Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born March 30, 1968, in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada), a recipient of the Order of Canada and the National Order of Quebec, is a pop singer, songwriter, and actress, often referred to as the “Queen of Pop.” She was born into a large family with modest financial means. Dion first rose to fame in the French-speaking world after René Angélil—who would later become her husband—mortgaged his home to finance her first album. In 1990, she released Unison, the record that brought her popularity in North America and other English-speaking countries.
Céline Dion gained international recognition in the 1980s after winning the Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the Eurovision Song Contest. She went on to release several French-language albums and signed with Sony Records in 1986. During the 1990s, she achieved worldwide success with a series of hit albums in both English and French, becoming one of the best-selling recording artists in history. In 1999, Dion decided to take a break from the music industry to spend more time with her family after her husband was diagnosed with cancer. She returned to the spotlight in 2002, signing a three-year contract (later extended to nearly five years) to perform five shows a week at Caesar’s Palace, one of Las Vegas’s most famous hotels.
Dion’s music has been influenced by a wide range of genres, from rock and R&B to gospel and classical music. Although her releases have received mixed critical reviews, she is especially known for her powerful vocal abilities. In 2004, after selling over 175 million albums, she received the Chopard Diamond Award at the World Music Awards for being the best-selling female artist of all time. In April 2007, Sony BMG announced that Dion’s total record sales had surpassed 200 million copies; by March 2018, international media reported that her sales had exceeded 250 million worldwide.
