Celine Dion is a name that needs no introduction.

The vocal powerhouse behind some of the world's most famous songs, she's an artist who has gone platinum more times than we can count. But beyond the albums, hit songs and sold-out tours, Celine Dion's personal life is one that has been marked with a painful amount of tragedy.

Watch Celine Dion and René Angelil's love story. Post continues after video.

Celine Dion was born on March 30, 1968, in Charlemagne, Québec, a little town outside of Montreal. She entered into a busy household, as she was not the second, nor the third child of her parents Thérèse Tanguay and Adhémar Dion — she was their 14th baby.

Due to the sheer number of people in the Dion household, each room was overflowing with kids — leaving no room for Celine, who slept in a drawer for the first part of her life.

The entire Dion family shared the same passion: a deep appreciation for music. This meant the home was filled with tunes whenever possible, and the children even formed a music group that would perform at local concerts. As the baby of the family, Celine was late to join the band, but her mother has always said that she could spot Celine's talent from a young age.

"All my children were gifted, but Celine was exceptionally so," she recalled.

When Celine was 12 years old, she would meet the man she would later marry. He was 38 at the time (drawing a 26-year age gap), and was her manager. His name was René Angélil, and he was sent a cassette tape of Celine singing by her mother. Thérèse had deliberately chosen René because he had once managed the career of Québécois singer Ginette Reno — who was the Dion family's idol.

René invited Celine to an appointment in his office, handed her a pencil, and said: “Here’s your microphone. Now sing as though you were in front of a sold-out audience.”

In that moment, René became her biggest fan. And, as Celine Dion's website claims, it was "the beginning of the most wonderful artist-manager relationship in the history of show business".

René believed so completely in his young protégé that he re-mortgaged his house to finance her first album.

Celine opened up toPeopleabout her first meeting with her future husband, sharing that her incredible voice reduced him to tears. "While I was singing he started to cry," she said. "I knew then I had done a good job."

The two maintained a close working relationship which evolved into a romance when Celine turned 19. But they kept their relationship out of the public eye for several years, with the singer only sharing her love for René in the sleeve notes of herThe Colour of My Lovealbum.

The pair would go on to tick off professional goals together: platinum albums, sold-out tours, and international success.

But throughout those milestones, they hit a few personal ones as well. In 1992, René had his first health scare — a heart attack. The newly engaged pair were staying at the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills when it happened, after taking an afternoon dip at the hotel pool.

René was taken to the hospital in his swimmers, where he was treated and made a full recovery.

Two years on, the pair said 'I do' during an extravagant wedding.

While there aren't many public pictures of the nuptials,Us Weeklyreported that the couple got married at Montréal's Notre-Dame Basilica, where the bride wore a dress with a 20-foot-long train covered in lace and crystals. But the biggest talking point had to be Celine's headdress. It was embellished with 2000 Swarovski crystals that weighed more than seven pounds.

Four years after they wed, doctors found a lump on René's neck, and he was later diagnosed with malignant throat cancer. "We have asked [doctors] many times, how long does he have, three weeks, three months? René wants to know," Celine said of the situation at the time to USA Today. "But they say they don't know."

Following the diagnosis, Celine announced she'd be taking a career break in order to care for René. She was by his side for the two operations and rounds of radiation he endured to fight off the cancer. She didn't perform for two years straight.

By 2000 René's health had improved — and the couple celebrated by renewing their vows. This time their wedding was in Las Vegas, and Celine wore a golden gown.

Just one year on from their renewal, on January 25, 2001, Celine and René became parents, welcoming their first child together: René-Charles Angélil.

CNN reported at the time that René-Charles was a welcome arrival after the couple underwent IVF to conceive him. They were also rumours that Celine and René had René-Charles' "twin" on ice at a fertility clinic.

The couple continued to work together for the next decade with René organising a Las Vegas residency for Celine — a move which Hello! Magazine says was instrumental in revitalising the city as a go-to destination.

In 2009, it seems the couple may have tried to give René-Charles his "twin", with Celine announcing her second pregnancy via IVF. However, just 10 days after Celine's announcement, she had a miscarriage. Her spokeswoman confirmed the news to The Sydney Morning Herald and explained that while it was a "horrible setback", the couple had plans to try with another round of IVF.

Celine and René were able to further grow their family in 2010 with the arrival of their twin boys, Nelson and Eddy.

But by the end of 2013, the family were hit with devastating news: René had cancer again.

Several months later, in 2014, Celine announced she was postponing all her engagements once again to stay close to her husband, who was fighting cancer for the second time.

"I am scared of losing him, because it's bad," Celine said at the time. "But I have to show myself, my husband and my kids that I'm strong and we're okay."

After spending months by René’s bedside, her husband asked her for a favour: he wanted to see her onstage again. He wanted to hear her sing again. And so Celine re-started her residency at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

"I didn't want to be here at first," Celine said of her return to the stage. "I don't need it. Don't get me wrong, I love singing for people, but I have priorities."

On January 14, 2016, René Angélil, died of cancer.

Celine was open about her last moments with her husband, saying: "René says to me, 'I want to die in your arms.' OK, fine, I'll be there, you'll die in my arms."

Fans mourned alongside Celine and her sons, but then the family was hit with another blow. Two days after René passed away, Celine's brother Daniel died. He too had battled cancer, and it had spread to his lungs, brain and bones at the time of his death.

On January 22, René was buried during a national funeral in Notre-Dame Basilica in Montréal, the very same place where, 22 years earlier, Celine and René were married and said they would be together "until death do us part".

Following the death of her husband and manager, Celine has continued to work and thrive professionally — touring and recording regularly. But she keeps René front of mind with every move.

Seven years after his passing, during an appearance onNBC she said: "I feel like René has given me so much through the years and still today. I see my kids. I look at them — we live with him. We still live with him. He's part of our lives every day, so I have to say that I feel very, very strong."

During the same interview, she was asked if she would ever consider dating again.

"Right this second, love is so big right now in my life, with my kids, with life itself. I'm not thinking about a relationship and falling in love again," she responded.

By 2019, Celine Dion had undergone a renaissance, transforming into a high-fashion darling. Suddenly Celine was on billboards, front row at fashion shows and tapping into the zeitgeist of luxury fashion with weird and wonderful Instagram videos.

This gear change was somewhat credited to her close friend Pepe Munoz — a backing dancer turned stylist that had worked with Celine for years. During this time rumours surrounded Celine and Pepe, with tabloids labelling him as