Celine Dion's Oldest Son René-Charles Angélil's Transformation
What's life like when your mother is one of the world's most famous singers? René-Charles Angélil knows — for better and for worse.
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00:00What's life like when your mother is one of the world's most famous singers?
00:04René-Charles Angélil knows, for better and for worse.
00:08René-Charles Angélil came into the world with plenty of fanfare, and it was all thanks
00:13to his famous mother.
00:14It's no secret that Celine Dion is widely recognized as one of the greatest singers
00:18of her generation, so the news of her firstborn child rocked the globe.
00:22On an episode of Carpool Karaoke with James Corden, the My Heart Will Go On singer revealed
00:26that René-Charles' birth in 2001 was announced to the world a little prematurely.
00:31Apparently, she hadn't yet held her son when she noticed something on the TV.
00:35"...and the doctor is announcing, live on television, a beautiful healthy boy."
00:43The media circus surrounding René-Charles' birth may have been extravagant, but the world
00:47had long awaited the arrival of the singer's miracle baby.
00:50A few years before, his father, René Angélil, had been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma
00:55on a lymph gland in his neck, and so he and Celine decided to freeze his sperm out of
01:00caution due to the possible risks of chemotherapy.
01:02Due to his low sperm count, doctors performed an intracytoplasmic sperm injection, which
01:07involves fertilizing an egg with one lone sperm cell.
01:10After a round of IVF treatments, Dion became pregnant with René-Charles, the very same
01:15day she found out that her husband's cancer had been cured.
01:18Considering his mother's fame, it's perhaps no surprise that René-Charles had an unconventional
01:23childhood.
01:24He grew up homeschooled, often joining his mother on her world tours or Vegas residencies
01:29while she managed motherhood and her bustling career.
01:32In an interview with TV Guide in 2008, Celine Dion shared that she had reservations about
01:37deciding to take her son along on tour, not knowing how he would adjust to homeschooling.
01:41She said,
01:42"...Yes, René-Charles has been homeschooling for almost two years now.
01:45It was a big, big concern for me, the school thing.
01:48My husband was extremely smart in school, but I wasn't.
01:51I didn't want my son to suffer my experience of school."
01:53Despite her concerns, René-Charles proved her wrong and ended up being ahead of his
01:57classmates.
01:58She said,
01:59"...It's such a relief for me that he loves school, and he's succeeding.
02:02I couldn't ask for better."
02:03Eventually, around 2010, René-Charles transitioned from homeschooling and Skype classes to attending
02:08in-person school.
02:09Celine Dion may have had the eyes of the world watching her, but she did her best to give
02:13René-Charles a normal childhood.
02:15She told the Associated Press,
02:17"...I certainly don't see him at five the way I was at five, starting something professional.
02:21I so much want him to be a kid."
02:24René-Charles dealt with the heartbreaking loss of his father when he was just 14 years
02:28old.
02:29René Angélil died of throat cancer in 2016, having survived two bouts with the disease
02:33since his diagnosis in 1999.
02:36After meeting Celine in 1980, René worked as his wife's manager and mentor throughout
02:40her career.
02:41"...She wanted to be a star.
02:42I wanted her to be a star."
02:44René-Charles' younger siblings, twins Eddie and Nelson, were just five years old at the
02:47time of their father's death, and René-Charles took on a major role in their lives following
02:52During the funeral service, he honored his father's Quebec heritage by speaking partly
02:56in French, giving a heartfelt tribute to René's lasting legacy.
03:00He said,
03:01"...Fifteen years is not a long time for a son to get to know his father.
03:04You had a busy life, but we were communicating through golf, hockey, poker and smoked meat
03:08and a lot of other wonderful food, bonding more and more as time went by."
03:12The eldest son also mentioned his commitment to continuing his father's legacy by passing
03:17on René's life lessons to Eddie and Nelson.
03:19He said,
03:20"...They help me now with enough good memories of you to share with my younger brothers.
03:24As they grow older, without you being around, I'll make sure to pass on what I've learned
03:28from you."
03:30René-Charles grew up with two Canadian parents, so naturally, he inherited a love of hockey.
03:34Céline Dion's eldest son developed quite the skills on the ice, and the singer described
03:38him as very athletic in an interview with People magazine in 2015.
03:42René-Charles was especially involved in hockey throughout his teenage years, and it seems
03:46that Dion has long been her son's biggest fan.
03:48She even attended one of his games in 2017 decked out in custom fan gear.
03:53Sporting a hockey jersey inscribed with Angélil on the back, an Instagram user captured a
03:57video of the Grammy winner dancing along to music at her son's game.
04:01"...The privilege of being a mom, it's my best reward."
04:06Hockey has become something of a bonding experience for Dion and her kids, who have been spotted
04:10together at various NHL games over the years.
04:13In a 2023 Instagram post, for example, she wrote,
04:16My boys and I had such a fun time visiting with the Montreal Canadiens after their hockey
04:20game with Vegas Golden Knights in Las Vegas Monday night.
04:23Thank you for meeting us after the game, guys.
04:25That was memorable for all of us."
04:28René-Charles Angélil lives a mostly private life and isn't big on social media, so he's
04:32not one to talk about his love life.
04:34However, that hasn't stopped multiple sources from reporting that he has been dating Angélique
04:39Weckinman since 2016.
04:41Weckinman is a figure skater in Las Vegas.
04:44According to the French website Gala, the two started seeing each other after René-Charles
04:48was practicing hockey in the same area, both sharing a love for sports on ice.
04:52It's unclear whether René-Charles and Weckinman are still together these days, however.
04:56While it was reported the pair split up in the fall of 2023, they were photographed together
05:01leaving the Royal Monceau Hotel in Paris in July 2024, so there's no telling whether or
05:06not their romance is on thin ice.
05:09René-Charles seems to be following in his mother's footsteps as he set out on a music
05:13career of his own.
05:14In 2018, the then-17-year-old surprised his mother when he released two rap songs he produced
05:19himself, uploading them to SoundCloud where they soared to the top of the Canadian R&B
05:24charts.
05:25René-Charles sampled two of The Weeknd's hit tracks in his songs and later released
05:29three other tracks, some of which took him just an hour to write and record.
05:33He told the Gazette that his mother was shocked to hear about his success on the streaming
05:37platform, adding,
05:38"...I just felt like keeping it on the low.
05:40But she loved it.
05:41I was just kind of stunned at first because she'd never heard anything from me.
05:44It was kind of a weird conversation."
05:46In 2021, René-Charles produced his first EP, which included five new tracks under the
05:51name R.C.
05:52Angélil.
05:53No one was happier about this than Dion, who took to X to share her thoughts on his music
05:57venture.
05:58She wrote,
05:59"...I'm so proud of my son.
06:00My love for him is so strong and it touches me deeply that one of his passions is also
06:04one of mine."
06:06René-Charles Angélil helped his mother through one of the most difficult moments in her life,
06:10which began when she received some life-changing news in 2022.
06:14Around that time, the singer revealed on social media that she had been diagnosed with Stiff
06:18Person Syndrome.
06:19According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, SPS is a rare autoimmune neurological disorder that
06:24most commonly causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms that come and go and can worsen
06:29over time.
06:30There's no known cure, but medicine and physical therapy can help alleviate pain associated
06:34with the condition.
06:35If I can't run, I'll walk.
06:38If I can't walk, I'll crawl."
06:40While dealing with the symptoms of her condition, Dion was forced to cancel appearances and
06:44tours, but she has since found strength in her children, who encourage her to live fully
06:48despite the setbacks.
06:50She told People magazine,
06:51"...I let them know, you lost your dad, but mom has a condition and it's different.
06:55I'm not going to die.
06:56It's something that I'm going to learn to live with."
06:58Dion admitted that she had dealt with muscle pain and spasms in her throat and feet for
07:02nearly two decades, but she didn't want to appear weak in front of her family or fans.
07:07She recalled,
07:08"...It took my whole life, but it's like if my kids are rollerblading, for example, and
07:12one of their ankles is hurting.
07:14They don't want to tell me because I'm going to say, well, take a break from rollerblading."
07:18Dealing with the symptoms of her SPS presented new obstacles for Celine Dion, but it didn't
07:22stop her from presenting at the 2024 Grammy Awards, alongside her son, no less.
07:27Dion made a rare public appearance with Renee Charles at that year's awards show, presenting
07:32the Grammy for Album of the Year to Taylor Swift.
07:34The crowd was overjoyed to see Dion back in action after the shocking news of her diagnosis.
07:40During the show, she said,
07:41"...Thank you all.
07:42I love you right back.
07:43When I say that I'm happy to be here, I really mean it from my heart."
07:46While the singer's return caused quite a stir on the internet, so did her son's presence,
07:51as many fans were shocked to see Renee Charles all grown up and looking as dapper as ever.
07:56One user wrote on Ex,
07:58"...Celine Dion's son looks like a royalty."
08:00Another simply said,
08:01"...Beautiful moment."
08:03Fans were delighted to see Celine Dion give a stunning performance at the opening ceremony
08:08of the 2024 Olympic Games.
08:10Renee Charles accompanied his mother to the Games, which was Dion's first performance
08:14since her SPS diagnosis.
08:16Renee Charles and Dion were spotted checking into the Royal Monceau Hotel on July 23rd,
08:21when the first murmurs of a potential performance by the singer began surfacing on the media.
08:25Shortly after the Olympic torch was set aflame, Dion gave a heartfelt rendition of the French
08:30song Ima la Mort by Edith Piaf, joined only by a pianist on stage.
08:34Dion marked the occasion on Ex, writing,
08:37"...I'm honored to have performed tonight for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony and so
08:41full of joy to be back in one of my very favorite cities."
08:45She went on to congratulate the athletes, praising them for their incredible strength
08:49and persistence.