artist:  Celine Dion

songwriters:  James Horner and Will Jennings

date released:   1997 by Celine Dion for the theme of the blockbuster movie, "Titanic"

Born in 1968 the youngest in a poverty-stricken family of fourteen children, Celine Dion's is a true story of rags to riches.  In the small town of Charlemagne, Quebec, the Dions owned a small piano bar called Le Vieux Baril where the large family grew up singing and making merriment in Quebec-style.

When Dion was fourteen, she collaborated with her mother and brother in composing and recording her first song: "It Was Only A Dream."  The recording was sent to a music manager, Rene Angelil  who was so moved by the quality of Dion's voice, he mortgaged his house to finance her first record, "The Voice of God."  It became an instant hit in Quebec.   At eighteen, after seeing a Michael Jackson performance, she told Angelil that she wanted to become a star like Jackson.  Following her dream, Dion underwent a series of cosmetic alterations to improve her appearance and began an intensive  program of learning English.

By 1990, her English had improved to fluency. Celine Dion entered the Anglophone music market with a recording called "Unison."  This recording paved the way to international fame bringing her further contracts for English recordings and collaborations with other world-class musicians such as producer, David Foster.  In 1997, Celine Dion was chosen to record "My Heart Will Go On," the theme song for the blockbuster movie, Titanic. That year, it won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and swept up at the Grammy Awards winning four more awards.    It became the world's best-selling single in 1998 and went on to become one of the biggest hits in history. "My Heart Will Go On" was a metaphor for her successes going on, and album after album turned gold for Dion.  

In 1999, she took a break from the music industry to take care of her husband who was diagnosed with throat cancer.  Also, she pursued with intention her dream of having a child.  With newly found motherhood, Dion signed a 3-year contract in 2002 to perform five nights a week in a theatrical show at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. The change of venue allowed her a stable regimen for her to raise her new son.

The honours bestowed Celine Dion are countless: 

5 Grammy Awards, 12 World Music Awards 7 American

Music Awards and a record-breaking 21 Juno Awards. As themes for movies, her recordings have won 2 Academy Awards and 3 Golden Globe Awards. Her philanthropic activities have been recognized by countless other citations.  She received Canada's highest honour, Companion in the Order of Canada in 2008, and received France's highest award, the Legion de Honneur in the same year. Her wealth has been estimated at over $250-million dollars ranking her the fifth richest woman in the entertainment business.