Celine Dion's Real Name: Céline Marie Claudette Dion

Quick answer: Celine Dion's full name is Céline Marie Claudette Dion. She was born on March 30, 1968, in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada. She became a global star in the 1990s with "The Power of Love" and the Titanic theme "My Heart Will Go On." She has recorded hit albums in both French and English (Britannica; Library of Congress).

Real name and early life

Britannica's quick facts give her name "in full" as Céline Marie Claudette Dion. The Library of Congress name authority files her as "Dion, Céline." One citation reads "Celine Marie Claudette; b. Mar. 30, 1968, Repentigny," a town next to Charlemagne. Britannica gives Charlemagne as her birthplace.

Britannica says she was the youngest of 14 children, raised in a small town near Montreal. She began singing with her musical family at five. At 12 she came to the attention of impresario René Angélil, who launched her career with the album La Voix du bon Dieu (1981). They married in 1994. In 1983 she became the first Canadian to earn a gold record in France. Representing Switzerland, she won the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest with "Ne partez pas sans moi."

Career highlights

Her first English-language album, Unison (1990), included her first U.S. top 10 hit, "Where Does My Heart Beat Now." Her duet with Peabo Bryson on Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" (1991) won a Grammy. The Colour of My Love (1993) delivered "The Power of Love," and Falling into You (1996) won album of the year. "My Heart Will Go On" (1997) won an Academy Award and drove Let's Talk About Love into the tens of millions of sales. Her French album D'eux (1995) became the best-selling Francophone album of all time.

After a family hiatus, she returned with A New Day Has Come (2002). Her Las Vegas show began in 2003, and she started a second residency in 2011. Angélil died in early 2016. Courage (2019) was her first English album in six years.

In 2022 she announced a diagnosis of stiff-person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that affected her mobility and voice. She sang Edith Piaf's "Hymne à l'Amour" from the Eiffel Tower at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony. The documentary I Am: Celine Dion followed in 2024. Britannica reports she announced a five-week Paris residency beginning in September 2026. She is a Companion of the Order of Canada, and "My Heart Will Go On" entered the National Recording Registry in 2025.

Name notes for searchers

Céline takes an accent in French, and English-language releases often print it as Celine. Marie and Claudette are her middle names, and Dion is her family surname. Searches for "Céline Dion" and "Celine Dion" refer to the same singer.