Celine Dion Talks About Her Life And How She Dealt With the Loss of Her Husband

Celine has always been a magnet for drama. Luckily, she has always been able to shrug off negative energy and focus on what’s important.

Life has thrown some surprises her way, including tremendous success, health problems, and even a forbidden love affair.

In 1999, Celine received some news that that shook up her whole world. Her husband Rene was diagnosed with throat cancer and was told that, over, time, would lose simple motor function and the ability to perform basic tasks.

For Celine, this meant taking on a new responsibility as not only his wife but also his caretaker. The entire dynamic of their relationship changed in a matter of weeks, but Celine was determined to give Rene the best possible quality of life.

Though Celine knew Rene was the man for her, her mother didn’t agree. “It was very difficult for her,” Dion expressed.

“When I told her I had some really strong feelings for Rene she tried everything to kill him and make me snap out of it… I was very frustrated and mad at first, but she tried to make me understand that this man tried marriage twice before – he has three children, he’s not responsible, ‘I want the perfect Prince Charming for you’.”

Believe it or not, even superstars like Celine Dion need a vacation now and then. In 2000, Dion took a much-needed and well-deserved break from her busy schedule of touring, recording, and signing autographs to focus on family.

Celine wanted more than anything to have children of her own but unfortunately had some difficulties getting pregnant, so she underwent two surgeries to improve her chances of conceiving. Thankfully, her operations paid off and on January 25, 2001, Dion gave birth to Rene-Charles Dion Angelil.

Celine Dion had a near-death experience in her childhood. When she was just five-years-old, the young singer wasn’t paying attention and a full-sized truck backed into her.

The blow to her head left her unconscious and even put her in a coma for close to an entire week. Despite also suffering skull fractures, Dion was able to make a full recovery. Perhaps her brush with death provided the young star with more motivation to succeed and beat the odds.

Whether or not you consider yourself a die-hard Dion fan, you’ve probably heard her famous song from Titanic, ‘My Heart Will Go On’.

Believe it or not, Celine had some serious doubts about the track that would go on to become an iconic love ballad. In an interview, she said, “…I didn’t really like the song, at first. I did another song for a movie before. It was very successful, and I thought we were pushing our luck…”

In 1991, Celine Dion released a breakthrough hit for Disney’s animated classic Beauty and the Beast, which went on the win the singer her first Grammy Award.

Despite the song’s success, Dion faced scrutiny from her Quebecois fans who claimed that Dion gained popularity with the American audience at the expense of fans from her home country. Dion bounced back by refusing to accept the Felix Award for English Artist of the Year, citing her French heritage as her reason.

With 13 older brothers and sisters, to say that Celine Dion grew up in a full house would be a total understatement.

With financial struggled and 13 children already in the family, Celine’s mother and father had their hands full and weren’t even thinking about having another baby. Fate had other plans, however, when Celine’s mother became pregnant yet again. To make room for another child, Celine slept in a cabinet drawer because the beds were taken.

Because Celine was apprehensive about releasing My Heart Will Go On, Rene was ultimately the one to convince her that it would be worth it. Dion later told Jonathon Ross in an interview that, “[Angélil] said, ‘Let’s just do a demo.

Let’s give it a try and we’ll see after.’ The demo turned out to be the real recording. I never sang the song again.” The 1997 hit went on to win numerous awards. It will forever be remembered as Dion’s greatest hit.

Celine Dion’s mother, Therese Tanguay Dion, made a name for herself as one of the best cooks in Quebec. Apparently, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, because, in 1990, Celine opened up her own restaurant in Quebec called Nickels.

After seeing tremendous success, Nickels soon became a chain, spreading to Ontario as well as other parts of Canada. In addition, Celine has tried her hand at publishing, releasing her very own magazine titled the Celine Dion Magazine.

Celine Dion went through a whole lot of ups and down through the 1990s. While her recording career was peaking, with 13 albums released, her personal life had come crashing down when she received the bad news about her husband’s health.

In the aftermath of his diagnosis, Celine took a break from the limelight, which opened the doors for the National Enquirer to publish a fake story that the singer was pregnant with twins. For their lies, Celine sued the publication for $20 million.

As an extremely successful singer and songwriter, Celine Dion has received countless awards, accolades, and honors, including recognition from The National Order of Quebec, the highest honor that Quebec can bestow upon someone.

Also, Dion has stars with her name on them on both the Hollywood as well as Canadian Walks of Fame. Even though she never finished high school, Dion received an honorary doctorate from Laval University. She claimed it was “a very great honor for a little girl from Charlemagne.”

French musician Hugues Aufray once recorded a song called Celine. Two years later, Celine Dion was born. Dion stated that her parents chose to name her after Aufray’s song.

At the age of five, Celine sang in front of a group for the first time at her big brother’s wedding. This was the moment that started everything and launched the career of an icon. Even though her entire family was involved with music, Celine was clearly a special talent.

Celine’s mother recognized her daughter’s special talent from the first moment she heard her sing, and she knew that if Celine could just meet the right person in the music industry, the rest would take care of itself.

Celine’s mother, along with her brother Jaques, wrote a song for young Celine to sing that would hopefully get her recognized. After contacting numerous names in the music industry, a producer by the name of Rene Angelil reached out to young Celine.

Celine’s mother sent recordings of her daughter all around the music industry. The demo always came with a note that said, “This is a 12-year-old with a fantastic voice. Please listen to her. We want her to be like Ginette Reno.”

Rene received many demos from parents on a daily basis, so he didn’t take a look at Dion’s until her brother reached out, Rene changed his mind. Once he heard the demo, he asked for a face-to-face audition.

Rene could tell from listening to Celine’s demo that she had an amazing voice, but he needed to see if she could perform live and in person before he would commit to anything.

When she showed up, Rene handed her a pencil to use as a fake microphone and said, “Here’s your microphone. Now sing as though you were in front of a sellout audience.” As you could imagine, Celine left Rene with his jaw on the floor.

It soon became clear to both Celine and Rene that a relationship was blooming that much deeper than a working partnership. Eventually, the couple decided to get married, even though there was a pretty big age gap between the two.

Before he married Celine, Rene was married twice before, with his first marriage to Denyse Duquette in 1966. Rene’s son from this marriage, Patrick Angelil, became Dion’s stepson. Interestingly enough, Patrick is significantly older the Celine Dion, despite their familial relationship.

Thinking back to her first audition with Rene, Celine said, “While I was singing, he (Rene) started to cry,” she said. “I knew then I had done a good job.”

Rene signed her on the spot, and the two began meticulously working together to develop Dion as a singer, doing everything in their power to ensure that Celine became a star. Rene saw the potential in her but knew that rising to the top of the pop charts would not be an easy task.

Rene understood that Celine had endless potential as a singer. If he could only take the right risks from the business end of things, she would surely become a star.

In 1981, Rene provided the money to fund Dion’s first album, La Voix Dy Bon Dieu, by mortgaging his house. His extreme investment paid off, and the album’s single reached number one in Canada. Despite the fact that Rene was an experienced gambler, this was, by far, the biggest risk he ever took.

In a short amount of time, Celine Dion rose to fame on an international level. She was even chosen to perform the French anthem, Une Colombe, in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, for Pope John II when he came to visit Quebec in 1984.

In front of over 65,000 people, Dion delivered a magical performance and earned the admiration of a new fan in Pope John II, who, to this day, she still considers to be one of her most beloved concert attendees.

In the midst of her rise to stardom, Rene advised Celine to take 18 months off following her tour. Even though many people criticized the singer for making such a risky move right when she was finally gaining traction in the music industry, Celine knew it was right for her.

She was at a very delicate age, facing the transition from girl to woman, and she knew it was best for her to be out of the limelight for a bit.

Despite skeptics telling her that it was a terrible career move, Celine’s hiatus proved to be worthwhile. She came back to the spotlight with a renewed sense of determination and confidence.

Her fans were happy to see that she was even able to drastically improve her English singing skills, allowing her to branch out and gain a wider international audience. Her comeback album, Incognito, which was produced by her new record label, CBS, sold over half a million copies.

The beginning of the 1990s brought high progress to Celine Dion’s music career. She released her first entirely English album, Unison, which launched her into the world of American pop stardom.

The album would go on to become certified gold in the states. Her hit single from Unison, ‘Where Does My Heart Beat Now’, became a top 10 hit and everything was looking up for Dion. Then, something unexpected happened just as she was set to tour all over the USA…

Just when Celine Dion was about to begin her big US tour, she mysteriously lost her voice. Dion had been dealing with a bad case of laryngitis and was exhausted from such a hectic and busy lifestyle full of stress.

Even though she wanted nothing more than to perform, her doctor advised her to take a break and heal her inflamed vocal cords. She was faced with a dilemma- either stop singing for a month or face the uncertainty of surgery.

Things were certainly heating up for Celine Dion in her personal life. After hearing endless rumors through the early years of her career, Celine was finally ready to clear the air and tell the public that her relationship with Rene and progressed from professional to romantic.

On the inside sleeve of her album, The Colour of My Love, Dion confessed that “Maybe at 17, 18 years old, my feelings started to change for him,” Dion said. “I kind of saw him differently.”

Celine was only 19 years old when she began dating Rene. Even though Dion was of legal age, their 26-year age gap was problematic when it came to the public’s opinion on their love affair.

The couple was happy and proud to be together, but they knew that not everyone would approve. While they initially tried to keep their relationship behind closed doors, eventually they needed to reveal the truth so that they could live a happy life and get married.

Before coming forward and publicly confessing their romance, Celine and Rene had kept their love a secret for over five years. “I was afraid of what people would think,” admitted Rene in 1994.

Eventually, Celine was the one to demand that they go public. “When you’re in love, you want to scream it to the world,” she would later say. Once they finally mustered the courage to tell the world about their relationship, people responded in a way nobody could have predicted.

On December 17, 1994, Rene and Celine finally tied the knot and proclaimed their love for each other in a beautiful ceremony at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica, one of Canada’s most picturesque locations.

Because Celine was Canadian royalty at this point, the newlyweds had the festivities broadcast onto Canadian National television so that the entire nation of Canada could celebrate with them. However, numerous media outlets criticised their special day, claiming that Celine and Rene had delusions of grandeur.

Mirella and Steve Gentile designed Celine Dion’s iconic silk wedding dress. Over 1,000 hours of work went into creating their masterpiece, and it was well worth it because Celine looked stunning.

The white gown came with a twenty-foot long train as well as a twenty-pound tiara, worn elegantly on the head of Dion. People not just from Canada but from all over the world wanted to know every single detail regarding Celine and Rene’s extravagant wedding.

For most newlyweds, owning a home is a process which needs an appropriate amount of thought, consideration, and saving. Because Celine and Rene had climbed the ladder of the music industry years ago, finances would not be an issue.

The couple had even already owned numerous estates around the world before tying the knot. They decided to celebrate their marriage by putting down the money for a $72 million mansion in Jupiter, Florida, complete with three pools, a golf course, and water park.

After the tremendous success she saw with her work on the Titanic soundtrack, Celine decided to go back to performing and launched her Let’s Talk About Love world tour.

Although she was selling out shows every night, she received some bad news. During one of her shows, she learned that Rene had been diagnosed with cancer. Despite feeling awful, Dion finished the performance, giving a heartfelt tribute to her partner. Sadly, Rene passed away two days before his 74th birthday on January 14, 2016.

Back in 2010, Rene and Celine were in the midst of much happier times. Rene declared that his wife was finally pregnant with twins.

This was a big moment for both Rene and Celine, who had undergone six IVF treatments through her life. Twins Eddy and Nelson were born on October 23, 2010. Eddy was named after Celine’s favorite French songwriter, Eddy Marnay, who also happened to produce her first five albums. Nelson was named after Nelson Mandella, the former South African revolutionary.

In 2004, Celine helped raise $1 million to help people after the Asian tsunami and to help the people who suffered from the natural disaster.

She also donated a further $1 million to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, while also taking a swipe at the U.S. government expressing, “there are people still there waiting to be rescued. To me, that is not acceptable… How can it be so easy to send planes in another country to kill everybody in a second and destroy lives. We need to serve our country.”

You may be familiar with Celine’s mother, but her father also played a significant part in the Grammy Award-winning singer’s life.

Sadly, Adhemar Dion lost his life in 2003, and Celine Dion expressed how much he meant to her the day he died. She explained, “My dad was and is still my number one fan since I was a very little girl. I know that my dad would want me to be here tonight on stage with everyone I love, doing what we love.”

Rene’s death greatly impacted Celine, but she explained how she was determined to speak about death with her children to prepare them for the fatal day.

She openly expressed, “I’m proud of the way I prepared my boys for their dad’s death. In life, you never know what’s going to happen, so you should never wait for tomorrow to do what can be done today, to say I love you, or send a thank-you note…The future is now.”

Many people were surprised to see Celine’s son, Rene Charles Angelil, appear on stage with her at the Music Billboard Awards. The fifteen-year-old teenager gained many admirers over social media when he was seen presenting an award with his mother.

The admiration for the young teen was evident on Twitter, with many even joking about the fact he was only 15. One fan wrote, “Shawn Mendes is 17, Celine Dion’s son only FIFTEEN. Thanks, #BBMAs for making us all feel like fat old perverts.”

Celine Dion has gone through many ups and downs throughout her life, and so has her mother. Despite all this, Dion’s mother is still right there with her daughter for every step of the way.

Thérèse reached the milestone age of 90-years-old and, in honor of this occasion, Celine posted photos of two of them together online. The photos were followed with heartfelt captions, with one saying, “What a privilege for all of us to still have you around. Happy 90th birthday mom! We love you.”

While Celine Dion gives her all on stage, she is also one to give her all in every single interview she has. Many celebrities prove to be difficult during interviews, but not this talented lady.

Better yet, whoever she is speaking with, she also gives them a private performance, making her perhaps the best interviewee ever! When Ellen DeGeneres interviewed her, the talk show host simply complimented her jewelry, but this was followed by the singer chatting Donna Summer’s hit, “She worked hard for the money.”

Celine suffered a double blow when she lost both her husband and her brother in the same week. Sadly both her husband and brother lost their battles with cancer, and the timings could not have been worse for Celine.

While this would undoubtedly be the hardest week of the singer’s life, Celine still managed to put a positive spin on the saddest time of her life. In an interview, she spoke of their deaths and said, “René (her husband) escorted my brother. It was perfect.”

With Celine being the youngest of 14 children, it is no surprise that she was the only one of the siblings to try to make it into the big time.

Claudette Dion, Celine’s older sister, had tried her luck in the music industry but it seemed that she was not destined to become a huge superstar like her youngest sibling. Since many people cannot even compete with Celine, it appears that neither could her brothers or sisters, but Claudette still made some money from her musical endeavors.

Just when you think that having a successful music career was good enough, Celine wanted to prove otherwise and released her fashion line.

The new business venture made sense considering Dion is one of the music industry’s best-dressed stars, and it was suggested to her that she release her own line. That is exactly what she did, and her collection had over 200 items which included bags and accessories. Most importantly, her collection was all inspired by her family members, especially her mother and twin boys.

When music and fashion were not proving to not be enough for the superstar, Dion decided to try her luck in the world of TV. With a string of roles under her name, Dion can add acting to her resume.

She appeared in the Thanksgiving show, All My Children, where she was asked to play herself and sang her song “Taking Chances.” Speaking of this song, she expressed, “I hope this new song in some small way will touch the hearts of all of us.”

While Celine has dipped her toes into many different business ventures, there is no denying that her huge fortune is thanks to her voice.

Celine’s raw talent has allowed her to go from humble beginnings to become one of the world’s biggest superstars. Many people believed in Celine from a young age, and that faith allowed her to achieve the star status she has so well deserved today. All that belief has resulted in Dion’s net worth currently standing at an impressive $700 million.

Following the birth of her twins, and the disaster which struck New York City on September 11, Celine returned with a performance of “God Bless America” at the concert, America: A Tribute to Heroes.

Speaking of the performance, Billboards Chuck Taylor wrote, “The performance…brings to mind what has made her one of the celebrated vocalists of our time: the ability to render emotion that shakes the soul. Affecting, meaningful, and filled with grace, this is a musical reflection to share with all of us still searching for ways to cope.”

Having been born in Quebec, Canada, it is no surprise that Celine’s home country wished to celebrate the star she had become.

One of the biggest honors as a celebrity is to be given a star on the Walk of Fame and, of course, Celine was to be given one. Celine was given a star on Canada’s version of the Walk of Fame in 2003 followed by another one in Hollywood. This made Celine one of the few celebrities to have been honored with a star in both countries.

Some of the most prominent celebrities in the world have found that they are related to Celine Dion. Having traced their families back, they have all found that they are related to French-Canadian, Zacharie Cloutier.

Cloutier was a man who fled France in 1634 to make a better life in Canada, and later founded one of the first families in “New France.” While the celebrities in the image show Shania Twain, Madonna, Beyoncé, and Angelina Jolie, it is said that Jack Kerouac and Alanis Morissette are also related.

Just as Celine has proven she a master of many skills, she can also sing in a variety of languages. Celine has always sung in either French or English, but she also likes to accommodate to her fans from around the world.

Therefore, she can say that she has performed in Spanish, Italian, German, Latin, Japanese, German, and Mandarin Chinese. Celine wants her fans to always understand her, and as she wishes to for them to relate to her, she relates to them at the same time.

Celine Dion has her name behind some of the most famous songs from movies in the history of Hollywood. However, while Celine’s “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic is one of the most recognizable songs in the world, not all her movie numbers have reached the same prestigiousness.

She was allegedly tipped to record “Dreams to Dreams” for An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, and, due to her lack of fame at the time, she was accompanied by Peabo Bryson on the recording for “Beauty and the Beast.”

Aside from singing, you can find Celine Dion participating in her next favorite activity – golf. In between selling out arenas and performing to the masses, Celine has also enjoyed going to watch professionals play and going out on the green herself.

She even invested in her love for the sport, with her and Rene renovating Le Mirage. The couple donated millions of dollars to the Quebecois club for renovations and released a statement on the club’s website which read, “a visit to the Mirage is an adventure in itself.”

Celine is no stranger to the Oscars and has set world records from attending the ceremonies. Dion has performed at the Oscars, which is considered to be one of the biggest nights in entertainment, more than any other artist.

In 2011, she appeared for her record-breaking sixth performance and took to the stage to sing “Smile” in honor of the celebrities who had lost their lives over the year. She has also sung her hit singles “My Heart Will Go On” and “Because You Loved Me.”

Celine Dion has many hit singles under her belt, including the notable “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now.” The song was originally to be recorded by rockstar, Meat Loaf, but the writer of the song chose a different path.

Songwriter, Jim Steinman, believed the song should be made into a ballad and sung by a female, deciding that Dion would be the perfect fit. Eventually, Meat Loaf did get the chance to record the song himself, but Celine’s version will always dominate.

As expected, Celine found it extremely difficult in coming to terms with the loss of Rene and discussed her emotions following her husband’s death.

Speaking in an interview, she admitted, “I miss him a lot for my partner, for the man I was embracing, kissing, making love with. I organize myself not to feel lonely. So what’s happened is I got myself a huge bed and I sleep with my twins. My twins are comforting me a lot. I need them. I need them close.”

With a talent like Dion’s, there is nothing that the songstress cannot sing. Regardless of the choice of songs, Celine is sure to amaze her fans and put on a mindblowing performance.

The singer is even renown for covering other people’s records and putting her own spin on the song. She has covered Cyndi Lauper’s, “I Drove All Night,” and John Lennon’s, “Beautiful Boy,” and performed duets with other hit singers. Celine has made duets with legends such as Michael Jackon, Aretha Franklin, and Barbra Streisand.

Since 1999, the Record Industry Association of America began certifying albums with diamond status if they sold over 10 million units. Very few artists have achieved this honor, but of course Celine in amongst the few. Not only has Celine achieved this on one of her albums, but she has been honored diamond status on two!

Celine’s 1996 album, “Falling Into You” and her 1997 album, “Let’s Talk About Love”, both sold over 10 million units. Even Elvis, who has more certified albums than any other artist, only achieved one certified diamond album.

The Nielson Soundscan, which has been used by executives to track album sales since 1991, has proven that Celine has continued to be one of the leading ladies in the music industry since this time.

Celine Dion has remained as one of the best selling female artists in the United States, and the best selling female artist in Canada, according to this data. The only other two females artists to have sold more albums than Celine Dion are Rihanna and Mariah Carey.

Celine was born into a Roman Catholic family, which is the most common religion practiced in Canada. In 2014, however, Celine had her current views on religion by stating, “It’s important for people to have something they can touch and believe in.”

She continued, “I say that to believe in yourself is to believe in God. For me, God is life itself, the birds, the air, the sunrise and the sunset, the children. Yes, that is where I find God. Not in a church.”

During her many years in the music industry, Celine Dion has won a multiple of accolades and broken many world records.

She managed to pick up fame in the French market while still a teenager with her single “D’amour ou d’amitié” – which means “Of Love or Of Friendship.” The single went gold in France, and this made Dion the first ever Canadian performer to achieve this status. It would be hard for any musician to try and follow a similar path to Celine.

Rene Angeli was more than just Celine’s life partner, but he was also her manager who gave her tips and advice when her fame started to grow.

Together, Celine and Angeli felt that the singer’s look needed an upgrade for her to achieve international fame and success. After being nicknamed by magazines as “Canine Dion” because of her bad teeth, her year-long makeover included adding dental crowns to whiten her teeth which also gave her more of a glowing smile.

Celine took a break from music in 1999 to focus on starting her family, but it was not long until she returned. In 2002, and after a three-year break, Celine released her album, “A New Day Has Come.”

The album was her first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, making it a commercial success. However, critics were unimpressed with her new music which spoke of her experience as a new mom. They stated that lyrics were “forgettable” and “lifeless,” and that the music was “trite and mediocre.”

Celine Dion may be considered one of music’s Divas, but that is based on her voice rather than her personality. Following the death of her husband, Celine refused to capitalize on her grief and allowed anyone who wished to do so, to come and offer their condolences.

No exclusive access was granted to anyone, and every fan was given a chance to go and see her. This meant that Celine was standing for eight hours during her husband’s televised funeral so that she could converse with the public.

Celine Dion took to the stage in 1988 to perform in the Eurovision Song Contest, which became one of her biggest triumphs in her musical career. Unexpectedly, the singer represented Switzerland, France’s neighboring country, and performed to 600 million viewers.

While Switzerland is a country she has no formal connection with, she impressively won the popular competition when she beat the UK by just one vote. It was following her standout performance, which took place in Ireland, that led her to superstardom.

When Dion signed to CBS, she was rubbing shoulders with music royalty. After all, that was the same label that Michael Jackson was signed to and, if it were good enough for Michael, it would be good enough for Dion.

In fact, Dion was a massive fan of the King of Pop, and she had told Rene that she wished to emulate his success. Meanwhile, many would say the same about Celine who had already won multiple awards at the age of 18 and had released ten French albums.

The name Dion may be best associated with Celine and her music, but another fact about the Dion family is that they owned a piano bar. Le Vieux Baril was the ideal place for Celine and her siblings to perform and practice their musical talents.

It was the perfect platform for the kids of the family, and Dion became a regular performer from the age of five. Locals of Charlemagne, Quebec, were instant fans of the young singer and got a glimpse of the star before she hit international fame.

It was a tough year for Dion following the death of her husband, and just after the anniversary of Rene’s death, Celine made an emotional announcement.

Having been married to her husband for 22 years, and with rumors of her moving on, she told a reporter from Bizarre, “Now it is definitely too soon for me. I am definitely in love with him, married to him…He’s the love of my life. It’s very difficult for me to see myself with another person.”

Celine Dion has been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome which, sadly, means that she’s unlikely to ever perform again. Moreover, the singer’s quality of life has dramatically deteriorated and she no longer goes out in public.

In 2023, an online hoax declared Dion deceased. Luckily, Celine is still with us, trying to find a cure for her rare condition. According to the singer’s sister, Claudette, Celine is “listening to the top researchers in the field of this rare disease as much as possible.”