Who is celine dion married to now

Canadian musical producer, talent manager, and singer (–)

René AngélilCM OQ (French pronunciation:[ʁəneɑ̃ʒelil]; ()16 January – ()14 January ) was a Canadian musical producer, talent manager and singer.

He was the husband and manager of singer Celine Dion.^[1]

Early life

Angélil was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to a father of Syrian descent and a mother of Lebanese origin.^[2] His father, Joseph Angélil, was born in Montreal to parents from Damascus, Syria, and his mother, Alice Sara, was born in Montreal to Lebanese parents.^[3][4] He was the older of two children; he had a brother, André (born ).

Both of his parents were members of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.^{[citation needed]} Angélil studied at Collège Saint-Viateur (high school), in Outremont and at Collège André-Grasset (post secondary), in Montreal.

Career

Angélil started out in as a pop singer in Montreal.

He formed a pop rock group, Les Baronets&#;[fr], with childhood friends Pierre Labelle and Jean Beaulne. Les Baronets had some hits during the s, mostly translations of English-language pop hits from the United Kingdom or the United States, such as 'C'est fou, mais c'est tout' in (a translation of The Beatles' song Hold Me Tight). After the dissolution of the group in , Angélil and best friend Guy Cloutier began managing artists.^[5]

Together they managed the career of two successful Québec entertainers René Simard and Ginette Reno, among many other pop stars at the time.

They parted ways in to each become solo managers.

In (not long after being terminated as Ginette's manager and considering leaving the music business to pursue law school), René heard Celine Dion'sdemo tape when he was considered as a potential producer for her album. He soon took over as her agent.^[6] He continued as her manager until June , when he stepped down because he had cancer.^[7]

Angélil became one of several co-owners of Montreal's iconic Schwartz's Deli in ^[5]

He has also had occasional acting roles in film and television, notably a supporting role in Sex in the Snow (Après-ski) and a leading role in The Apparition (L'Apparition).

Personal life

In , Angélil married his first wife, Denyse Duquette. Their son Patrick was born in , and they divorced in He married singer Anne Renée^{[citation needed]} in ; they had two children, Jean-Pierre (born ) and Anne-Marie Angélil (born ), then divorced in Anne-Marie married singer Marc Dupré in ^[8]

Angélil, a well-known former singer-turned-manager, was sent a tape of then year-old singer Celine Dion and invited her to audition in Quebec.

He began managing her career, taking the teen and her mother on tour in Canada, Japan, and Europe. He mortgaged his house to finance her first album in

Angélil and Dion began a personal relationship in when she was twenty years old. Their first date took place the night Celine won the Eurovision Song Contest on 30 April Her mother was vehemently opposed to the union due to their year age gap and his previous failed marriages.

However, she eventually relented as most of the family was supportive. The couple married on 17 December The lavish wedding ceremony at Montreal's Notre-Dame Basilica was broadcast live on Canadian television.^[9]

After Angélil was diagnosed with throat cancer in , and before beginning radiation treatment, the couple turned to in-vitro fertilisation.

Their efforts were extensively publicised. Their son René-Charles Angélil was born on 25 January Dion suffered a miscarriage in , then gave birth to twin boys on 23 October The boys were named Eddy after Eddy Marnay, who produced Dion's first five albums, and Nelson Angélil after former South African president Nelson Mandela.^[10]

Angélil and Dion were huge fans of the Montreal Canadiens NHL hockey team, and were good friends of former Quebec Nordiques / Colorado Avalanche president and general manager Pierre Lacroix.^[11]

Montreal Jubilation Choir founder Trevor Payne has said that "backstage, out of the eye of the general public, they were the kindest, most down-to-earth superstars that I've ever known in my entire career."^[5]

Defamation suit

In , Angélil and Dion filed a $5&#;million defamation lawsuit against the Quebec tabloid Allô Vedettes, which claimed that the couple paid $5, to rent the swimming pool of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas so that Dion could sunbathe topless and Angélil could go skinny dipping.

The couple strenuously denied the claim.^[12]

Gambling

Angélil was an avid poker player, having qualified for the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, and finishing in the money at the Mirage Poker Showdown event on the World Poker Tour, a series of high-stakes tournaments.

Angélil was also rumoured to be a dedicated gambler away from the poker table. He reportedly gambled upwards of $1&#;million a week at Caesars Palace, and kept a line of credit for the same amount at Bellagio.^[13][14] In , Jan Jones, a casino executive and the former mayor of Las Vegas, claimed that Angélil gambled $1&#;million a week, but later retracted the statement.

Caesars Palace later released a statement of Angélil's gambling losses and wins with his permission.^[15]

Later life, illness and death

Angélil suffered a heart attack in at age ^[16] In , he was diagnosed with throat cancer, and made a full recovery after treatment.^[17] He appeared in the video for Simple Plan's song "Save You" as a survivor of cancer.^[18] In , Angélil reportedly underwent a planned, heart-related medical procedure to deal with arterial blockage.^[19]

Angélil had surgery in December for throat cancer.^[20] In June , Angélil stepped down as Dion's manager to focus on his health, but was still involved in business decisions related to her career.^[21] In September , Dion announced that Angélil's cancer had progressed and that he had only "months to live".^[22] Angélil died on 14 January , of throat cancer, two days before his 74th birthday.^[23][24][25] He received a "national funeral" service at Notre-Dame Basilica from the government of Quebec on 22 January, and was buried at the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery.^[26][27]

Following Angélil's death, Dion became the sole owner and president of her management and production companies, including CDA Productions and Les Productions Feeling.^[28][29]

Legacy and honours

Representation in other media

• In July , Angélil was named the fictional principal for the reality television show Star Académie's fourth season in ^[34] He filled the principal role in the show's two separate runs in and
• Angélil was portrayed by actor Enrico Colantoni in a television biopic of Dion, Céline.
• In the film Aline, directed by and starring Valérie Lemercier and loosely based on Dion's life, the character representing Angélil was portrayed by Sylvain Marcel, an actor from Dion's hometown of Charlemagne.

References

External links