49 Fun Facts About Celine Dion

Celine Dion was born in Charlemagne, a small town about 24 km northeast of which city?

Montreal stayed central to her life: she married at its Notre-Dame Basilica in 1994, and her husband's national funeral was held in the same church 21 years later.

As a child, Dion sang at her parents' what?

A piano bar: both her parents were musicians, and at Le Vieux Baril the youngest of their 14 children sang for the customers alongside her brothers and sisters.

Dion's signature song 'My Heart Will Go On' was the love theme of which 1997 film?

Titanic nearly had no song: its director opposed ending on a pop ballad and Dion did not want to record it, but her one-take demo won him over and is the version heard in the film.

Dion won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1988 representing which country?

Switzerland chose her at its national final, and she won by a single point: the United Kingdom led until the last jury to vote gave its song nothing.

Which man discovered Dion, became her manager and later her husband?

René Angélil was 26 years her senior, and the couple kept their romance private for five years before she announced it in 1993.

Dion's breakthrough duet, the title song of a 1991 Disney film, was recorded with which singer?

Peabo Bryson was added because Disney doubted that Dion, then little known in America, could carry the single alone; the duet won a Grammy and made her name there.

Dion's Las Vegas residency A New Day... was staged at which casino resort?

Caesars Palace built the Colosseum, a theatre modelled on Rome's arena, specially for her show, which then ran there from March 2003 to December 2007.

Franco Dragone, director of Dion's A New Day..., made his name with which company?

Cirque du Soleil staged Dragone's water show O in Las Vegas; Dion saw it during her career break and had him build her residency around dancers and stage effects.

Dion's 1990 album Unison was her first in which language?

English was a language she was still learning: she took Berlitz courses in 1989, and Unison's single 'Where Does My Heart Beat Now' then reached No. 4 in the United States.

Which 1996 Dion album won the Grammy for Album of the Year?

Falling into You won Album of the Year and Best Pop Album in 1997; it also carries new versions of three songs from her French album D'eux.

Dion's 1995 album D'eux, the best-selling French-language album ever, was mostly written and produced by whom?

Jean-Jacques Goldman wrote and produced all but one of its songs, and he had Dion sing them more simply, with fewer of her usual vocal flourishes.

'The Power of Love', Dion's first US No. 1 single, was a remake of a 1985 hit by which singer?

Jennifer Rush's original was Britain's best-selling single of 1985 yet stalled at No. 57 in America, where Dion's cover spent four weeks at No. 1 in 1994.

At which Summer Olympics opening ceremony did Dion perform 'The Power of the Dream'?

Atlanta 1996 had the song written for its ceremony by David Foster, Linda Thompson and Babyface, and Dion sang it to a television audience put at 3.5 billion.

Which song did Dion perform from the Eiffel Tower to close the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony?

Hymne à l'amour was written by Édith Piaf for her lover, the boxer Marcel Cerdan, who died in a 1949 plane crash; singing it was Dion's first public performance in four years.

In December 2022 Dion announced she had been diagnosed with which rare neurological disease?

Stiff-person syndrome, a rare disorder, thought to be autoimmune, that locks the muscles in stiffness and painful spasms, forced her to cancel the rest of her world tour in 2023.

Who helped the 12-year-old Dion write her first song?

Her mother, Thérèse, helped write 'Ce n'était qu'un rêve' ('It Was Only a Dream'); the family's demo tape of it reached her future manager and launched her career.

Dion's first name, Céline, was taken from what?

A French pop song: Hugues Aufray had a hit with 'Céline' in 1966, and the music-loving Dion family gave the name to their youngest child two years later.

Dion sang 'Because You Loved Me', written by Diane Warren, as the theme to which 1996 film?

Up Close & Personal, a 1996 Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer drama, closes on the ballad; Diane Warren wrote it as a thank-you to her father for believing in her music.

Which rock singer wanted 'It's All Coming Back to Me Now' for himself years before Dion's 1996 hit version?

Meat Loaf called it 'my song', but its writer Jim Steinman held it back and Dion took it to No. 2 in the US; he finally released his own version, a duet, in 2006.

Dion recorded 'I'm Your Angel', her fourth US No. 1, as a duet with which R&B singer?

R. Kelly wrote and produced the duet, a six-week US No. 1 from her 1998 Christmas album; after the abuse cases against him, Dion had it pulled from her own releases.

'The Prayer', Dion's duet with Andrea Bocelli, was written for which 1998 animated film?

Quest for Camelot used two solo versions, Dion's in English and Bocelli's in Italian; the famous duet was recorded afterwards for their own albums, and the song won a Golden Globe.

Which Italian tenor duetted with Dion on 'I Hate You Then I Love You' from Let's Talk About Love?

Luciano Pavarotti joined her on a reworking of Mina's 1972 Italian hit 'Grande, grande, grande', and the pair sang it at his Pavarotti & Friends charity concert in 1998.

Dion's 1992 hit 'If You Asked Me To' was a cover of a Patti LaBelle song from which James Bond film?

Licence to Kill (1989) played Patti LaBelle's original over its end credits, but the single stalled at No. 79 in the US; three years later Dion's cover of the Diane Warren song reached No. 4.

Dion's wedding on 17 December 1994 was broadcast live where?

Canadian television carried the ceremony live from Notre-Dame Basilica; she had revealed the romance a year earlier in the liner-note dedication of The Colour of My Love.

Which single from The Colour of My Love spent seven weeks at No. 1 in the UK?

'Think Twice' took more than three months to climb the British chart before its seven weeks at No. 1, yet in the United States it stalled at No. 95.

Whose 2015 album broke the Canadian first-week sales record Dion set in 1997?

Adele's 25, which she kept off streaming services at launch, sold 306,000 copies in its first week in Canada, passing a mark Dion's Let's Talk About Love had held for 18 years.

Dion's 2003 album One Heart was tied to an endorsement deal with which car maker?

Chrysler signed Dion to a three-year endorsement deal in 2002 tied to its 'Drive & Love' campaign; One Heart's lead single fronted the ads, and critics accused her of catering to sponsors.

Dion's 2004 album Miracle was a joint project with which photographer?

Anne Geddes, the Australian known for her baby portraits, supplied a book of photographs, and Dion's lullabies and covers were recorded as its soundtrack, sold together as one set.

Dion gave a free outdoor concert for the 400th anniversary of Quebec City in 2008 at which historic site?

The Plains of Abraham, the 1759 battlefield where France lost Quebec, drew some 250,000 people to her free show, which she sang entirely in French.

Dion appeared more than 25 times, more often than any other singer, on which US talk show?

The Oprah Winfrey Show had her back in February 2011, during its final season, to announce her return to Las Vegas; the residency's opening night then sold out within minutes.

Which singer wrote 'Recovering' for Dion after her husband's death in January 2016?

Pink wrote 'Recovering' for Dion after she lost her husband to throat cancer and, two days later, her brother Daniel to cancer as well.

Dion's 2018 single 'Ashes' was recorded for which superhero film?

Deadpool 2 plays 'Ashes' over its James Bond-style opening credits; in the video a dancer dressed as Deadpool performs around her in high heels while she sings.

Which 2019 album gave Dion her first US No. 1 album in 17 years?

Courage, made after her husband's death, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1, then fell to No. 111 a week later.

Dion made her feature-film acting debut in 2023, playing herself, in which movie?

Love Again has Dion play herself, advising a journalist sent to profile her after his new work phone starts receiving the texts a grieving woman sends to her late fiancé's old number.

Which 2024 documentary follows Dion's life with a rare neurological illness?

I Am: Celine Dion, directed by Irene Taylor, follows her as she faces the illness that stopped her performing; it reached Prime Video on 25 June 2024, a month before she sang at the Paris Olympics.

Dion's 1997 duet 'Tell Him' paired her with which American star?

Barbra Streisand proposed the duet after Dion stepped in at the 1997 Oscars to sing Streisand's own nominated song; 'Tell Him' became the lead single of both singers' next albums.

Which standard did Dion record with Clive Griffin for the 1993 film Sleepless in Seattle?

'When I Fall in Love', the Victor Young and Edward Heyman standard, plays over the end credits of Sleepless in Seattle; the Dion-Griffin duet, produced by David Foster, also appeared on The Colour of My Love.

Which Saturday Night Live cast member played Dion as the host of a recurring mock variety show?

Ana Gasteyer played her in the 'Celine Dion Show' sketches and could really sing: she later starred as Elphaba in the musical Wicked, in Chicago and on Broadway.

Which 2021 French film by Valerie Lemercier is a fictionalised biopic inspired by Dion's life?

Aline has its director, Valérie Lemercier, play the singer 'Aline Dieu' at every age from childhood on, her body digitally shrunk for the early scenes; the role won her the César for Best Actress.

Dion's 1999 compilation included a virtual duet with Frank Sinatra on which song?

'All the Way' set her new vocal against a recording Sinatra had made decades earlier; he introduced the song in the 1957 film The Joker Is Wild, where it won the Oscar for best song.

Dion's twin sons, born in 2010, are Nelson and who?

Eddy and Nelson were born on 23 October 2010 after IVF; Nelson honours Nelson Mandela and Eddy honours Eddy Marnay, the French producer of her first albums.

In which city did the teenage Dion win a 1982 gold medal for 'Tellement j'ai d'amour pour toi'?

Tokyo's Yamaha World Popular Song Festival gave her a gold medal and the musicians' prize, and her fame began to spread beyond Quebec: she soon had a gold record in France.

What did doctors prescribe when Dion lost her voice on tour?

Three weeks of silence let her voice recover; afterwards she worked with a coach and kept to a strict routine to protect it.

With which three sports stars did Dion co-own the Las Vegas nightclub Pure?

Agassi, Graf and Shaquille O'Neal were her partners in Pure, which opened in 2004 as Las Vegas resorts raced to build giant clubs; it ran for ten years before being rebuilt under a new name.

Which diner-style restaurant chain did Dion co-found in Quebec in 1990?

Nickels began as a family diner opened by Dion and four friends; she had sold her interest by 1997, but the chain kept spreading across Quebec and Ontario.

Which former French president presented Dion with the Legion of Honour in 2008?

Nicolas Sarkozy made her a Knight of the Legion of Honour at the Elysee Palace in May 2008; in 2013 she became a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Where was Dion's first son born on 25 January 2001?

Florida: he was born in a Palm Beach hospital after fertility treatment at a New York clinic, and at 14 he delivered the eulogy at his father's funeral.

Which Cyndi Lauper hit did Dion cover to launch her 2003 car-maker advertising campaign?

'I Drove All Night', written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and a 1989 hit for Lauper, opened One Heart and fronted the 'Drive & Love' commercials; Roy Orbison had recorded it first.

Which patriotic song did Dion sing at the 2001 telethon America: A Tribute to Heroes?

'God Bless America' was recorded the day before the telethon in case she could not appear live; that take became the title track of a benefit album that debuted at No. 1.