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Celine Dion Is ‘Holding Out Hope’ for Stiff-Person Syndrome Recovery and to ‘Perform Again’
It’s been one year since Céline Dion announced she’d been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, a rare and incurable neurological condition that causes severe muscle spasms and stiffening in the limbs. Since first postponing her long-awaited world tour, the 55-year-old has experienced many emotional ups and downs. In May, she revealed she would cancel the tour’s 2024 dates, then in late December, her sister Claudette told media outlets that the five-time Grammy-winning singer’s legendary voice had been affected by the degenerative disease, telling a news outlet Céline no longer “has control over her muscles” — including her vocal cords. Yet a month earlier, the Canadian songstress had appeared to be in great spirits while attending a hockey game with her three sons in Las Vegas, giving fans hope for her return.
“Despite all the challenges she’s facing, Céline has a glass half-full attitude,” a source exclusively tells Life & Style. “She’s always managed to remain optimistic during the toughest of times.”
Over the course of her legendary career, Céline has entertained millions, and her story is one of unlikely success — a child whose God-given talent propelled her from poverty to untold riches. Along the way, she met her own Prince Charming, albeit an unconventional one, in her much older manager. She’s also faced heartbreak and loss. But as her health declines, in the words of one of her most beloved songs, she promises her heart will go on.
EARLY STRUGGLES
Céline is no stranger to adversity. The youngest of 14 children, she grew up poor outside Montreal, in Québec, and slept in a dresser drawer because her parents couldn’t afford a crib. Awkward and gangly as a teen, she was bullied over her thin frame and crooked teeth. “I never wanted to leave my parents’ house,” she’s said. “Kids are very cruel. I didn’t feel secure. I didn’t feel like I fit in.”
Music gave her solace — and a way out of poverty. At age 12, the “All by Myself ” singer met future manager and husband René Angélil after her brother sent the music exec a demo tape. René immediately saw her talent. “When I was 12 years old I finally got to the stage,” she recalled. “Then I was on TV and my career took off and that made me realize that everything is not about looking good.” (Nonetheless, once she amassed her fortune, she spent a good deal of it on her vast collection of designer duds!)
Their professional relationship turned personal, despite their 26-year age gap. “René discovered her, believed in her, mentored her and championed her,” the source explains to Life & Style. “He encouraged her to reach for the stars.” They tied the knot in 1994 and went on to have three children (René-Charles, 22, and twins Nelson and Eddy, 13).
RISE TO FAME
Her career took off after she won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1988 — oddly, the French-speaking Canadian sang for Switzerland in the international competition. “They gave me a lot of chocolate,” she joked. In 1992 she won both an Oscar and a Grammy for her “Beauty and the Beast” duet with Peabo Bryson. Success came with new pressures and the glare of the spotlight.
In 1997, rumors of a feud with fellow singing icon Barbra Streisand came to a head when the Funny Girl star skipped Céline’s performance of Barbra’s “I Finally Found Someone” at the Academy Awards. (Barbra said she was in the restroom when Céline took the stage.) Céline remained gracious about her hero: “Maybe she didn’t feel good, maybe her bladder was full … I don’t know,”she said in a 2019 interview on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. She says she tries to learn from setbacks, musing, “Mistakes sometimes are priceless.” (The pair recorded their duet “Tell Him” together later that year.)
She became unstoppable with her 1997 megahit, “My Heart Will Go On” from the Titanic soundtrack, which sold more than 18 million copies worldwide and spent 16 weeks at No. 1. In 2003, she kicked off her first Las Vegas residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, going on to play 1,141 shows over 16 years — her two Vegas residencies are the highest-grossing of all time, raking in an estimated $681 million.
“When Céline reflects on her career, it really amazes her how much she’s managed to achieve,” the insider tells Life & Style.
HEARTACHE & LOSS
She had her share of personal turmoil before her stiff person diagnosis, including the 1993 death of her 16-year-old niece from complications of cystic fibrosis. “I had her in my arms,” Céline recalled of the tragedy. “I started to sing softly in her ear.”
She lost her father in 2003 and struggled with infertility during her marriage, suffering at least one miscarriage. But her world was rocked when René’s throat cancer, first diagnosed in 1998, returned in 2015.
His 2016 death, at age 73, was a devastating blow. “It goes without saying, Céline misses René enormously, there’s not a day goes by she doesn’t think about him and what a beautiful person he was,” the source admits to Life & Style, adding that the singer “goes out of her way” to keep her husband’s memory alive. The two had moved to Las Vegas with their family when she started her residency so they could spend more together; she still lives in the $5 million mansion she purchased there in 2003. “One of Céline’s fondest memories is when the family relocated to Vegas, it was such an exciting adventure they all embarked on together,” reveals the source. “She’ll always cherish those special times.”
Her own diagnosis has been another source of heartache. The insider tells Life & Style: “Everyone’s rallying round Céline. Her kids are front and center, helping with whatever she needs and spending time with her to keep her spirits up.” A source previously told Life & Style the Grammy winner’s sister Linda had moved in to help. “Some days are harder than others,” says the source, “but Céline’s being extremely positive.” She’s in constant contact with her doctors and is staying active and doing physical therapy. “Céline isn’t sitting around moping, that will never be her style,” says the source. “She’s holding out hope that she’ll recover and even perform again. Her resilience is remarkable.”
FULL OF GRACE
“Céline looks back at her life with so much gratitude and pride,” says an insider.
