Anecdotes

November 30, 2003: She performed the same night her father died and dedicated the show to him.

Soon after giving birth to her twin sons Eddy and Nelson, she admitted she initially expected triplets, but one of the babies has died.

Husband mortgaged his house to fund Celine's first album when she was an unknown 12-year-old.

She sings frequently in English and French, but she has also sung in Spanish, German and Japanese.

She is three months younger than her stepson Patrick Angélil.

Because of her "sharp-looking" smile, Celine was known as "Vampire Queen" in high school.

Her niece Karine died of Cystic Fibrosis in her arms.

Born to Adhémar Dion (1923 - 2003) and his wife Marie-Thérèse Tanguay (March 20, 1927, Gaspésie region Québec - January 16, 2020, Québec, Canada), she is the youngest of 14 children. Her mother had a TV cooking show called Maman Dion.

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 first met her manager and future husband René Angélil when she was age 12 and he was age 38.

Returned to work 5 months after giving birth to her twins, Nelson & Eddy in order to begin performing in the United States tour, Céline.

Named her fraternal twin sons "Nelson" and "Eddy", in honor of Nelson Mandela and Eddy Marnay, respectively.

Her parents were both of French-Canadian ancestry. She and Madonna share the same French-Canadian heritage through a common ancestor, Zacharie Cloutier (c. 1590-1677).

Won the Eurovision Song Contest Dublin 1988 (1988) for Switzerland with the song "Ne Partez pas sans Moi" which was written by Atilla Sereftug (music) and Nella Martinetti (lyrics).

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").

Brother Daniel (59) died of cancer 16 January 2016, two days after the death of her beloved husband René.

Her mother, Thérèse Tanguay Dion (better known as "maman Dion" in Québec), is famous for her culinary talents.

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.

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 television performances.

She was awarded a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario in 1999.

January 5, 2000: Renewed wedding vows with husband René Angélil at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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".

Céline 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.

February 23, 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 over 500 pairs of shoes.

Started a restaurant chain in Québec called "Nickels" (1990), later on introduced in Ontario.

Recorded a duet with Barbra Streisand titled "Tell Him".

Sister of: Denise, Clément, Claudette, Liette, Michel, Louise, Jacques, Daniel, Ghislaine, Linda, Manon, Paul and Pauline.

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).

Her performance residency (March 2011-June 2019) at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, is the most profitable act since Elvis Presley. Initially she was only contracted for three months, but due to the success of the shows, she spent all that extra time there where she and her family have lived since 2002.

Many consider her 1987 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), when Jay Leno filled in for Johnny Carson, and her black-and-white video remix of Michael Jackson's song "Bad" her best early English-speaking performances.

She was awarded the CC (Companion of the Order of Canada) by the Governor General of Canada on October 23, 2008 and Invested on July 26, 2013 from the Canadian Governor General. She lives in Laval, Quebec, Canada. This is a promotion within the order.

Originally recorded her rendition of Dreams to Dream for An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, but it was reject by Steven Spielberg. She would later record Beauty and the Beast with Peabo Bryson, coincidentally both films were release on the same day.

The first record album Céline ever bought was Stevie Wonder's album "Talking Book" (1972).

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.

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.

She has her own magazine, Celine Dion Magazine.

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 May 1, she became an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Her sister Linda lives with her, her husband René Angélil and son René-Charles Angélil (2007).

2006: Estimated to have sold 220 million albums during her career to date.

Born at 12:15 PM (EST).

She has homes in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Laval and Terrebonne, (located in the Province of Quebec), Canada.

Has promoted the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation since 1982, whose National Celebrity Patron she became in 1993.

Building a home in Las Vegas, Nevada, where in March 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.

Has her own brand of perfume called "Celine Dion: Parfum".

In 2007, Forbes magazine estimated her earnings at $45 million for the year.

Was in talks to star alongside Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Just married (ou presque) (1999).

She owns the golf club Le Mirage in Terrebonne near Montreal.

She endorses a line of eyewear sold in Canada and Europe.

She was awarded the O.C. (Officer of the Order of Canada) on January 6, 1998 and Invested on May 01,1998 from the Canadian Governor General. She lives in Laval, Quebec, Canada.