Celine Dion

Celine Dion is a French-Canadian singer born on March 30, 1968 in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada, in a large family of music savvy members. Celine was the youngest of 14 kids in the family. She did not speak English until 1987 when she learned in order to sing bilingually. Dion's father was a retired piano bar owner. He played accordion and Celine's mom played the violin. The entire family performed and entertained the local population on weekends. Dion started singing from the tender age of 5, with her siblings and quickly attained the expertise to perform live.

Celine composed a French song at the mere age of twelve together with her mother and one of her brothers, which changed the course of her life. The tape containing the song came into the knowledge of René Angelil, a well respected personal manager. In January 1981, René was so impressed by Celine's voice that he became determined to make her an internationally known talent - he even mortgaged his house to finance the recording of Celine's debut album! Concentrating on her music career, she could not finish high school and live a usual teenage life. But she was able to buy her folks a lakefront home outside of Montreal at the age of only 18.