Celine Dion was born on March 30, 1968, in Charlemagne, Québec, a little town 50 kilometers from Montréal. She was the 14th child of Thérèse Tanguay and Adhémar Dion. The Dion family was a humble one of modest means, but never lacked for love. The house was jam-packed with children, and Celine’s mom even had to lay her littlest one to sleep in a drawer.
Already, the legend had begun …
The entire family shared the same passion: music. The parents and children even formed a group that performed concerts in the area. From her earliest childhood, Celine would join in. Thérèse swiftly noted her baby’s remarkable talent. All of her children were gifted, but Celine was exceptionally so.
At the age of 12, she wrote her first song, with the help of her mother and her brother Jacques: “Ce n’était qu’un rêve.” But it certainly was not just a dream! And thanks to her mother, that dream would start to become a reality. Thérèse sent a cassette of the song to impresario René Angélil. She chose him because he had managed the career of the family’s idol, Québécois singer Ginette Reno. In fact, Reno had just informed Angélil that she would no longer require his services. He was about to realign his career when he heard the cassette that would change his destiny, and the destiny of a young girl from Charlemagne.
He invited her to an appointment in his office, handed her a pencil and said, “Here’s your microphone. Now sing as though you were in front of a sold-out audience.” Celine sang. On the spot, René became her biggest fan. It was the beginning of the most wonderful artist-manager relationship in the history of show business.
