French-Canadian pop diva Celine Dion was born in Charlemagne, Quebec in 1968, the 14th child of a musically inclined family. Dion began singing at the age of five, recording her first demo at age 12. By 1982 Dion had wonher first international contest and soon began recording singles in her native province, becoming a local star. Though her lilting voice sold nearly a million albums in Quebec, France, and Switzerland, Dion remained an unknown in the United States and even much of Canada due to her exclusively French lyrics. After learning English in the late '80s, the young Francophone inked a deal with Sony and released her U.S. debut, Unison, in 1990. With four Top 10 singles, including "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" and "(If There Was) Any Other Way," the album surpassed sales expectations. Dion gained further celebrity with a voice performance in the Disney film Beauty and the Beast; several songs from the soundtrack appeared on her 1992 eponymous follow-up, which went to No. 1 and won her a Grammy for "Best Song." Dion embarked on her first American tour with Michael Bolton, then returned in 1993 with The Colour of My Love, which featured another movie theme, "When I Fall In Love," from Sleepless in Seattle. With contributions from several top-name pop songwriters, the album went double platinum in the U.S. and platinum in Canada.

Now at the top of the U.S. pop charts, Dion returned to her Quebecois roots with 1994's Dion Chante Plamondon, her first international French release. A tribute to the French-Canadian songwriter Luc Plamondon, the album sold well -- particularly in Quebec, of course -- but did not match the performance of her English-language recordings. That same year she married Rene Angelil, her 55-year-old manager and producer. In 1996 Dion returned to the top of the U.S. pop charts with Falling into You.

Dion's successful streak continued in 1997 with the release of Let's Talk About Love on Epic. The album went straight to the top of the Billboard charts thanks to the hit singles "Tell Him," a duet with Barbra Streisand, and "My Heart Will Go On," the love theme from the movie Titantic.

After the release of All The Way - A Decade Of Song in 1999, Dion opted to take a break from performing, motivated both by Angelil's struggle with throat cancer (which he eventually won) and the couple's desire to start a family. Dion gave birth to a son, Rene - Charles, in January 2001. Soon thereafter she announced plans for her return to the stage, set to take place in March 2003 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.