The Greatest Life Struggles of Celine Dion, Suffering from Rare Diseases to Losing Beloved Family

Celine Dion was once bullied before and after becoming famous. In the early stages of her career and childhood, she felt inadequate in school, not cool, and not beautiful, which led to teasing. Even when she was gaining popularity and her album sold 125,000 copies, she still often faced criticism about her appearance. This made her feel less confident.  

Celine Dion was diagnosed with a serious and rare illness that weakened her right vocal cord. As a result, she took a break from singing activities for six to eight weeks, as advised by Dr. Geral Berke.  

Celine Dion's father, Adhemar Dion, passed away from cancer on November 30, 2003, in Montreal, Canada, at the age of 80. Then, in January 2020, during a concert in Miami, Celine Dion announced the sad news of her mother's death, Thérèse Tanguay Dion, who passed away that morning after experiencing health issues for over a year.  

Celine Dion had difficulty having children, so she underwent several rounds of IVF treatment. Her first child was conceived through IVF, and she also underwent IVF for her second child. Unfortunately, she failed 6 times and suffered miscarriages. However, in 2010, Celine Dion successfully gave birth to fraternal twin boys through IVF as well.  

Her husband, Rene Angelil, was diagnosed with throat cancer. This led Celine Dion to decide to take a two-year break from the music industry to support her husband. Unfortunately, her husband passed away in January 2016 due to the recurrence of the cancer.  

Celine Dion was once diagnosed with a rare disease called Stiff-Person Syndrome (SPS). SPS is very rare, affecting 1 in 1 million people with symptoms such as seizures and stiff muscles, which affect her ability to sing. Although there is no cure, SPS symptoms can be managed with physical therapy and reducing external stimuli such as light and noise.  

Celine Dion's life is full of deep family tragedies. Not only her husband and parents, but also her nephew named Karine Menard died from complications of cystic fibrosis. Then, her brother Daniel died from brain, tongue, and throat cancer. In addition, her brother-in-law Guy Poirier died from bone, brain, and lung cancer.