Céline Dion

Early Years and Career

Céline Dion’s mother was a violinist, and her father, an accordionist. The youngest of 14 children (most of them active in show business), Céline was a naturally gifted vocalist. Named after the song “Céline” by French singer Hugues Aufray, she was singing the songs of Ginette Reno at her parents’ restaurant near Repentigny by age seven.

Dion’s mother wrote her first song, “Ce n’était qu’un rêve.” She sent a recording to René Angélil, Ginette Reno’s manager, and arranged a meeting with him. Angélil later told the Montreal Gazette: “She was this homely little kid named Céline Dion. The mother did all the talking, and the girl never said a word. Then she started singing into a pencil, pretending it was a microphone. And what I heard was enough to make me cry. I heard a special voice like I had never heard before.” Angélil commissioned French lyricist Eddy Marnay to write “La Voix du Bon Dieu.” He also supervised the recording of Dion’s first single and became her manager.

Despite her undeniable, monumental talent and her reputation as something of a child prodigy, Dion has spoken of the difficulties she had growing up and establishing her career. Accustomed to her large, tight-knit family dynamic, she had trouble adjusting to school and wrote in her autobiography that she “detested” it. She was bullied and called “vampire” because of her skinny build and abnormally large canine teeth (which she has since had corrected). One Quebec tabloid even went so far as to crassly dub a teenage Dion “Canine Dion.” As she told W magazine in 2007, “I didn’t have, visually, what it took. I was not pretty, I had teeth problems, and I was very skinny. I didn’t fit the mold.”

However, Dion’s extraordinary voice and her simplicity quickly conquered Quebec. Her career experienced a meteoric rise. She made her Quebec television debut on 19 June 1981, at age 13. Her first album, La voix du bon Dieu, which Angélil mortgaged his house to finance, was released in November 1981. In 1982, Dion took part in the Tokyo Song Festival singing “Tellement j’ai d’amour pour toi.” She won the musicians’ prize as well as a gold medal. The following year, she represented Canada at the MIDEM (International Music Market) in Cannes, and sang on the program Champs-Élysées. In May 1982, she performed with the Orchestre métropolitain at Place des Arts, before embarking on a recital tour throughout Quebec. She also received a gold record in France (over 500,000 copies sold) for her recording of “D’amour ou d’amitié.”

Dion dropped out of school at age 15 to concentrate on her career. She was the star of a TV special on CBC’s Les Beaux Dimanches. In 1983, she won several Félix Awards, including for best female performer and discovery of the year.

On 28 and 29 July 1984, Dion sang before an audience of 40,000 at the Old Port in Quebec City. Shortly thereafter, she was selected by the Quebec clergy to represent young people during the Pope’s visit and sing “Une colombe” before 65,000 youngsters in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium. After she opened for Patrick Sébastien at the Olympia in Paris, she toured 15 Quebec towns.

At 18, weary of her good-girl image, Dion disappeared for a year and a half. She reappeared sporting short hair and tight sequinned dresses and speaking more fluent English. She had also taken dance and voice lessons. She began to sing music with very upbeat rhythms for young audiences. In 1988, she won the Eurovision Song Contest (representing Switzerland) for “Ne partez pas sans moi,” selling 200,000 copies of that single in Europe in two days. Incognito, an LP recorded that year, sold more than 200,000 copies in Quebec.

1990s

With CBS (Sony) investing in her international career, Céline Dion cut her first record in English, Unison (1990). It was produced by David Foster in Los Angeles, Chris Neal in London and Andy Goldmark in New York. It sold more than 100,000 copies in Canada (“Where Does My Heart Beat” ranked fourth on the Billboard magazine hit parade) and was released in 16 other countries including the US. Dion appeared several times on the American program The Tonight Show and rapidly became a darling of the US talk show circuit. She had already won 15 Félix Awards by 1991, when she won Juno Awards for Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year (Unison).

Dion generated mild controversy in 1990 when, asserting her French-Canadian status, she refused a Félix Award for best Anglophone artist. “I am not an anglophone artist and the public understands that,” she said. “Everywhere I go in the world, I say that I'm proud to be Québécoise.” In 1991, Dion told the Montreal Gazette, “The only dream I ever had was to be famous and to sing all my life and travel all over the world performing. And this is my dream come true.”

The year 1992 was a turning point in Dion’s career. Her second English-language album, Celine Dion, sold more than five million copies worldwide and became her first US platinum recording. It went on to achieve a rare diamond certification in Canda for more than 1 million copies sold. A single from the album, “If You Asked Me To,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

Having become more proficient in English (thanks in part to Berlitz courses), Dion was able to make a concert tour of Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. A series of film soundtrack recordings (An American Tail, Beauty and the Beast and Sleepless in Seattle) were all successful. Dion sang at the Academy Awards (a duet of “Beauty and the Beast,” which won for Best Original Song). The recording also won the 1993 Grammy Award for best pop performance by a duo, cementing Dion’s entrance into the US market.

Dion toured the US, now as headliner, in 1993. On this tour, the trademark methodical control of her image began to be obvious. She designed and directed every element. She performed at such high-profile functions as a command performance for Prince Charles and the swearing-in of US President Bill Clinton.

By now comfortable conversing in English, Céline Dion hosted the Juno Awards in 1993. She achieved the rare feat of winning Junos in both French-language and English-language categories, including Single of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year and Best-Selling Francophone Album (Dion chante Plamondon).

That same year, Dion embarked on her first full Canadian tour. Typically, over the next several years, her concert tours consisted of sold-out arena or concert hall appearances for several nights in major urban centres. Concerts featured pop material sung in both English and French. Frequent comparisons were made to US “pop divas” Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston. Dion’s repertoire focused on powerful heart-tugging ballads and upbeat dance tunes.

The Colour of My Love (1993) became the most successful album to that time by a Canadian female pop singer. It sold 20 million copies worldwide. “The Power of Love,” a single produced by David Foster, reached No. 1 in both Canada and the US, and No. 4 in the United Kingdom.

In 1994, Dion married René Angélil in a lavish ceremony at Montréal’s Notre Dame Basilica. Angélil continued to manage her career.

Dion continued to have chart hits in both English and French, often in several countries (including France) simultaneously. Céline Dion à l’Olympia (1994) made her the world’s biggest-selling French-language singer. Her album D’Eux (1995) became the best-selling French album in history. Dion received the prestigious Médaille des Arts et Lettres from the French government. In the UK, she became a phenomenon in 1995 when The Colour of My Love and “Think Twice” topped the UK album and singles charts simultaneously for more than a month — the first time that feat had been achieved since The Beatles in 1964.

Dion embarked on a period of further intense activity, including world tours (1996–97, 1999) and North American tours (1998). She sang “Power of the Dream” at the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta to an estimated TV audience of 3.5 billion. Dion’s fourth English-language album, Falling into You (1996), won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Album. It included the international hit single “Because You Loved Me,” which topped the US charts for six weeks.

Dion’s career followed a dizzying upward curve after Falling into You (1996) and Let’s Talk About Love (1997) each sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. (They would both eventually top 30 million worldwide.) The latter was fuelled by “My Heart Will Go On,” an epic romantic ballad that became a monster global hit. It reached No. 1 in at least nine countries, sold more than 18 million copies worldwide and became the second best-selling single by a woman ever, behind Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” “My Heart Will Go On” served as the love theme for James Cameron’s blockbuster film Titanic (1997). Dion performed the Oscar-winning song at the 1998 Academy Awards.

During this period, Dion also maintained a parallel career in French, recording albums such as Dion chante Plamondon (1991) and D’eux (1998). The greatest hits album All the Way... A Decade of Song was released in 1999. In addition to nine familiar hits, it featured seven new songs, including the single “That’s the Way It Is” and a David Foster-produced version of the Frank Sinatra classic “All the Way.”

2000s

Beginning in January 2000, Céline Dion took an extended break from performing to start a family. In 2001, she gave birth to a son. She re-emerged in 2002 with the album A New Day Has Come, which featured pop ballads. It entered the album charts at No. 1 in 17 countries. The album One Heart followed in 2003. Her recordings and interviews began to focus on the theme of motherhood. One Heart was followed in October 2003 by 1 fille & 4 types. Like her earlier francophone albums, it was produced by Jean-Jacques Goldman.

In 2003, Dion signed a $100-million contract to perform five nights per week at the purpose-built Colosseum theatre at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Titled A New Day..., the show was directed by Cirque du Soleil’s Franco Dragone and became an immediate success. It routinely sold out the 4,000-seat venue.

Two albums emerged in 2004: the concert recording A New Day... Live In Las Vegas and the album/book project Miracle. It was dedicated to the relationship of mother and child. It features covers of John Lennon’s “Beautiful Boy” and Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” among others. Dion participated fully in American writer Jenna Glatzer’s biography Celine Dion: For Keeps. It was released in 2005, coinciding with the release of On ne change pas, a francophone greatest hits collection.

By 2006, Dion had sold 175 million albums worldwide and earned US$55 million in a single year. She had become entrenched as a global pop superstar and was viewed in Quebec as a representative on the world stage. She had won 33 Félix Awards and 20 Juno Awards.

Originally scheduled to run for three years, A New Day... was extended through December 2007. By the time her Caesars Palace residency ended, Dion had again re-established herself as a recording artist in both official languages. The francophone D’elles was released in May 2007, debuting at No. 1 in Canada and topping charts in France and Belgium. She followed it with the anglophone Taking Chances in November of 2007. It was marginally more rock-oriented than her usual mainstream pop sound. The album featured songs by Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Linda Perry and ex-Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody, among others. Like D’elles, it topped the Canadian charts in its first week. By year-end, it had shipped a reported 3.1 million copies worldwide.

Dion began her 12-month, 101-date “Taking Chances World Tour” in Johannesburg, South Africa, in early 2008. She also marked the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City with a free outdoor concert for some 250,000 people on the Plains of Abraham. She performed 30 songs, all in French. A DVD of the concert, Céline sur les Plaines, was released in November 2008.

Commercial Success

Céline Dion won a World Music Award for Best Canadian Artist of the Year in 1992 and another as the best-selling female Canadian Artist in 1995. She also won a Billboard Music Award for International Achievement in 1993.

She was named the Recording Industry Association of America’s top-selling artist of 1998. By the end of 1999, she had sold nearly nine million albums in Canada — far more than any other artist. That year, the Canadian Recording Industry Association (now Music Canada) named her the best-selling Canadian recording artist of the century. In 2003, Dion received an IFPI Special Award for selling 50 million albums in Europe and another for selling 10 million copies of Let’s Talk About Love.

By 2019, Dion’s career gross income was almost US$1.1 billion. By May 2024, she had sold more than 220 million albums according to Forbes magazine, which estimated her net worth at US$550 million.

Characteristic Style, Praise and Criticism

At her peak, Céline Dion’s voice could purportedly cover five octaves. She quickly became known for her incredible range and vocal control, and for her passionate, emotive performances. The day after she performed at the 1992 Academy Awards, the Wall Street Journal described her as having a “once-in-a-generation voice.” Considered on the same level as Whitney Houston and Maria Carey, Dion is known for her powerful, technically proficient vocals. She is also known for her eccentric quirks as a performer, such as enthusiastically pumping her fist and thumping her chest. Her string of incredibly successful hit songs in the 1990s — most notably “Where Does My Heart Beat Now,” “The Power of Love,” “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” and “My Heart Will Go On” — earned her the nickname the “queen of power ballads.”

In 1994, Stephen Holden wrote in the New York Times that Dion has “a good-sized arsenal of technical skills. She can deliver tricky melismas, produce expressive vocal catches and sustain long notes without the tiniest wavering of pitch. And as her duets... have shown, she is a reliable harmony voice.” Charles Alexander of Time magazine wrote that Dion’s “voice glides effortlessly from deep whispers to dead-on high notes, a sweet siren that combines force with grace.” In 2021, Katie Underwood wrote in Maclean’s that Dion is “the rare entertainer whose vocals are frequently compared to an actual instrument — a numinous sound that’s simultaneously tender and not at all gentle.”

Nevertheless, Dion has often been criticized for “stylistic excess” and “pointless pop vocal frills” (Globe and Mail, 29 March 1994), as well as for the “Svengali-like” management of Angélil. The Toronto Star reported on 18 September 1999 that Dion’s “over-the-top emoting, the saccharine sentiment of her lyrics and overblown arrangements have never endeared her to music critics.”

Personal Life

In her late teens, Céline Dion realized she was falling in love with her manager, René Angélil. As she wrote in her autobiography: “He had become the object of the love that I sang about, he was the man of my songs… I wanted only one man for my entire life. I knew that one day it would be René.” Dion’s mother was wary of her daughter’s feelings for the much older, twice-divorced Angélil, and chaperoned Dion closely until she was 19. But Dion reportedly told her: “I'm not a minor. This is a free country. No one has the right to prevent me from loving whoever I want to.”

Dion and Angélil became romantically involved after she won the Eurovision Song Contest, one month before her 20th birthday. But they kept their relationship private. They were engaged in 1991 but did not go public with the news until 1993. Dion announced their engagement at the album’s launch party in November 1993. She also wrote about their relationship in the liner notes of The Colour of My Love. (“René, for so many years I’ve kept our special dream locked away inside my heart… But now it’s getting too powerful to keep this inside of me.”)

On 17 December 1994, the 26-year-old Dion and 52-year-old Angélil were married in a lavish ceremony at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica. It was broadcast on television. Dion wore a seven-pound headpiece of 2,000 Swarovski crystals sewn into her hair. She has said that the wedding was “the ceremony of my dreams, what I had always hoped for. It was magic.”

In 1999, Angélil was diagnosed with throat cancer. Dion put her career on hold while he underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumour as well as radiation treatment. After he made a full recovery, the couple celebrated by renewing their wedding vows in Las Vegas in January 2000.

Dion and Angélil tried for years to have children before turning to in-vitro fertilization in 2000. Their first child, René-Charles Angélil, was born on 25 January 2001. Dion suffered a miscarriage in 2009 and underwent several more rounds of in-vitro fertilization before giving birth to fraternal twins Eddy and Nelson Angélil on 23 October 2010. Eddy was named after French songwriter Eddy Marnay, while Nelson’s namesake is anti-Apartheid activist Nelson Mandela.

Death of René Angélil

René Angélil’s cancer returned in 2013. Doctors removed another tumour from his throat in December, and Dion took a year-long sabbatical from her Las Vegas residency to support him. He died in Las Vegas on 14 January 2016, two days before his 74th birthday. In the following days, many figures from the entertainment, media and political worlds paid their respects. The Government of Quebec offered to hold a state funeral. The service took place on 22 January 2016 at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica. René-Charles Angélil delivered the eulogy three days before his 15th birthday.

Two days after Angélil’s death, Dion’s 59-year-old brother, Daniel, also died of cancer.

In February 2018, Dion told the Daily Telegraph’s Stellar magazine that she holds a replica of Angélil’s hand before every performance. “I shake my husband’s hand and knock on wood with him every night before every show,” she said. “Even after he’s gone, I still talk to him.” During her residency at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace, she would also keep Angélil’s usual seat at the sound mixing board empty in his honour.

Stiff-Person Syndrome and Other Health Issues

Throughout her career, the naturally skinny Céline Dion has refuted rumours that she has an eating disorder. In 1999, she told People magazine “I don’t have an eating problem, and there’s nothing more I can say about it.” In her autobiography, Celine Dion: My Story, My Dream (2000), she wrote: “My work requires me to be in great physical shape. I wouldn't have been able to give up to a hundred shows a year and travel ceaselessly from one end of the world to the other if I had eaten too much or not enough, or if, as certain magazines have claimed, I made myself throw up after each meal.”

In March 2018, Dion’s management announced that she had been dealing with hearing irregularities for a year and a half and would undergo surgery to repair an issue with her Eustachian tube. She was forced to cancel her March and April concert dates as a result.

In December 2022, Dion publicly revealed that she had been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune neurological disorder known as stiff-person syndrome (SPS). She said that she had been suffering from symptoms of the illness for 17 years and had been receiving treatment at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus since 2020. The progressive disorder affects the brain and spinal cord and can result in extreme muscle stiffness and impaired mobility. Dion said, “Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to.” In May 2023, she cancelled the remainder of her Courage World Tour to focus on her health.

Fashion Icon

In 2018, Céline Dion received the International Style Icon Award at the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards. In 2019, cosmetics company L’Oréal Paris announced that Dion would be the international face of their brand. In September 2019, the CBC noted that even though Dion “has long been known for her cinematic style, she recently became the new face of L'Oréal Paris, was the toast of Paris Fashion Week, and when she stepped into this year's Met Gala wearing a Ziegfeld Follies-inspired gown draped with 3,000 strands of bugle beads and a show-ready headpiece, all eyes — and cameras — were on her.”

As fashion writer Guy Trebay wrote in the New York Times in May 2019, “A generation too young to have known her megahits has discovered her anew as a kooky and ubiquitous YouTube presence prancing and posing and vamping across social media wearing couture finery.”

Other Activities

Céline Dion has had many successful business ventures outside of her singing career. In Quebec, she has owned an artist management company, the Nickels Grill & Bar restaurant chain, the iconic Schwartz's Deli in Montreal, and Le Mirage Golf Club in Terrebonne. She co-owned a Las Vegas nightclub called Pure with Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Shaquille O'Neal. She also has a perfume line called Céline Dion Parfums, a line of handbags and accessories called Céline Dion Collection, and a children’s clothing line called Celinununu.

In addition to singing and recording regularly in French and English, Dion has also recorded songs in Spanish, Italian, German, Latin, Japanese and Mandarin.

Philanthropy

Céline Dion has been involved with numerous charities and philanthropic efforts around the world. She has been a spokesperson for Cystic Fibrosis Canada since 1982. In 1993, she became the foundation’s National Celebrity Patron. (Dion’s niece, Karine, died of cystic fibrosis at age 16.) Dion has supported many health and education initiatives, including the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. She has also been a long-time supporter of the LGBTQ2 community, dating back to the AIDS crisis. She has helped finance the publication of Gay Globe Magazine, and its associated HIV prevention materials, since 2004.

In 2003, Dion took part in World Children’s Day, organized by McDonald’s to raise money for international children’s health organizations. In 2005, she helped raise more than $1 million to help survivors of the 2004 Asian tsunami. She also donated $1 million to the American Red Cross to help people affected by Hurricane Katrina and $100,000 to assist Chinese children and teenagers after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. She has also been involved with the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism and was named a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador in October 2010.

Honours

Céline Dion has received a myriad of honours, both in Canada and internationally. In addition to more than 40 Félix Awards, she has won five Grammy Awards, 20 Juno Awards, five SOCAN Awards, seven World Music Awards and eight Billboard Music Awards, including the Billboard Icon Award in 2016.

Dion was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1998 and a Companion in 2008. She was made a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France in 1996 and an Officière of the Ordre national du Québec in 1998. She was appointed to France’s Legion d’Honneur in 2009 and made a Compagne of the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec in 2019.

In 1999, she gained a place on Canada’s Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Broadcast Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004 and Kraków’s Aleja Gwiazd (Avenue of Stars) in 2008.

She was named Entertainer of the Year at the International Achievement in Arts Awards in 1997, received a UNESCO Artist for Peace award in 1999, and was named the Most Recognized Canadian by the National Post in 2002. That same year, the Banff Television Foundation named her “one of 50 all-time famous faces in Canadian television.” In 2004, she received a Diamond World Music Award and the Society of Singers’ Ella Award for lifetime achievement.

Dion won the Las Vegas Guide Visitors’ Choice Award for Favorite Headliner in 2005 and 2006, was named the Entertainment Industry’s Most Influential Canadian at the 2006 MovieEntertainment Awards and was crowned the Entertainer of the New Millennium at the Nevada Commission on Tourism Awards in 2007. In 2008, she was awarded the Commemorative Medallion of the 400th Anniversary of Quebec City. She was named Artist of the Decade by the Journal de Montréal in 2009 and Artist of the Year at the CBC Music Awards in 2014.

Awards

Félix Awards

• Discovery of the Year (1983)
• Pop Album of the Year (Tellement j’ai d’amour...) (1983)
• Most Distinguished Artist Outside Quebec (1983)
• Female Vocalist of the Year (1983)
• Best-selling Album of the Year (“Les chemins de ma maison”) (1984)
• Female Vocalist of the Year (1984)
• Album of the Year (“Mélanie”) (1985)
• Best-selling Album of the Year (“Mélanie”) (1985)
• Female Vocalist of the Year (1985)
• Popular Song of the Year (“Une colombe”) (1985)
• Best-selling Single of the Year (“Une colombe”) (1985)
• Best Stage Performance of the Year (1988)
• Female Vocalist of the Year (1988)
• Most Popular Song of the Year (“Incognito”) (1988)
• Most Successful Quebec Artist outside Quebec (1988)
• Anglophone Artist of the Year (1990)
• Most Distinguished Quebec Artist in a Language other than French (1991) (*refused)
• Best-Selling Album of the Year (Dion chante Plamondon) (1992)
• Most Distinguished Quebec Artist in a Language other than French (1992)
• Most Distinguished Quebec Artist outside Quebec (1993)
• Most Distinguished Quebec Artist in a Language other than French (1993)
• Most Distinguished Quebec Artist outside Quebec (1994)
• Album of the Year in a Language other than French (1994)
• Female Vocalist of the Year (1994)
• Pop/Rock Album of the Year (D’eux) (1995)
• Most Successful Quebec Artist outside Quebec (1995)
• Popular Song of the Year (“Pour que tu m’aimes encore”) (1995)
• Most Successful Quebec Artist outside Quebec (1996)
• Best-Selling Album of the Year (D’eux) (1996)
• Female Vocalist of the Year (1996)
• Show of the Year – Performer (1996)
• Most Successful Quebec Artist in a Language other than French (1996)
• Félix spécial(1996)
• Best-selling Album of the Year (Live à Paris) (1997)
• Pop-Rock Album of the Year (Live à Paris) (1997)
• Most Famous Quebec Artist outside Quebec (1997)
• Most Famous Quebec Artist outside Quebec in a Language other than French (1997)
• Female Vocalist of the Year (1997)
• Most Successful Quebec Artist in a Language other than French (1999)
• Most Successful Quebec Artist in a Language other than French (2002)
• Prix hommage (2008)
• DVD of the Year (Céline sur les Plaines) (2009)
• Adult Contemporary Album of the Year (Sans attendre) (2013)
• Best-selling Album of the Year (Sans attendre) (2013)
• Adult Contemporary Album of the Year (Encore un soir) (2017)
• Best-selling Album of the Year (Encore un soir) (2017)

Juno Awards

• Female Vocalist of the Year (1991)
• Album of the Year (Unison) (1991)
• Female Vocalist of the Year (1992)
• Single of the Year (“Beauty and the Beast” with Peabo Bryson) (1993)
• Female Vocalist of the Year (1993)
• Best-Selling Francophone Album (Dion chante Plamondon) (1993)
• Best Dance Recording (“Love Can Move Mountains” club mix) (1993)
• Female Vocalist of the Year (1994)
• Best-Selling Album, Foreign or Domestic (Colour of My Love) (1995)
• Album of the Year (The Colour of My Love) (1995)
• Best-Selling Francophone Album (D’eux) (1996)
• International Achievement Award (1997)
• Female Vocalist of the Year (1997)
• Best-Selling Francophone Album (Live á Paris) (1997)
• Best-Selling Album, Foreign or Domestic (Falling into You) (1997)
• International Achievement Award (1999)
• Best Female Vocalist (1999)
• Best Album (Let’s Talk About Love) (1999)
• Best-Selling Francophone Album (S’il suffisait d’aimer) (1999)
• Best-Selling Album, Foreign or Domestic (Let’s Talk About Love) (1999)

Prix Gémeaux

• Best Variety Special (Céline Dion - Unison) (1990)
• Best Variety Special (Let’s Talk About Love avec Céline Dion) (1998)
• Best Variety (Un an avec Céline) (1999)
• Best Variety (La dernière de Céline) (2000)
• Best Performance: Humor (La Petite Vie: Noël chez les pare) (2003)

Grammy Awards

• Best Pop Performance by a Duo/Group with Vocals (“Beauty and the Beast”) (1993)
• Album of the Year (Falling into You) (1997)
• Best Pop Album (Falling into You) (1997)
• Record of the Year (“My Heart Will Go On”) (1999)
• Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (“My Heart Will Go On”) (1999)

American Music Awards

• Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist (1998, 1999)
• Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist (1999, 2001, 2003, 2004)
• Favorite Soundtrack (Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture) (2004)

Best of Las Vegas Awards

• Best Overall Show (A New Day…) (2003)
• Best Singer (2004)
• Best Headliner (2005, 2006)
• Best Singer (2007, 2008, 2016)
• Best All-Around Performer (2007)
• Best Show Choreography (A New Day…) (2007)
• Best Overall Show (Céline) (2012, 2014)

Billboard Music Awards

• Billboard International Creative Achievement Award (1993)
• Adult Contemporary Artist of the Year (1998)
• Album Artist of the Year (1998)
• Female Album of the Year (Let’s Talk About Love) (1998)
• Soundtrack Single of the Year (“My Heart Will Go On”) (1998)
• Soundtrack Album of the Year (Titanic) (1998)
• Album of the Year (Titanic) (1998)
• Billboard Icon Award (2016)

Japan Gold Disc Awards

• International Single Grand Prix Award (“To Love You More”) (1996)
• International Artist of the Year (1998)
• International Pop Album of the Year (Let’s Talk About Love) (1998)
• International Artist of the Year (1999)
• International Song of the Year (“My Heart Will Go On”) (1999)
• International Pop Album of the Year (These Are Special Times) (1999)
• International Soundtrack Album of the Year (Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture) (1999)
• International Music Video of the Year (VHI Divas Live) (1999)
• International Artist of the Year (2000)
• International Pop Album of the Year (All the Way… A Decade of Song) (2000)

MIDEM Awards

• Award for Combined European Sales of Over 10 Million Units in 1995 (1996)
• Award for Sales of Over 4 Million Units Worldwide for the Album D’eux (1996)
• Best Selling Artist in Europe (2002)

MuchMusic Video Awards

• Best MOR Video (“Can’t Live with You, Can’t Live Without You”) (1990)
• Best Adult Contemporary Video (“Je danse dans ma tête”) (1992)
• Peoples Choice: Favourite Artist (“My Heart Will Go On”) (1998)

NARM Best Seller Awards

• 1996-1997 Artist of the Year (1997)
• 1996-1997 Recording of the Year (Falling into You) (1997)
• 1996-1997 Pop Recording (Falling into You) (1997)
• 1997-1998 Soundtrack (Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture) (1998)

SOCAN Awards

• Pop Music (“A New Day Has Come”) (2003)
• International Achievement (“A New Day Has Come”) (2003)
• Song of the Year (“Tout près du bonheur”), SOCAN Francophone Awards (2006)
• Classic Song (“A New Day Has Come”) (2009)
• Songwriter of the Year (“Entre deux mondes”), SOCAN Francophone Awards (2012)

Sony Music Entertainment Awards

• Special Award for Selling Over 100 Million Albums Worldwide (1999)
• Special Award for Selling Over 15 Million Albums and Singles in the UK (2002)
• Special Award for Selling Over 3 Million Albums in South Africa (2008)
• Special Award for Selling Over 1 Million Albums in Poland (2008)
• Special Award for the Only Artist with 7 Million-Selling Albums in Canada (2008)

VH1 Awards

• Artist of the Year (1996, 1998)
• Best Female Artist (1998)
• Diva of the Year (1998)

Victoires de la Musique

• Francophone Artist or Group of the Year (1996)
• Song of the Year (“Pour que tu m’aimes encore”) (1996)
• Original Song of the Year (“Sous le vent”) (2002)

World Music Awards

• World’s Best Selling Canadian Female Artist of the Year (1992, 1995)
• World’s Best Selling Canadian Artist of the Year (1996, 1997, 1998, 2008)
• World’s Best Selling Artist of the Year (1997)
• World’s Best Selling Pop Artist of the Year (1997)
• World’s Best Selling Female Pop Artist of the Year (1999, 2000)
• Diamond Award for Selling Over 100 Million Albums (2004)
• Legend Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Music Industry (2007)

Others

• Gold Medal – Best Song (“So Much I Have Love for You”), Yamaha World Popular Song Festival (1982)
• Best Artist, Yamaha World Popular Song Festival (1982)
• First prize (“Ne partez pas sans moi”), Eurovision Song Contest (1988)
• Young Artist of the Year, MetroStar Awards (1988)
• Best Video (“Can’t Live with You” with Billy Newton Davis), MuchMusic Video Awards (1990)
• Best Canadian Artist of the Year, World Music Awards – International (1992)
• Medal of Recognition, Governor General of Canada (1992)
• Best Song Written for a Motion Picture (“Beauty and the Beast”), Academy Awards (1992)
• Award for International Achievement, Billboard Awards (1993)
• Best Seller – Canadian Female Artist, World Music Awards (1995)
• Chevalier, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France (1996)
• Francophone Council Song (“Pour que tu m’aimes encore”), Radio France Internationale Awards (1996)
• Best International Female Artist Album (The Colour of My Love), IRMA Awards (1996)
• Best International Female Artist Album (Falling into You), IRMA Awards (1997)
• Entertainer of the Year for Distinguished Achievement in Music, International Achievement in Arts Awards (1997)
• Best International Female Artist, National TV 2 Awards (1997)
• Song of the Year (“It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”), BMI Pop Awards (1998)
• International Album of the Year (Let’s Talk About Love), Hungarian Music Awards (1998)
• Special Achievement Award (“My Heart Will Go On”), Japan Record Awards (1998)
• Officière, Ordre national du Québec (1998)
• Officer, Order of Canada (1998)
• Best Selling International Album (Falling into You), South African Music Awards (1998)
• Best Selling International Album (Let’s Talk About Love), South African Music Awards (1999)
• Favourite Song from a Movie (“My Heart Will Go On”), Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (1999)
• Inductee, Canada’s Walk of Fame (1999)
• Inductee, Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame (1999)
• Favorite Female Musical Performer, People’s Choice Awards (1999)
• Best Selling Canadian Recording Artist of the Century, CRIA Special Awards (1999)
• International Song of the Year (“My Heart Will Go On”), MTV Asia Awards (1999)
• UNESCO Artist for Peace, UNESCO Awards (1999)
• First English-Language Song to Top Hot Latin Tracks (“My Heart Will Go On”), Billboard Latin Music Awards (2002)
• All-Time Famous Faces in Canadian Television, Banff Television Foundation Awards (2002)
• Best Sales Releases, Foreign (A New Day Has Come), IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards (2002)
• Francophone Duo/Group of the Year, NRJ Music Awards (2002)
• Most Recognized Canadian, National Post Awards (2002)
• Special Award for Selling 50 Million Albums in Europe, IFPI Special Awards (2003)
• Special Award for Selling 10 Million Copies of Let’s Talk About Love in Europe, IFPI Special Awards (2003)
• Inductee, Hollywood Walk of Fame (2004)
• Favorite Headliner, Las Vegas Guide Visitors’ Choice Awards (2005, 2006)
• Entertainment Industry’s Most Influential Canadian, MovieEntertainment Awards (2006)
• Entertainer of the New Millennium, Nevada Commission on Tourism Awards (2007)
• Commemorative Medallion of the 400^th Anniversary of Quebec City (2008)
• Inductee, Kraków’s Aleja Gwiazd (Avenue of Stars) (2008)
• Honorary Award, NRJ Music Awards (2008)
• Companion, Order of Canada (2008)
• Legion d’Honneur, France (2009)
• Artist of the Decade, Le Journal de Montréal Awards (2009)
• Artist of the Year Award, CBC Music Awards (2014)
• International Style Icon Award, Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (2018)
• Compagne, Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec (2019)

Honorary Degrees

• Doctor of Music, Université Laval (2008)
• Doctor of Music, Berklee College of Music (2021)

Selected Discography

• La Voix du Bon Dieu (1981)
• Tellement j’ai d’amour.... (1982)
• Les Chemins de ma maison (1983)
• Chants et contes de Noël (1983)
• Mélanie (1984)
• C’est pour toi (1985)
• En concert (1985)
• Les Chansons en or (1986)
• Incognito (1987)
• Unison (1990)
• Dion chante Plamondon (1991)
• The Colour of My Love (1993)
• L’Olympia Live (1994)
• Falling Into You (1996)
• Let’s Talk About Love (1997)
• These are Special Times (1998)
• D’eux (1998)
• Live in Paris (1998)
• S’il Suffisait D’Aimer (1998)
• All the Way - A Decade of Song (1999)
• Collector’s Series Vol 1 (2000)
• New Day Has Come (2002)
• I Fille and 4 Types (2003)
• One Heart (2003)
• A New Day - Live in Las Vegas (2004)
• Au Coeur du Stade (2004)
• Miracle (2004)
• On ne Change Pas (2005)
• Best of the Early Years (2007)
• Taking Chances (2007)
• Taking Chances (Special edition) (2007)
• D’Elles (2007)
• Celine (Box set) (2008)
• Celine X2: Let’s Talk About Love (2008)
• Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert (2010)
• Sans attendre (2012)
• Loved Me Back to Life (2013)
• Céline une seule fois / Live 2013 (2014)
• Encore un soir (2016)
• Courage (2019)