Celine Dion talks battle with Stiff-Person Syndrome, life in Las Vegas and more

 

Celine Dion is opening up about her battle with Stiff-Person Syndrome, life with her kids in Las Vegas, her plans to appear onstage again and more.

Speaking to Vogue France in an interview published Monday, the Grammy winner, who announced she had been diagnosed with Stiff-Person Syndrome in 2022, gave an update on her health, sharing that she “hasn’t beat the disease” and that “it’s still within me and always will be.”

“I hope that we’ll find a miracle, a way to cure it with scientific research, but for now I have to learn to live with it,” she explained. “Five days a week I undergo athletic, physical and vocal therapy. I work on my toes, my knees, my calves, my fingers, my singing, my voice… I have to learn to live with it now and stop questioning myself.”

Dion said the love from her family, children, fans and her team has helped in her fight against the disease, a rare autoimmune neurological disorder with a spectrum of symptoms, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

“People who suffer from SPS may not be lucky enough or have the means to have good doctors and good treatments,” she added. “I have those means, and this is a gift. What’s more, I have this strength within me. I know that nothing is going to stop me.”

Several months after revealing her diagnosis in 2022, Dion announced the cancellation of the remaining dates of her Courage World Tour in 2023 and 2024.

Discussing whether she has plans to return to stage, Dion told Vogue France, “I can’t answer that.”

“Because for four years I’ve been saying to myself that I’m not going back, that I’m ready, that I’m not ready…. As things stand, I can’t stand here and say to you: ‘Yes, in four months.’ I don’t know…. My body will tell me,” she said.

“On the other hand, I don’t just want to wait. It’s morally hard to live from day to day,” she continued. “It’s hard, I’m working very hard and tomorrow will be even harder. Tomorrow is another day. But there’s one thing that will never stop, and that’s the will. It’s the passion. It’s the dream. It’s the determination.”

Family life in Las Vegas

Dion shared her son René-Charles, 23, and twin boys Nelson and Eddy, 13, with her late husband René Angélil, who died of cancer in January 2016 at age 73.

Speaking with Vogue France, the “My Heart Will Go On” singer got candid about her life with her kids in Las Vegas, where she said she bought a house more than two decades ago.

“I had a house in Florida, but as I was traveling a lot when I was touring, we didn’t go there anymore,” she shared. “I had a house in Montréal, but on holiday, the children wanted to go to the beach. I got a home in Las Vegas when my eldest son was [1], [22] years ago today, and we have moved in here. I am 35 minutes away from work. That gives me the time to get ready to go to work.”

She continued, “I can see my team, we joke around with each other, we rehearse singing… and then that gives me the chance to get on the road. I eat in the car, I get home, I see my children, and I can sleep in my own bed. I have the best of both worlds.”

Looking ahead, Dion told the outlet that she “feels strong and positive about the future” as she simply tries to enjoy her life journey, living “one day at a time.”

“My dream is to live in the present,” she said. “I am truly very lucky. And I am honored to be doing a photo shoot for Vogue France because although I had better health and beauty at 30, I didn’t get asked to do one then. I am very proud that at 55, I am being asked to reveal my beauty.”

“But what is beauty? Beauty is you, it’s me, it’s what’s on the inside, it’s our dreams, it’s today,” she added. “Beauty is what surrounds us…there are people that see it, and there are people that observe it.”