, and during her creative leave she took vocal lessons from William Riley so as not to injure the apparatus anymore. Fortunately, it helped.
Worldwide popularity came at the dawn of the 90s, when the artist released the English-language album Unison and performed a duet with Peabo Bryson on the soundtrack to the animated film Beauty and the Beast. The composition brought the star an Oscar and a Grammy and was included on her Celine Dion album.
As her career developed, Celine’s personal life also changed: a manager 26 years older than her became her lover in 1987. At first, the couple hid their romance, fearing a negative reaction from the public, but in 1993, the singer announced her feelings, dedicating the album The Colour of My Love to Angelil. The artist was wrong to be afraid – fans positively perceived the relationship between the vocalist and her mentor, thanks to whose faith she became a star.
The Power of Love hitmaker and the producer got engaged back in 1991, despite the protest of Celine’s mother. “It was very difficult for her. When I said that I had strong feelings for René, she tried to do everything to make me give him up. At first, I was very upset and angry. She said that this man had been married twice, he had three children, he was irresponsible. But the rest of my family loved him so much that she had no choice,” the star admitted in an interview.
In December 1994, the lovers got married in the Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, and the ceremony was even shown on Canadian TV. And although some were afraid that family life would distract the singer from her career, René and Celine’s goals and dreams still coincided, so albums were released, concerts were sold out, and romantic singles exploded on the charts.
My Heart Will Go On
In the second half of the 90s, Dion’s career reached its peak: the album Falling into You became the most commercially successful, and in 1997, the hit from Titanic My Heart Will Go On appeared, which turned into the star’s calling card. By the way, in 2012, Celine even quarreled with Kate Winslet over the soundtrack, who said that she was not delighted with the composition.
“This song has made my name synonymous with classic cinema. It’s hard to count how many times I’ve sung it. But if Kate is tired of just hearing this tune, I can only say: thank God she didn’t have to sing it,” the vocalist said indignantly.
Then it turned out that Celine had undergone infertility treatment and, thanks to the IVF procedure, became a mother: in 2001, the singer gave birth to her first child, Rene-Charles. Six months later, the artist returned to the stage, followed by the release of an autobiography and new albums, which critics accused of banality and excessive sentimentality. However, even skeptics recognized the conclusion of a contract for 600 shows at the Las Vegas Coliseum as a brilliant business idea that brought millions to Dion and her husband.
Back in 2008, a TV movie called “Celine” was made in Canada about the singer’s development, but the artist dreamed of a Hollywood adaptation of her biography. Rumor had it that the vocalist saw her old friend Angelina Jolie in her role. In 2019, insiders claimed that the friends had a falling out over Jolie’s refusal to join the musical project. Sources close to the star noted that Dion was deeply offended by the actress, and it was unlikely that their relationship would survive this conflict.
A series of tragedies
In October 2010, Celine finally made her dream of a big family come true, giving her husband twins Eddy and Nelson. Unfortunately, she couldn’t enjoy the happiness for long: three years later, Rene Angelil had a relapse of cancer. Dion put her career on hold again, because after the operation, her husband needed care and moral support. In 2015, Rene himself persuaded the artist to return to the stage and sign a contract with a recording studio.
On January 14, 2016, his battle with cancer ended: the 73-year-old man died. Trouble did not come into the singer’s life alone: two days later, her 59-year-old brother Daniel died of throat, tongue and brain cancer. Celine was unable to say goodbye to her relative, since his funeral took place in Montreal, and she was busy with René’s funeral ceremony in Las Vegas: Angélil asked to have a funeral service for him in the church where he married his wife.
“I’m very lucky, I’m happy that I have so many people around me who make me laugh, but I miss touching, I miss hugging, I miss saying, ‘You’re beautiful.’ I miss my husband,” Celine admitted after a while.
In 2017, the media suspected the singer of having an affair with dancer Pepe Munoz, who took part in her tours. Over the next two years, the colleagues were periodically called a couple, until Celine made an official statement that they were just friends. The artist could not have an affair with the young Spaniard because she continued to mourn her deceased husband…
The only outlet for the star was creativity. In 2019, the singer released the album Courage and announced a world tour in support of it. At first, the tour was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but in early 2022, Celine canceled concerts due to health problems. In December of the same year, Dion said that she had been diagnosed with a rare disease – muscle stiffness syndrome.
The illness was accompanied by pain, loss of control over movements and ligaments, and in May 2023, the singer again announced the postponement of the planned concerts. “I’m so sorry to disappoint you all once again. I’m working really hard to get my strength back, but touring can be really tough, even when you’re 100%. It’s unfair to you to continue postponing concerts, and while it breaks my heart, it’s best to cancel everything now until I’m truly ready to get back on stage. I want you all to know that I’m not giving up… And I can’t wait to see you again!” the star addressed the audience.
