Background

Ethnicity: Céline Dion is the youngest of 14 children born to Adhémar Dion and Thérèse Tanguay, both of French-Canadian descent.

Celine Marie Claudette Dion was born on March 30, 1968, in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada. The youngest of 14 children of Adhemar and Therese Dion, she grew up in a close-knit musical family. Her parents formed a singing group, Dion's Family, and they toured Canada when Celine was still an infant. They later opened a piano bar, where the 5-year-old Celine would perform to the delight of customers.

Education

Celine dropped out of school around the time she was 12 in order to pursue her career. She hated school. It's been mentioned that she had a tutor on the road with her, she hasn`t ever actually finished any sort of formal education. In 1990 Celine recorded her first English CD "Unison". She needed to learn English in order to pursue a career singing it and break into the US and European markets. She did an intensive Berlitz course with one on one instruction, 8 hours a day.

Career

At the age of 12, Celine Dion recorded a demo tape of a song she had written with her mother. They sent the tape to the manager and producer Rene Angelil, who handled the career of popular French singer Ginette Reno. After hearing the tape and inviting Dion to perform for him in person, Angelil signed her immediately under the condition that he would have complete control over her career. He mortgaged his own home to finance her debut album, La Voix du bon Dieu (The Voice of God).

By the age of 18, Dion had recorded nine French albums and won numerous Felix and Juno awards (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy Award). In 1988, she won the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland, and her performance was broadcast live in countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, Australia and Japan. After this taste of international acclaim, she began looking to the south, and American stardom.

Dion recorded her first English language album, Unison, in 1990. Like most of her English language albums, it was a collaboration with the songwriter-arranger-musician David Foster. Driven by the Top 5 single "Where Does My Heart Beat Now," Unison sold more than 1 million copies worldwide.

Dion's real breakthrough into pop music stardom came in 1992, when she recorded the theme to Disney's hit animated feature Beauty and the Beast, a duet with Peabo Bryson. The song ("Beauty and the Beast") made it to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won both a Grammy and an Academy Award. It was featured on her second English album, Celine Dion, which became her first gold record in the United States and sold more than 12 million copies internationally. The undeniable success of her self-titled effort, also including the hit "If You Asked Me To," which made it to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart, allowed Dion to launch her first headlining tour in the United States.

Celine Dion quickly capitalized on her newfound fame, releasing the top-selling The Colour of My Love in 1993. The album showcased the romantic power ballads that Dion had become known for, including "When I Fall in Love" (featured on the soundtrack for the hit film Sleepless in Seattle) and "The Power of Love," her first single to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Dion's international stardom was solidified by her performance of "The Power of the Dream," at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. That same year, her album Falling Into You, including the No. 1 hit "Because You Loved Me" (from the soundtrack to Robert Redford's sentimental 1996 film, Up Close and Personal), won Grammy Awards for album of the year and best pop album. The following year, however, would hold even greater glory for Dion, with the release of the blockbuster film Titanic (1997), co-starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, for which Dion sang the theme song, "My Heart Will Go On." By the time the film had raked in a record number of Oscar nominations (it won 11, including the award for best song), Dion's ballad had become ubiquitous on radio stations around the world.

Included on both the Titanic soundtrack album and Dion's own Let's Talk About Love (1997), "My Heart Will Go On" propelled to the No. 1 slot on the Billboard Hot 100 - marking the singer's third No. 1 hit - and sold a combined 50 million records worldwide. Let's Talk About Love also featured collaborations with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Luciano Pavarotti, the Bee Gees and Bryan Adams.

While touring relentlessly and recording several albums (including S'il Suffisait d'Aimer and a holiday album, These Are Special Times, both released in 1998), Dion was well-rewarded at the Billboard Music Awards in late 1998, where she won six awards, including for artist of the year and album of the year, for 1997's Let's Talk About Love. Her extensive 14-country tour, which began in the summer of 1998, culminated in a gala concert in Montreal on December 31, 1999, in honor of the new millennium. Dion scored her fourth No. 1 hit with "I'm Your Angel," a duet with R&B singer R. Kelly featured on These Are Special Times.

After a two-year hiatus, Celine Dion returned in March 2002 with A New Day Has Come, which topped the charts in more than 17 countries. A year later, she began a much-hyped 36-month engagement at Caesars Palace, the famous Las Vegas hotel and casino. Dion simultaneously released the album One Heart, which did not fair as strongly as its predecessor.

Dion returned to creating French-language albums with 2003's 1 Fille & 4 Types. Partnering with photographer Anne Geddes, she had a hit with the children's music album Miracle: A Celebration of New Life (2004). In 2007, Dion released two albums. Taking Chances nearly reached the top of the pop album charts, and D'Elles was another French-language recording.

While she no longer dominates the charts as she once did, Celine Dion remains a popular entertainer. Forbes magazine reported in June 2009 that the singer earned approximately $100 million in 2008, making her the second-highest earning musician on the magazine's list, after Madonna.

In August 2014, Dion cancelled all of her shows scheduled through March 22, 2015 to focus on her 72-year-old husband, whose throat cancer returned, and her children. “I want to devote every ounce of my strength and energy to my husband’s healing, and to do so, it’s important for me to dedicate this time to him and to our children,” the singer said in a statement.

The superstar also dealt with her own health issues in 2014: according to a press release, she had "inflammation in her throat muscles" which prevented her from performing in her Las Vegas show. Dion apologized for "inconveniencing her fans" and thanked them for their support during her hiatus from performing.

In a 2015 interview with USA Today, the singer spoke about her husband's battle with cancer: "When you see someone who is fighting so hard, it has a big impact on you," she said. "You have two choices. You look at your husband who's very sick and you can't help, and it kills you. Or you look at your husband that's sick and you say, 'I got you. I got it. I'm here. It's going to be just fine."

On 3 May 2018, Dion released the single "Ashes" from the film Deadpool 2. The remix version of the song topped the US Dance Club Songs chart in July 2018. From June to August 2018, Dion toured the Asia-Pacific region and grossed $56.5 million from 22 shows. On 24 September 2018, she announced the end of her Las Vegas residency Celine, with the final date set for 8 June 2019. Dion is currently working on a new English album.

Achievements

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  Dion is regarded as one of pop music's most influential voices. Linda Lister describes Dion as a reigning Queen of Pop for her influence over the record industry during the 1990s. Her music and vocal style, alongside that of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, have been said to shape how the bulk of modern female pop vocalists sing. These three singers have been widely credited with reviving the power ballad, and in doing so reshaping the adult contemporary radio format.
  
  On a cultural level, Dion is credited for introducing francophone music to many non-francophone countries around the globe. Her albums D'eux and S'il suffisait d'aimer remain the best selling francophone albums in history, gaining unprecedented success in non-Francophone markets such as the United Kingdom, Poland, Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Japan, and New Zealand.
  
  During the 1990s, Dion achieved worldwide fame after releasing several best-selling English albums such as Falling into You (1996) and Let's Talk About Love (1997), both of which were both certified diamond in the US. She also scored a series of international number-one hits, including "The Power of Love", "Think Twice", "Because You Loved Me", "It's All Coming Back to Me Now", "My Heart Will Go On", and "I'm Your Angel".
  
  Celine Dion has won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. Billboard named her the "Queen of Adult Contemporary" for having the most number ones on the radio format for a female artist. She is the second best-selling female artist in the US during the Nielsen SoundScan era. In 2003, Dion was honoured by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for selling over 50 million albums in Europe. Dion remains the best-selling Canadian artist and one of the best-selling artists of all time with record sales of over 200 million copies worldwide.
  
  "My Heart Will Go On" was included in the list of Songs of the Century, by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2007, Dion was ranked by Forbes as the 5th richest woman in entertainment with an estimated net worth of US$250 million, though the ranking omitted non-working or retired celebrities. In August 2008, she received an honorary doctorate in music from the Université Laval in Quebec City.
  
  

Works

More photos

• music

  • La Voix Du Bon Dieu

    ( )

    1981
  • Chante Noel 1981
  • Tellement J'ai D'amour... 1982
  • Les chemins de ma maison 1983
  • Celine Dion Chants Et Contes De Noel 1983
  • Melanie 1984
  • C'est Pour Toi 1985
  • Incognito 1987
  • Dion Chante Plamondon 1991
  • D'Eux 1995
  • S'Il Suffisait D'Aimer 1998
  • 1 fille & 4 types 2003
  • D'Elles 2007
  • Sans Attendre 2012
  • Encore un soir 2016

Religion

Dion was raised in a devout and conservative Roman Catholic home. Dion still seems to adhere to her faith - for the most part, and credits God for the gift of her voice, saying: «I think God has given me something to work with, a voice, and I’m just trying to serve the lyrics and the music to get messages through».

Politics

Dion is French-Canadian and seems to be proud of her country. But she has political ties in the U.S., particularly with the Clinton family. She sang a song at Bill Clinton’s Investiture Ceremony and she donated her song, “You and I,” to the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.

Views

Dion has actively supported many charity organizations, worldwide. She has promoted the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF) since 1982, and became the foundation's National Celebrity Patron in 1993. She has an emotional attachment to the foundation; her niece Karine succumbed to the disease at the age of sixteen, in Dion's arms. In 2003, she joined a number of other celebrities, athletes, and politicians, including Josh Groban and Yolanda Adams to support "World Children's Day", a global fundraising effort sponsored by McDonald's. The effort raised money from more than 100 nations and benefited orphanages and children's health organizations. In addition, Dion has been a major supporter of the T. J. Martell Foundation, the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, and many health and educational campaigns. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Dion donated $1 million to the victims of the storm, and held a fund-raising event for the victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami, which subsequently raised more than $1 million. After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Dion donated $100,000 to China Children & Teenagers' Fund and sent a letter showing her consolation and support. Since 2004, she is involved, alongside husband René Angelil, with the Québec gay community by supporting the publication of health and HIV prevention materials in Gay Globe Magazine, owned by journalist Roger-Luc Chayer. Dion is also a member of Canadian charity Artists Against Racism. In November 2018, she launched a gender-neutral clothing line for kids, Celinununu.

Quotations: "Its the moment you think you can't that you realize you can."

"The hardest thing to find in life is balance - especially, the more success you have, the more you look to the other side of the gate."

"Never say that your life is to be a singer. You want to sing because it's a part of your life. But if you don't succeed as a singer, it doesn't mean you don't have a life and it's over."

"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."

"I've never been cool - and I don't care."

"Everything that I decide to do means something, otherwise I don't do them."

"I want to be more successful as a mother than I am in show business."

"I often buy myself presents. Sometimes I will spend $100,000 in one day in a posh boutique."

"I will perform My Heart Will Go On for the rest of my life and it will always remain a very emotional experience for me."

"I'm not going to be Rihanna. No one can be Rihanna except for Rihanna."

Personality

Dion is a remarkably uncontroversial pop star. She hasn’t gotten into drugs or drinking or partying at “the club” or hanging out with questionable characters.

Celine is a peacemaker. Arguments leave her drained. People sense Dion's desire for harmony. But she must avoid being the blank tablet for others' projections. People may underestimate her strength, but this is a mistake. Celine Dion is strong. She bends but does not break.

She has a fine sense of beauty and excellent taste. There is a grace in Celine Dion's movements, reflecting her keen sense of harmony and refinement.

Physical Characteristics: Height: 5 ft 7½ in or 171 cm.

Weight: 53 kg or 117 pounds.

Build: slim.

Hair color: dark brown.

Eye color: dark brown.

Dion is often regarded as one of pop music's most influential voices. She possesses a three-octave range, from B2 to E♭6. Dion once stated that she is a mezzo-soprano. However, attempts to adapt classical voice types to other forms of singing have been met with controversy.

Dion is often praised for her technical virtuosity. Jim Santella of The Buffalo News writes "Like an iron fist in a velvet glove, the power of Celine Dion's voice is cloaked in a silky vibrato that betrays the intensity of her vocal commitment." Jeff Miers, also of The Buffalo News, says of Dion "Her singing voice is absolutely extra-human. She hits notes in full voice, with a controlled vibrato and an incredible conception of pitch, like she's shucking an ear of corn." Stephen Holden of The New York Times states that Dion has "a good-sized arsenal of technical skills. She can deliver tricky melismas, produce expressive vocal catches and sustain long notes without the tiniest wavering of pitch. And as her duets ... have shown, she is a reliable harmony voice." In an interview with Libération, Jean-Jacques Goldman notes that she has "no problem of accuracy or tempo." According to Kent Nagano, maestro of the Munich Symphony Orchestra, Dion is "a musician who has a good ear, a refinement, and a degree of perfection that is enviable." Charles Alexander of Time states, "[Her] voice glides effortlessly from deep whispers to dead-on high notes, a sweet siren that combines force with grace."

Quotes from others about the person

• Timbaland: "Celine has such a beautiful, mesmerizing voice. She is so talented. I think we could create something that is a classic like she is already."

Interests

• She likes shopping and collecting shoes.

• Sport & Clubs

  Tennis, skiing, golf

• Music & Bands

  Aretha Franklin, Charles Aznavour, Michael Jackson, Carole King, Anne Murray, Barbra Streisand.

Connections

Celine Dion met Canadian music manager René Angelil as a teenager (in 1980) when her brother Michel Dondalinger Dion sent the music recording to René Angelil. Rene was so impressed by her voice that he decided to make her a star. He mortgaged his home to fund her first record, “La voix du bon Dieu”. The duo soon started dating in April 1987. They engaged in 1991. They married on December 17, 1994 at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec.

The couple has three children (all boys) – René-Charles Angelil (born – January 25, 2001), fraternal twins Nelson and Eddy (born – October 23, 2010).

Father:

Adhémar Dion

Mother:

Thérèse

Son:

René-Charles Angélil

Son:

Eddy Angélil

Son:

Nelson

husband:

René Angélil

colleague:

David Foster

David Walter Foster is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, songwriter, and arranger. He has been a producer for musicians including Chaka Khan, Alice Cooper, Christina Aguilera, Andrea Bocelli, Toni Braxton, Michael Bublé, Chicago, Natalie Cole, Celine Dion.

References

• Passion Celine Dion: The Book
• Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste
• Celine: Beyond the Image
• Celine Dion: For Keeps
• Celine Dion: The Complete Biography
• René Angelil: The Making of Céline Dion: The Unauthorized Biography