The public hasn't seen Céline Dion in almost five years, but that's going to change soon.
The Canadian singer, 55, who was diagnosed with a rare neurological disease a couple of years ago, is returning.
But she is not on stage.
As she herself has said, during this time of forced rest she has filmed a documentary called
I Am: Céline Dion,
which can be seen soon (no date yet) on Prime Video and in which she will tell about her life with the so-called depression syndrome. rigid person, a disease that one person in a million suffers from and that has no cure.
“These last couple of years have been a huge challenge for me, the journey from discovering my [medical] condition to learning how to live with it and manage it, but I will not allow it to define me,” the artist wrote in the statement. about the project, in one of the few occasions on which he has spoken about his illness during this time.
“As I continue on the path to resuming my career on stage, I have realized how much I have missed being able to see my fans.
During my absence, I decided that I wanted to document this part of my life, try to raise awareness about this little-known condition and thus be able to help others who share my diagnosis.”
More information
“Song lyrics for a good cause”: Celine Dion sells her memories to fight the illness she suffers from
The documentary will be directed by Irene Taylor, who in 2009 was nominated for an Oscar for a short documentary called
The Final Inch
where she talked about polio vaccination, especially for children in India, and who released the documentary on HBO last December.
Trees and Other Entanglements
, a portrait of people's strong connection to trees around the world.
For a whole year she has been immersed in the filming of
I Am: Céline Dion,
where she will review not so much the artist's life as her last years, settled in Las Vegas, her tours, her time in the recording studio or her love for haute couture, since the Canadian is a great fashion collector and in recent years has become a powerful trendsetter.
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The last time Céline Dion took to the stage was in July 2019 in Hyde Park, London.
With the pandemic, when she had plans for a European tour called
Courage Tour
, everything came to a halt.
Once this was over, he scheduled a residency at Resorts World in Las Vegas, in the United States, which was going to take place between November 2021 and February 2022. But shortly before, in October 2021, he had to cancel it: “I "It breaks my heart with this," he confessed.
“I feel terrible for letting you down, and I'm especially sorry for letting down so many fans who had made plans to come to Las Vegas.
Now I have to focus on feeling better, I want to get through this as soon as possible,” she explained in a statement.
But she then had the confidence to be able to return that March.
In fact, she later had a tour planned throughout the United States and her native Canada, for the spring of 2022. But in January of that year she also canceled it “due to medical prescription,” according to what she said in that moment.
Then, in April 2022, she revealed in separate videos in English and French on her social networks that she was forced to change her plans and postpone her European tour due to “health problems.”
“I'm a little better but I still experience some spasms.
I need to be in top shape when I'm on stage.
The truth is, I'm looking forward to it, but I'm not at that point yet..."
And already in December 2022 he explained what his illness was, a neurological disorder called rigid person syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that affects the central nervous system and causes muscle spasms, which among others affect walking and his ability to sing: “ "It also doesn't allow me to use my vocal cords like I did before," she said through tears in two videos, again in English and French, before more than five million viewers.
Although she tried, last May she also had to cancel the 2024 European tour.
One of her sisters, Linda, has moved to live with her, and a few months ago her relatives said that there was no medication that worked for her.
''Honestly, I think what he needs most is to rest.
She always goes above and beyond and tries to be the best.
At a given moment, your heart and your body are trying to tell you something, so it is important to listen to it,” said another of her sisters, Claudette, in an interview with the Canadian newspaper Le
journal de Montreal
.
“Despite being in the best hands, my sister is not getting better and she needs continuous care.”
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“Everything I know how to do, what I have done in my life and what I love most is singing,” the artist explained, sadly, in the videos where she talked about her illness.
“A great medical team works with me to help me get well, and my children also give me hope and support.”
Dion has three children, the result of her union with the musician René Angélil, who died in January 2016 at the age of 73 after suffering from cancer for three years.
The couple had known each other since 1980, when she was 12 years old and he began managing her career.
In 1991 they got engaged and three years later, in December 1994, they married.
It was the first marriage for her, who was 26 at the time, and the third for Angélil, 52, who had a son from her first marriage and two others from her second.
Her first child, René-Charles Angelil, was born in January 2001, and in October 2010 in Palm Beach, Florida, the couple's twins, Nelson and Eddy, were born.
The singer has always talked about her difficulties in getting pregnant.
She achieved both pregnancies thanks to
in vitro fertilization;
that of the twins, in fact, on a sixth attempt and after suffering a miscarriage a year earlier.
Despite everything, in these months of illness, Dion has wanted to continue working.
Who gave life to the central themes of films like
Titanic
and
Beauty and the Beast
has participated in the soundtrack of the romantic comedy
Love Again
, where she also has a small cameo.
Of course, her public appearances are very rare.
His last recent photographs are four images published on his Instagram profile in November 2023, where he appears with the three boys (now 23 and 13 years old) after an ice hockey game in Las Vegas, where they reside, in which The Montreal Canadiens played against the Vegas Golden Knights.