30 March 1968, Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada
Birth Name
Celine Marie Claudette Dion
Height
5' 7½" (1.71 m)
Mini Biography
Hailing from the small town of Charlemagne, Québec, Céline Dion has become one of the all-time greatest singers. Céline was born in 1968, the youngest of 14 children. Early in childhood, she sang with her siblings in a small club owned by her parents. From these early experiences, Céline gained the know-how to performing live. At the age of 12, Dion composed a song in her native French and sent it to a record company, where it garnered the attention of René Angélil, a respected manager. Angélil believed in Céline so much that he actually mortgaged his house in order to finance her debut album. Already very popular and successful internationally, Céline burst onto the U.S. stage when she recorded the theme song to Disney's hit Beauty and the Beast (1991). The song garnered a Grammy and an Oscar, and from this point Céline has brought forth hit after hit. Her 'Falling Into You' album, released in 1996, became the best-selling album of that year, selling more than 25 million copies worldwide. In 1999, Dion took a hiatus in order to begin a family. She returned to the spotlight in 2002, releasing yet another hit album. Starting in 2003, Céline began a three-year commitment to perform in an arena built for her in Las Vegas.
Spouse
René Angelil (17 December 1994 - present) 3 children
Trivia
1998: Honored by two governments in two days: on April 30 her home province of Québec awarded her the Ordre National du Québec, and on 1 May, she became an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Her husband is her manager.
Born to Adhémar Dion and his wife Thérèse Tanguay, she is the youngest of 14 children.
Renewed wedding vows with husband René Angelil at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, NV. (5 January 2000).
25 January 2001: Son René-Charles Angelil born. Father is husband René Angelil.
Because of her "sharp-looking" smile, Celine was known as "Vampire Queen" in high school.
She and her siblings sit on the board of Fondation Achille-Tanguay, an organization/clearinghouse founded by her mother in 1998 which helps poor Québec families toward self-sufficiency. Name has been changed to "Fondation maman Dion" in 2006.
She first met her future husband René Angelil when she was 12 and he was 38.
She is three months younger than her step-son, Patrick Angélil.
She has her own magazine, Celine Dion Magazine.
She endorses a line of eyewear sold in Canada and Europe.
23 February 2001: Awarded the rights to the Internet domain name www.celinedion.com by the UN World Intellectual Property Organization from "cybersquatter" Jeff Burgar. Burgar had also registered www.juliebrown.com and www.brucespringsteen.com, which were transferred to Julie Brown and Bruce Springsteen, respectively, that day.
She has homes in Las Vegas and in Laval & Terrebonne, (located in the Province of Quebec), Canada.
She loves to play golf.
She has over 500 pairs of shoes.
Building a home in Las Vegas, NV, where in March of 2003, she will begin giving 200 performances a year for three years in a special theater built for her by Caesars Palace; she will be paid $100 million for this deal.
Her husband René Angelil is of Syrian descent, just as her paternal grandmother was.
Husband mortgaged his house to fund Celine's first album when she was an unknown 12-year-old.
25 June 2003: She received a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario.
Has won five Grammy Awards since 1992 including "Album of The Year" in 1996 for "Falling Into You" and "Record Of The Year" for "My Heart Will Go On".
2006: Estimated to have sold 220 million albums during her career to date.
Has her own brand of perfume called "Celine Dion: Parfum".
Her lucky charm is a 1968 Canadian nickel because she found one in Japan before she went on stage to sing at the Yamaha song contest, which she won.
She and Madonna share the same French-Canadian heritage through a common ancestor, Zacharie Cloutier.
1988: She won the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland, for Switzerland, with the song "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi" ("Don't Leave Without Me"). The TV broadcast of the contest was watched by 600 million viewers throughout Europe and the Middle East.
Was in talks to star alongside Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Runaway Bride (1999).
Her niece Karine died of Cystic Fibrosis in her arms.
She owns the golf club Le Mirage in Terrebonne near Montreal.
She sings frequently in English and in French, but she has also sang in Spanish, German and Japanese.
November 30th 2003: She performed the same night her father died and dedicated the show to him.
Has a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for selling the most French-language album of all time for "D'eux" ("The French Album"), with over 6.4 million copies sold. The album also went to #1 in England.
Many consider her 1987 "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962) appearance, when Jay Leno filled in for Johnny Carson and her black-and-white video remix of Michael Jackson's "Bad" her best early English-speaking performances.
Although considering herself not a political person, she tearfully criticized U.S. President George W. Bush regarding the Iraq War and his slow response in aiding the victims of Hurricane Katrina when she appeared on "Larry King Live" (1985).
Has promoted the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation since 1982, whose National Celebrity Patron she became in 1993.
In tradition with memorial-based videos as Natalie Cole with her father and Aaliyah with Marvin Gaye, released on Elvis Presley's 72nd birthday a digital duet of herself with him from one of his 1970s TV performances.
Her favorite songs are "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "The Show Must Go On" by Queen, "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" by Elton John, "Me And Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin, "Why?" by Annie Lennox, "It Was A Very Good Year" by Frank Sinatra, "Home" by Michael Bublé, "Purple Rain" by Prince, "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder and "Riders On The Storm" by The Doors. (Source: BBC Radio 2 "Tracks of My Years").
Celine played her last show at the Caesar's Palace on December 15, 2007, she received 11 standing ovations. The first was before she even finished her first song.
In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated her earnings at $45 million for the year.
Her sister Linda lives with her, her husband René Angelil and son René-Charles. (2007).
Recorded a duet with Barbra Streisand titled "Tell Him".
At age 16, Céline sang "Une colombe" (a well known French song) for Pope John Paul II at the Montreal Olympic Stadium in front of 65,000 people.
Her mother, Thérèse Tanguay Dion (better known as "maman Dion" in Québec), is famous for her culinary talents.
Started a restaurant chain in Québec called "Nickels" (1990), later on introduced in Ontario.
Her son Rene-Charles was born January 25, 2001 at 1 am. This was Celine's first in-vitro fertilization pregnancy.
Spectacular vocal range spanning five octaves.
She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
Sister of: Denise, Clément, Claudette, Liette, Michel, Louise, Jacques, Daniel, Ghislaine, Linda, Manon, Paul and Pauline.
Portrayed by Christine Ghawi in Céline (2008) (TV).
In May 2010, her husband, René Angelil, announced that Celine is 14 weeks pregnant with twins after her sixth treatment of in-vitro fertilization. The babies are due in November, 2010.
July announced gender of their twins - boys due to be born around November 27th.
Gave birth to twin boys on October 23, 2010 in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA.
Named her fraternal twin sons "Nelson" and "Eddy", in honor of Nelson Mandela and Eddy Marnay, respectively.
Personal Quotes
I guess it all depends on your nature. Some people can't stand being alone. I love solitude and silence. But when I come out of it, I'm a regular talking machine. It's all or nothing for me.
There's always a new thing happening to me that's even more extraordinary, so pressure gets harder. But I like it when it's hard. Anyone can do it when it's easy. When it's hard and you can do it good, you're proud of yourself. There's going to be more pressure as the years go by, that's for sure. But I think I'm a hard worker and I'm ready for that. As long as I believe in what I'm doing, the pressure is okay with me.
For me, singing was real life, not two plus two equals four.
I'll be a Quebecker-Canadian. I'm from Quebec and every time I go to a country I say that. It's my roots, my origins and it's the most important thing to me.
There's one way to do showbiz, if you want to do it perfectly, you have to be disciplined and you have to be ready to work really hard.
I'm not trying to be a nice girl, but it's me. I'm not afraid to be nice.
[People Magazine, 12/3/07] The most important thing I can give to my son is my true values. Whatever choice he makes, I want him to assume his responsibilities and achieve what he wants - and be happy. For me to be able to give my happiness to my son. I cannot achieve better than that.
[People Magazine, 1994] I don't regret having lost my adolescence. I had one dream: I wanted to be a singer.
[People Magazine, 12/3/07, on her son seeing her Las Vegas show for the first time] He's the only guy who intimidates me.
[People Magazine, 12/3/07] My life is to be a mom. It is what I enjoy the most. It is my most amazing reward. I will take a chance with my music. I don't take risks with my family.
[People Magazine, 12/3/07] I feel like I'm at the bottom of the ladder, finally. I started at the top. I came down. Maturity is being grounded. When you feel grounded you feel strong. I know what I want.
[People Magazine, 12/3/07] I love performing, but I never really liked show business. My success is my family. I want to be more successful as a mother.
[on plastic surgery] Three or four years ago, I would have considered it, but not today. Some people have suggested that I have my chin done, but I'm a singer and it could change my voice. I'm not a model whose survival depends on beauty. My job consists of putting the most emotions into my songs. It might be a stupid thing to say, but when I look at my father, my mother and pictures of my grand-parents, I am proud. I wouldn't like to change any of that. Just look at Barbra Streisand! Look at her nose! She is beautiful and she doesn't give a damn about what people think.
Where Are They Now
(2004) Release of the book, "Celine Dion" by Anne E. Hill.
(2002) Release of the book, "Celine Dion" by Joanne Mattern.
(2000) Release of her book, "Celine Dion: My Story, My Dream".
(2000) Release of the book, "Celine Dion" by Norma Jean Lutz.
(1999) Release of the book, "Celine Dion" by Melanie Cole.
(2008) Debut of her perfume, "Sensational".
(June 2010) Launch of her "Eyes Signature Collection" of sunglasses.
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