Celine Dion's life in photos

By Wonderwall.com Editors 8:34am PDT, Mar 27, 2020

With such a powerful voice that's stood the test of time, it's no surprise that beloved singer Celine Dion has made an indelible mark on the music industry! Since the iconic "My Heart Will Go On" singer's 52nd birthday lands on March 30, 2020, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at some of the major moments in this multi-Grammy Award-winning artist's life. Keep reading for more…

Celine Dion just couldn't keep her powerful voice to herself! The Quebec native released her first French-language album, "La Voix du Bon Dieu," in 1981 when she was just 13-years-old. She garnered the attention of manager René Angélil, who took the youngster under his wing and helped fund the release of eight more albums throughout the '80s. He reportedly mortgaged his home to get the money because he believed so deeply in her voice and music.

Celine Dion achieved tremendous success in the French-language music biz in the '80s. She won the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest and hit the road for a concert series dubbed the Incognito Tour. But her real dream was to break into the American market, so she started taking steps to learn English and revamp her image — with the help of her manager, René Angélil, in more ways than one…

It's love! Celine Dion eventually fell for her much-older manager, René Angélil, who was 26 years her senior, after many years of working so closely with him. Although she was only 12 when they met, she was over 18 when they starting dating in the late '80s. Their work relationship and deep romance only grew stronger: By 1991, Celine and René were engaged. Still, they kept their relationship super-private until getting married down the line.

In 1990, just before her engagement, Celine Dion released her first album in English, "Unison." The soft-rock-inspired tracks helped her find a place in the United States music market.

Celine Dion made her crossover into big ballads when she was featured on the "Beauty and the Beast" movie soundtrack with Peabo Bryson in 1991. The song did so well, she even put it on her self-titled 1992 album.

Grammy gold! In 1993, Celine Dion won her very first Grammy in the category of best pop vocal performance by a duo or a group for "Beauty and the Beast," her duet with Peabo Bryson. The song also scored an Academy Award for songwriters Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Although Celine was still releasing French-language records during this time, these accolades meant she'd at last achieved a measurable amount of success in America.

Celine Dion finally confessed her love for René Angélil publicly in 1993, in the lyrics of her third English-language album, "The Colour of My Love." With the cat out of the bag, she took a break from dominating two music industries to marry the love of her life. The duo tied the knot in a lavish ceremony in Montreal in January 1994 in front of a whopping 500 guests. There was no keeping that wedding under wraps!

Celine Dion kept releasing hit romance album after hit romance album in the '90s. In 1996, she put out her fourth English-language effort, "Falling Into You," which featured huge singles like "All By Myself" and "Because You Loved Me." The chart-topper earned Celine her second and third Grammys in 1997, for best pop album and album of the year.

Another Oscar! Celine Dion had released "Let's Talk About Love" in 1997, "These Are Special Times" in 1998, and three French albums in the '90s, but it was another movie soundtrack that got the most attention. In 1999, songwriters James Horner and Will Jennings won the Oscar for best original song for Celine's rendition of "My Heart Will Go On" from the acclaimed James Cameron epic, "Titanic."

In 1999, "My Heart Will Go On" also gave Celine Dion her fourth and fifth Grammys. She won record of the year and best female pop vocal performance for the iconic "Titanic" track.

The start of a new decade brought health issues for Celine Dion and her family. She took a hiatus to care for her husband René Angélil, who had been diagnosed with throat cancer. And at the same time, the Grammy winner underwent procedures to improve her fertility.

In 2001, things started to look up! With the help of in-vitro fertilization, Celine Dion gave birth to her first child, son René-Charles Angélil, on Jan. 25, 2001. Meanwhile, husband René Angélil was making a full recovery from his cancer.

She's back! Celine Dion came back onto the scene in 2002 with the release of her seventh album, "A New Day Has Come." The title was fitting considering all that she'd been through.

Celine Dion made the move to Las Vegas in 2003. Her own arena show called "A New Day…" opened at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 25, 2003. Though she had been on a slew of world tours before that, this one-city residency was incredibly successful and went on for four straight years. At the same time, she put out the album "One Heart."

In 2004, Celine Dion won the coveted Chopard Diamond Award at the World Music Awards in Las Vegas for selling more than 100 million albums during her career. To date, she's nearly tripled that number, having now sold 250 million albums worldwide. Also in 2004, she released yet another album, "Miracle."

There's no denying Celine Dion's stardom. On Jan. 6, 2004, Celine finally got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Four years, 600 shows and $400 million in ticket sales later, Celine Dion performed her final "A New Day…" show in Las Vegas on Dec. 15, 2007. What a run! She also released her tenth album, "Taking Chances."

Celine Dion just couldn't stay away from the stage. She embarked on her Taking Chances Tour in 2008, her ninth since the start of her career. The world tour, which ran from Feb. 14, 2008 to Feb. 26, 2009, reportedly grossed $279.2M, making it one of the highest-grossing tours of all time.

Despite her grueling performance schedule, Celine Dion wanted to expand her family. After enduring a new round of fertility issues — she suffered multiple miscarriages as she underwent six rounds of IVF — she welcomed twins Nelson Angélil and Eddy Angélil on Oct. 23, 2010. And just a few months later in February 2011, she signed a new contract for a three-year residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The new show would be called "Celine."

In 2013, Celine Dion released the album "Love Me Back To Life." Sadly, her husband René Angélil began battling throat cancer again. By the following year, she went on hiatus from her "Celine" show to care for him.

Though René Angélil was still recovering from a surgery related to his throat cancer, Celine Dion returned to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Aug. 27, 2015. She hadn't performed in over a year, but the show must go on…

On Jan. 14, 2016, at the age of 73, René Angélil lost his battle with cancer. He left behind wife Celine Dion and their three sons, who mourned their father at the funeral held at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal a few days later.

Tragically, on Jan. 16, 2016, just two days after husband René Angélil died following a long battle with throat cancer, Celine Dion's brother Daniel Dion passed away from cancer. He was just 59 years old.

Despite the loss of both her husband and brother barely a month earlier, Celine Dion pulled herself together to return to the Las Vegas stage and continue her residency. The resilient singer burst into tears while singing "All By Myself" during her first night back on Feb. 23, 2016.

Celine Dion accepted the ICON Award which her eldest son René-Charles (who at the time was 15-years-old) presented to her at the Billboard Music Awards on May 22, 2016. The award show, where Celine also took the stage to perform Queen's "The Show Must Go On," marked the first major event she attended since her husband René Angelil and brother Daniel passed away. She dedicated the milestone award to her late husband. "René, this one's for you. The show must go on," she tearfully said in her acceptance speech.

Celine Dion pulled out all the stops when she posed for photos on the red carpet ahead of the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 12, 2017. For her long awaited return to the Grammys, the French-Canadian singer wore a glimmering green gown by designer Zuhair Murad, which she paired with matching Gucci sandals. That night, she presented the coveted song of the year Grammy Award to Bruno Mars for "That's What I Like."

On May 1, 2017, Celine Dion attended her first-ever Met Gala! That year, the theme for the coveted annual event held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between." The "New Day" singer truly made her first Met Gala count — she wore a custom Versace gown with accessories by Bulgari. The prestigious event is what kickstarted Celine's love for daring fashion — since then, Celine's become known for her exceptional street style and wildly eccentric ensembles.

On May 24, 2017, Celine Dion performed "How Does a Moment Last Forever" during her Las Vegas Residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. The new song was created for Disney's live-action remake of "Beauty and the Beast" which hit theaters on May 17, 2017. For her performance of the song, Celine channeled Princess Belle in a stunning yellow gown.

Celine Dion is seen here with her then-six-year-old twin sons, Nelson and Eddy Angélil while out and about in Paris on July 17, 2017. In an interview with journalist Dan Wootton on "Lorraine" in January 2019, the award winning singer shared how her late husband, René Angélil, lives on in their children. "I've had wonderful moments in my whole life since I was a child, growing in this family, having wonderful parents, getting married to the greatest man in this world, knowing that he's in peace and he's resting and always within me," Celine said. "And I see him every day through the eyes of my children."

The fashion icon strikes again! At the 2019 "Camp: Notes on Fashion" Met Gala, Celine Dion proved once again that she is a fashion force to be reckoned with. The "Courage" singer wore a glistening, 22-pound Oscar de la Renta dress, an enormous, opulent feather headpiece and matching silver heels. "Everybody who was part of it put their hearts into it," she told E! News of her dazzling ensemble. "It was to make it something magical."

During the final show of her Las Vegas residency on June 8, 2019, Celine Dion was joined on stage by her three sons René-Charles, Nelson and Eddy Angélil, who brought her a bouquet of roses. Celine's long-running residency hit record-breaking numbers — after 16 years, the beloved singer had completed 1141 performances at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Since the tragic passing of her late husband René Angélil, Celine Dion has found solace in a close companion, Pepe Munoz. While news outlets were quick to speculate that the singer had a new man in her life, Celine was quick to shoot those rumors down. "At first, I felt for him quite a bit … Pepe is gay, and at first I think some people did not know that," she told Extra in April 2019. "The thing is that he's my best friend and we dance together and he did so much for me and even just holding my hand… it's something that I haven't had for a long time… A hug from a 6′ 3″ man, it was wonderful… and people really thought there was a romance going on." Like his superstar best friend, Pepe enjoys taking in the fashion forward sights at Paris Fashion Week (pictured here).

Celine Dion and James Corden? A match-made in carpool heaven. On March 22, 2019, Celine and James joined forces to record the acclaimed "Carpool Karaoke" segment for The Late Late Show with James Corden. Since she was still doing her Vegas residency at the time, James and his crew took a trip to Sin City to spend time with the "Because You Loved Me" singer. The duo jammed out to Celine Dion classics including "It's All Coming Back to Me Now," "I Drove All Night," and of course, "My Heart Will Go On," which they belted out on a boat in the Bellagio fountains!

A sartorial muse! At the Alexandre Vauthier Haute Couture Paris Fashion Week show on July 2, 2019, Celine Dion looked breathtaking. She donned an ivory, off-the-shoulder Alexandre Vauthier gown with dramatic billowing sleeves. The singer looked chic as ever in the extravagant bridal-style mini-dress!

Celine Dion kicked off her fourteenth tour on Sept. 18, 2019 at the Videotron Center in Quebec City, Canada. The Courage World Tour, her first world tour in over ten years, is in support of her latest studio album, "Courage," which debuted on Nov. 15, 2019. She's since released five singles from the album: "Imperfections," "Lying Down," "Courage," "Soul," and "Change My Mind."

On Jan. 17, 2020, Celine Dion's mother, Therese Dion, otherwise known as "Maman Dion," died at 92-years-old. The singer posted a black and white photo on her Instagram in memory of her late mother. "Maman, we love you so much… We dedicate tonight's show to you and I'll sing to you with all my heart. Love, Céline xx… .," read the emotional caption. At her Miami show, which took place the same night Therese passed away, Celine spoke of the final moments she spent with her mother. "We told stories. We sang songs. We hugged each other and we said our goodbyes. We are pretty sure that mom waited for us to be all together before departing," she shared with the audience.

A monochromatic queen. Celine Dion was photographed out and about in New York City on March 7, 2020 in this head-to-toe hot pink ensemble from designer Peter Do's Fall 2020 collection. From the pristine tailoring to the crisp pleats, this ensemble solidifies Celine as the ultimate fashionista!

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