Dion, Céline, << dee OHN, SAY leen >> (1968-…), is a French-Canadian singing star. Dion first gained recognition in Canada. She spoke and performed only in French until she learned English in 1989. Dion’s English-language recordings have made her one of the world’s most popular singers. She has won a number of awards for her music.
Céline Marie Claudette Dion was born on March 30, 1968, in Charlemagne, Quebec, near Repentigny. When Céline was a child, her entire family performed in a piano bar owned by her parents, who were both musicians. Dion made her first recording at the age of 12. As a teenager, she recorded a series of albums directed toward French-Canadian audiences.
Dion made her English-language debut with the album Unison (1990). Her breakthrough came in 1991 when she recorded the title song to the animated motion picture Beauty and the Beast. The song, a duet with the American singer Peabo Bryson, became a number-one single record in the United States. Dion made two more hit recordings of theme songs from motion pictures. These songs were “When I Fall in Love” from Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic (1997).
Dion’s other popular songs include “Love Can Move Mountains,” “Water from the Moon,” “If You Asked Me To,” and “Did You Give Enough Love” from the album Celine Dion (1992); and “Because You Loved Me” from Falling into You (1996). Falling into You reached number one on Billboard magazine’s “Billboard 200” music chart. Her other number-one albums include Let’s Talk About Love (1997), A New Day Has Come (2002), and Courage (2019). Dion starred in her own stage show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from 2003 to 2007 and from 2011 to 2019.
