Céline’s life has always been extremely busy and full of adventures, both good and bad. During the ‘90s the singer was at the absolute peak of her career. She released a total of 13 albums, which is an incredible amount in contrast to any other singer, while also touring the country and filling stadiums consistently. Her life received a major sudden blow when she found out that her husband, René Angélil, a music producer and talent manager, was diagnosed with throat cancer. This was one of many health challenges that he faced during his life, including a heart attack just a few years prior to his cancer diagnosis. This sudden challenge prompted the popular singer to take a step back from her career and help her husband get better. While she was on a hiatus, tabloids and magazines kept inquiring and making rumors about the singer due to her being at the height of her popularity at the time.
Céline’s sudden departure left a hole and some disingenuous media companies were perfectly willing to capitalize on it. In the year 2000, Céline found out that the National Enquirer published a fake story about herself and René who had just recovered from throat cancer. The magazine intentionally misquoted her and printed a headline saying “Céline — ‘I’m Pregnant With Twins!'”. This prompted her to sue the magazine for more than $20 million in damages. The editors of the magazine printed a full apology and complete retraction of the story, as-well-as donating money to the American Cancer Society in honor of her husband’s illness. She later dropped the lawsuit.
Céline Dion’s Royal Dress
Céline Dion's wedding dress was hand made by Mirella and Steve Gentile and reportedly took more than 1,000 hours to make. This wedding dress is considered by many to be one of the best looking wedding dresses of all time. It had a twenty-foot train and was decorated with a seven-pound tiara made of over 2,000 Austrian crystals.
It's reported that the dress cost anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 to make. Many people have criticized the wedding dress as being too extravagant, especially when considering the singer's more modest personality and style of singing.
She Was a Natural Business Leader and Entrepenéur
Outside of her extremely successful business career, Céline Dion had one of the most successful business careers of any singer in the world, second only to titans like Jay Z and Dr. Dre. She had various business dealings throughout her career, including owning an artist management company, a restaurant food chain named Nickels, a golf club called the Le Mirage, a restaurant named Schwartz' in Quebec, and much more. She even opened a popular nightclub called Pure in association with Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, and the legendary NBA player Shaquille O'Neal.
Her line of perfumes, simply called Céline Dion Perfume, grossed over $850 million to date. As you can clearly see by these examples, she was not a woman to take lightly, as her business acumen helped her secure a net worth of over $700 million by the age of 50. Although many of her fans know her as the charismatic and passionate singer that she is, there's a seriously cool side to her that is probably only seen behind closed doors by people in suits and briefcases. Can we just say that Céline pulls off an incredibly alluring look when she’s in a suit?
Céline Received Numerous Awards and Recognitions Throughout Her Career
One of the most amazing things about Céline Dion was that her success stretched way beyond just singing. She has received numerous awards for her performance and albums, from winning the Eurovision Song Contest to earning several Grammy Awards. Her impressive list of awards that were not related to singing included receiving two of the highest honors that a Canadian can get, the first being an Officer of the Order of Canada for Outstanding Contribution to the World of Contemporary Music" and the second being "Officer of the National Order of Quebec". She said multiple times that these were some of the highlights of her personal and professional life.
This young girl who came from a poor family of 14 children, also managed to get herself a spot in the Hollywood and Canadian walks of fame, which you can visit next time you’re in either place. Another one of her proudest achievements was an honorary doctorate from Laval University. This was her way of proving to herself that she’s not just a fantastic singer and a great businessman, but also an educated and intelligent woman that she always wanted to be regarded as. All of this happened despite her never even graduating from high-school, which just goes to show you that anything is possible, but more on that later…
René’s Biggest Gamble Was on Céline Dion
René was an avid poker player and even played in the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions. He had spent a lot of his life in various forms of gambling, to the point of allegedly gambling up to $1 million on a weekly basis at Caesars Palace and the Bellagio. These events happened later in the talent manager's life, although he had the mindset of a risk taker a long time before that. When René saw Céline perform during her audition, he decided to take the ultimate gamble with her and risk all of his financial assets to help fund her journey to stardom.
In 1981, René made the decision to mortgage his house so that he could provide enough funding for Dion’s first record, La Voix Du Bon Dieu. This risk could have completely wiped him out if it had failed for any reason, but it turns out that it was the best financial move of his entire career. The song became a number one hit in Canada and propelled the singer to national fame. This was the first step of many that would turn her into one of the most popular and successful female singers of all time. Although René was always a gambler in casinos and business, there’s no doubt that his biggest gamble (and biggest reward) was Céline Dion.