Céline Dion's 3 Children: All About René-Charles, Nelson and Eddy

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Celine Dion Instagram

Celine Dion Instagram

Céline Dionmay be a superstar, but she considers her role as a mom to be the greatest “privilege."

The “My Heart Will Go On” singer and her late husband,René Angélil, welcomed three sons together: René-Charles, 24, and twins Nelson and Eddy, 14. Angélildied in 2016from throat cancer, and in the years since, Dion and her sons have continued to lean on one another for support.

Speaking to PEOPLE in 2007, Dion expressed that singing never gave her life real purpose, unlike her children.

“I’m not really a singer. My life is to be a mom,” she said. “It is what I enjoy the most. It is my most amazing reward. I will take a chance with my music. I don’t take risks with my family.”

In May 2023, Dion’s sons served as “her light” when she had to cancel all of her tour dates through April 2024 due to herstiff-person syndrome diagnosis.

“Her main focuses are always her sons and performing. She is the most selfless and considerate person,” a source told PEOPLE. “Céline just loves her boys so much. They are amazing. They give her all the support and love that she needs.”

Celine Dion/Instagram

In June 2024, Dion told PEOPLE that her twins have been running through drills with her and her physical therapist to ensure they know what to do when she experiences a “crisis” episode.

“We have panic buttonsin the house and they know how to put me on my side,” she said, adding, “The idea of telling them and showing them, it was not to frighten them. It is for them to know, ‘I’m your mom and it’s my responsibility. You’re old enough to understand I might need your help,’ "

Here’s everything to know about Céline Dion’s children: René-Charles, Nelson and Eddy.

René-Charles Angélil, 24

René-Charles, who was named after his father, was born on Jan. 25, 2001, in Loxahatchee, Florida, weighing 6 lbs., 8 oz. Dion and Angélil welcomed their first child together when she was 32, and he was 59 after a round of in vitro fertilization treatments.

Dion has referred to her eldest child as a “miracle child.” In May 2006, when René-Charles was 5, she opened up to PEOPLE about how much she loved being a mom to him.

“It relaxes me to read stories to him, do finger painting, play with Play-Doh. I think people have a hard time imagining I can have a normal life, but I do,” the singer said.

After nearly two decades touring the globe, Dion kicked off her first residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, which ran from March 2003 through December 2007. The singer said she was seeking a more stable routine to embrace her role as a mother, telling PEOPLE: “I am a full-time mom. That’s my priority. Then I go and sing a few songs at night.”

Her son was among the audience members at one particular show. “It was the only time I felt nauseous before a show,” she said. “My son was going to be there looking at me as a performer and not as a mom reading stories at bedtime.”

Growing up, René-Charles was into sports. Dion told PEOPLE in 2015 that her then-14-year-old son was “very athletic” and that he loved to play golf and hockey.

A few years later, Dion was seencheering and dancing in the standsat one of her son’s hockey games in Terrebonne, Quebec, while sporting a jersey with “Angélil” written on the back.

Todd Williamson/BBMA2016/Getty

To encourage him to read the eulogy, she told him: “‘I just want you to know your dad and I have always respected you.We respect your decision,’ ” before adding, “‘This is the last time you can talk to your dad. RC, it’s not for me or the people, it’s for your dad. ’ ”

Today, René-Charles has followed in his parent’s footsteps and is pursuing a career in music. In May 2018,he released two songs on SoundCloud, which went to No. 1 and 2 on the platform’s R&B & Soul New & Hot chart.

René-Charles spoke to theMontreal Gazetteafter the songs dropped and shared the moment he played his mom the songs for the first time.

“I just felt like keeping it on the low. But she loved it. She was just kind of stunned at first, because she’d never heard anything from me,” he said.

Nelson and Eddy Angélil, 14

Aftersix rounds of IVFand one miscarriage, Dion and Angélil announced that their family would be growing in 2010. Angélil told PEOPLE that the couple were “ecstatic” to be expecting twins.

Fraternal twins Eddy and Nelson were born on Oct. 23, 2010, in West Palm Beach, Florida, weighing 5 lbs., 4 oz. and 5 lbs., 10 oz.

Eddy was named after producer Eddy Marnay, who produced Dion’s first five albums. Dion’s rep said at the time, “He was like a father to her. Eddy is a major influence in both Céline and René’s lives.”

Nelson, on the other hand, was named afterNelson Mandela, whom Dion once met while on tour.

Even when they were infants, Dion could identify the distinct personalities of her twin sons.

“One is more gutsy than the other. Nelson seems to have a little stronger personality right now. He’s the tougher of the two,” she toldHello!in November 2010. “They are fraternal twins, but they look very alike. Nelson weighed more at the birth, but the doctor told us in a week or two, they’re going to be the same.”

Scott Brinegar/Disneyland Resort/Getty

Eddy and Nelson were only 5 years old when Angélil died. Dionbroke the news to her youngest sonswith the help of Disney’sUp. She waited a few days and then threw the twins a glitter and balloon-filled party ahead of her late husband’s funeral. When explaining his death, she used a balloon analogy, telling them Angélil had “gone up” and floated away on balloons and would not return.

“I did not want to relate the passing to doctors and have them be afraid. It’s the thing I’m most proud of,” she explained to PEOPLE.

Staying true to herUpanalogy, Dion, Eddy and Nelson had a sweet nighttime routine after Angélil’s death to remain close to him.

“We have a little ritual where we say goodnight to him with a little picture,” she told the outlet. “Then the kids talk to him. And they write words, put them in balloons and we send the balloons to the sky.”

“Nelson and Eddy,you have been bringing so much joy, love and laughter into our lives every single day for the past 10 years,” Dion wrote. “You make me, your big brother and your Dad, who is for sure watching over you, so very proud. Happy birthday my beautiful boys! We love you so very much.”

source: people.com