Céline Dion

A Star Was Born

Mar 30, 1968

Céline was born in Quebec, Canada (Charlemagne). She was named after a song called "Dis-moi Céline" by Hugues Afray.
She was the youngest of 14 children, to Adhémar Dion and Thérèse Tanguay. They were a close-knitted musical family, and they even formed a singing group "Dion's Family" and toured around Canada. Then they opened a piano bar, "Le Vieux Baril" and Céline performed at it when she was 5 years old. She and Madonna share the same French-Canadian heritage through Zacharie Cloutier.

First Song

Jan 7, 1981

At age 12, Dion composed her first song, "Ce n'était qu'un rêve" ("It Was Only a Dream") with her mother and brother. The record was sent to René Angélil. In 1981, he mortgaged his home to fund her first record, La voix du bon Dieu ("The Voice of the Good God") which later became number-one hit in Quebec.

First Canadian artist to recieve a gold record in France

Nov 15, 1983

The gold record was for the single, "D'amour ou d'amitié" ("Of Love or of Friendship"), Dion had also won several Félix Awards, including "Best Female performer" and "Discovery of the Year". At the age 18, she had recorded 9 French albums. She said she wanted to be an artist like Michael Jackson; so she was sent to the École Berlitz in 1989 to polish her English. She learned English in 3 months!

English Artist

Mar 26, 1990

Unison was her first English album and it sold over a million copies. The top single was "Where Does My Heart Beat Now." Her 2nd "Celine Dion" was her first gold record in U.S. and it sold over 12 million copies. The number one hit was, "If you asked me to." In this albumn, she sang a song which was written by Prince, " With This Fear." In her career, she say sang in Spanish, Japanese and German.

Beauty and the Beast

Jun 10, 1991

She was a soloist at the tribute to American soldiers fighting in Operation Desert Store; "Voices That Care." Then she performed the Beauty and the Beast theme song with Peabo Bryson; which won a Best Song Award, Academy Award and Grammy Award. While she was rising fame in the U.S., her french fans in Canada thought she was neglecting them. She also won "English Artist of the Year", but refused to accept it because she said that she was and always would be a French artist, not English.

"the colour of [her] love"

Dec 17, 1994

Rene Angélil is her manager. They are 26 years apart! They were engaged in 1991 and they then got married in Montreal, at the Notre Dame Basilica.

"Let's Talk About Love"

Feb 14, 1997

The song "My heart will go on" was on the Titanic and won best song in the Oscar Awards. "My Heart Will Go On” was the second Celine Dion song to win an Oscar for Best Original Song. A year later in 1998, she recieved the National Order of Quebec, which is the province's highest honor.

AN ACTUAL STAR

Sep 17, 1999

Her star was placed on Canada's walk of fame in Toronto. She recieved the star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2004.

Starting a Family

Jan 25, 2001

Their son René-Charles Dion Angélil was born! They all moved to Las Vegas in 2002, for her five-year show at Caesars Palace, making 400 million dollars. In 2010, she then gave birth to Eddy and Nelson, twin boys. For both pregnacies, she did fertility treatments.

Celine Dion Parfums

Sep 3, 2011

She signed a deal with Coty, Inc. in 2003. Her latest fragrance is Signature. Celine Dion Parfums has grossed over $850 million in retail sales. She also has her own magazine! She started and then sold a successful restaurant franchi. She loves shoes and golf. 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. When was little, she she would dress up and pose for the camera.

Benefit Concert

Oct 1, 2012

Céline joins other singers at the Metapolis in Montreal for a benefic concert. This was done in memory of the lighting technician, Denis Blanchette, who was killed in Quebec on election night. She received France's highest award, the Légion d'honneur, in May 2008. In October 2010, Dion was named a Goodwill Ambassador.

Why?

Oct 3, 2012

She is important because her music has influenced other artists, and her talent has garnered her countless awards and recognitions in the industry. Dion is also a clever businesswoman, who branched out to market her name. She promotes the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation since 1982. She is also part of foundations to help children all over the world and she raised millions of dollars for disasters like hurricanes. She isn't just a great singer, but she has a big heart too.