Celine Dion

‘Growing Up, I Used to Feel Awkward and Insecure. I Remember Not Feeling or Looking My Best’

- Michelle Davies

With 250 million records sold, she is one of the most successful singers of all time, and at 50 is reinventing herself as a fashion icon for the Insta generation

It was early 1981 and music producer René Angélil had agreed to audition a young singer whose demo tape showed promise. But when 12-year-old Céline Dion arrived at his office, doubt set in. She looked nothing like a star in the making: painfully shy, she had crooked teeth and unkempt brows. But then she sang. ‘Her voice was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard,’ Angélil later recalled of her soaring vocals. ‘I told her mum, “I’ll make her a star within five years.”’

He was true to his word. Under Angélil’s management, Canadian-born Dion became one of the world’s most successful female vocalists, selling around 250 million records worldwide and, according to Forbes, amassing a net worth of £280 million. But music was only part of their collaboration. The pair began a relationship when Dion was in her late teens and they were married for 21 years, until Angélil’s death in January 2016.

Now, just months away from her 50th birthday, Dion is undergoing a career evolution – as a legitimate fashion icon. Earning praise for her couture ensembles and with an eponymous collection of accessories just launched, the singer previously best known for her 90s power ballads is taking an intriguing new direction.