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It\u2019s been one year since C\u00e9line Dion<\/strong><\/a> announced she\u2019d been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome<\/a>, 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\u2019s 2024 dates, then in late December, her sister Claudette<\/strong> told media outlets that the five-time Grammy-winning singer\u2019s legendary voice had been affected by the degenerative disease, telling a news outlet C\u00e9line no longer \u201chas control over her muscles\u201d<\/a> \u2014 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.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite all the challenges she\u2019s facing, C\u00e9line has a glass half-full attitude,\u201d a source exclusively tells Life & Style<\/em>. \u201cShe\u2019s always managed to remain optimistic during the toughest of times.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the course of her legendary career, C\u00e9line has entertained millions, and her story is one of unlikely success \u2014 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n EARLY STRUGGLES<\/strong><\/p>\n C\u00e9line is no stranger to adversity. The youngest of 14 children, she grew up poor outside Montreal, in Qu\u00e9bec, and slept in a dresser drawer because her parents couldn\u2019t afford a crib. Awkward and gangly as a teen, she was bullied over her thin frame and crooked teeth. \u201cI never wanted to leave my parents\u2019 house,\u201d she\u2019s said. \u201cKids are very cruel. I didn\u2019t feel secure. I didn\u2019t feel like I fit in.\u201d<\/p>\n Music gave her solace \u2014 and a way out of poverty. At age 12, the \u201cAll by Myself \u201d singer met future manager and husband Ren\u00e9 Ang\u00e9lil after her brother sent the music exec a demo tape. Ren\u00e9 immediately saw her talent. \u201cWhen I was 12 years old I finally got to the stage,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThen I was on TV and my career took off and that made me realize that everything is not about looking good.\u201d (Nonetheless, once she amassed her fortune, she spent a good deal of it on her vast collection of designer duds!) RISE TO FAME<\/strong><\/p>\n Her career took off after she won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1988 \u2014 oddly, the French-speaking Canadian sang for Switzerland in the international competition. \u201cThey gave me a lot of chocolate,\u201d she joked. In 1992 she won both an Oscar and a Grammy for her \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d duet with Peabo Bryson<\/strong>. Success came with new pressures and the glare of the spotlight.<\/p>\n In 1997, rumors of a feud with fellow singing icon Barbra Streisand<\/strong> came to a head when the Funny Girl<\/em> star skipped C\u00e9line\u2019s performance of Barbra\u2019s \u201cI Finally Found Someone\u201d at the Academy Awards. (Barbra said she was in the restroom when C\u00e9line took the stage.) C\u00e9line remained gracious about her hero: \u201cMaybe she didn\u2019t feel good, maybe her bladder was full \u2026 I don\u2019t know,\u201dshe said in a 2019 interview on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen<\/em>. She says she tries to learn from setbacks, musing, \u201cMistakes sometimes are priceless.\u201d (The pair recorded their duet \u201cTell Him\u201d together later that year.)<\/p>\n She became unstoppable with her 1997 megahit, \u201cMy Heart Will Go On\u201d from the Titanic<\/em> 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 \u2014 her two Vegas residencies are the highest-grossing of all time, raking in an estimated $681 million.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen C\u00e9line reflects on her career, it really amazes her how much she\u2019s managed to achieve,\u201d the insider tells Life & Style<\/em>.<\/p>\n HEARTACHE & LOSS<\/strong><\/p>\n 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. \u201cI had her in my arms,\u201d C\u00e9line recalled of the tragedy. \u201cI started to sing softly in her ear.\u201d<\/p>\n She lost her father in 2003 and struggled with infertility during her marriage, suffering at least one miscarriage. But her world was rocked when Ren\u00e9\u2019s throat cancer, first diagnosed in 1998, returned in 2015.<\/p>\n His 2016 death, at age 73, was a devastating blow. \u201cIt goes without saying, C\u00e9line misses Ren\u00e9 enormously, there\u2019s not a day goes by she doesn\u2019t think about him and what a beautiful person he was,\u201d the source admits to Life & Style<\/em>, adding that the singer \u201cgoes out of her way\u201d to keep her husband\u2019s 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. \u201cOne of C\u00e9line\u2019s fondest memories is when the family relocated to Vegas, it was such an exciting adventure they all embarked on together,\u201d reveals the source. \u201cShe\u2019ll always cherish those special times.\u201d<\/p>\n Her own diagnosis has been another source of heartache. The insider tells Life & Style<\/em>: \u201cEveryone\u2019s rallying round C\u00e9line. Her kids are front and center, helping with whatever she needs and spending time with her to keep her spirits up.\u201d A source previously told Life & Style<\/em> the Grammy winner\u2019s sister Linda had moved in to help. \u201cSome days are harder than others,\u201d says the source, \u201cbut C\u00e9line\u2019s being extremely positive.\u201d She\u2019s in constant contact with her doctors and is staying active and doing physical therapy. \u201cC\u00e9line isn\u2019t sitting around moping, that will never be her style,\u201d says the source. \u201cShe\u2019s holding out hope that she\u2019ll recover and even perform again<\/a>. Her resilience is remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their professional relationship turned personal, despite their 26-year age gap. \u201cRen\u00e9 discovered her, believed in her, mentored her and championed her,\u201d the source explains to Life & Style<\/em>. \u201cHe encouraged her to reach for the stars.\u201d They tied the knot in 1994 and went on to have three children (Ren\u00e9-Charles<\/strong>, 22, and twins Nelson and Eddy, 13).<\/p>\n