Celine Dion: 5 things you may not know
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Although superstar Celine Dion has ended her Las Vegas residency, the 51-year-old Grammy-winning singer shows no signs of slowing down. The singer is set to release her 27th album, “Courage,” in November and also embark on a world tour in September.
Here’s what you might not know about the “My Heart Will Go On” singer:
She started out singing in French
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Celine Dion was born in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada. When she was younger, the singer's French albums earned her notoriety in Canada, and she became known as La P'tite Quebecoise (the little girl of Quebec). The French-Canadian singer has recorded numerous French albums.
She has 13 siblings
Dion is the youngest of 14 children. When she was just a baby, her family formed a singing group called Dion's Family and toured Canada. Dion began singing with her musically inclined family when she was just 5 years old. With a modest upbringing and a house full of kids, the singer’s mom lay her littlest child to sleep in a drawer.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
She met her husband when she was 12 years old
Dion met her late husband and "love of her life," Rene Angelil, when she was just 12 years old. Dion and her mother sent a demo tape of a song to Angelil and after hearing the tape, he decided to sign her immediately. Angelil became Dion’s manager and molded her into one of the world’s most successful singers ever.
In 1988, when a romance developed between Dion and Angelil, the pair decided to keep the relationship a secret because of their 26-year age difference. The pair married in 1994 at Montreal’s Notre Dame Basilica in front of 500 guests in an elaborate ceremony that cost more than $500,000. Angelil died in 2016 at the age of 73 after a long battle with throat cancer.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Struggled with infertility
The singer struggled with infertility. Dion revealed that she underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) to eventually get pregnant with her children, Rene-Charles and twins Nelson and Eddy, at age 42. The singer had to endure six rounds of IVF before she was pregnant with her miracle twins in 2010.
Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas was built exclusively for Celine Dion
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas was built exclusively for Celine Dion. The singer began her Sin City residency in 2003 at Caesars Palace, performing 1,141 shows over 16 years. Dion originally signed on for 200 shows per year for three years and industry entertainment observers thought that was too much.
“I’m both proud and humbled by what we’ve accomplished at the Colosseum since we began 16 years ago when René and I first shared this dream,” she told the audience during her final show at the Colosseum. “This entire experience has been a huge part of my show business career, one that I will cherish forever.”