- René Angélil was a Canadian musical producer and talent manager who was born on January 16, 1942, in Montreal, Quebec
- He married 3 women throughout his lifetime, including the best-selling Canadian recording artist, Celine Dion
- On January 14, 2016, two days before his 74th birthday, the record producer, who was worth a fortune, passed away from throat cancer
René Angélil was an award-winning musical producer, talent manager, and singer. Although he was recognized for his artistic prowess, he was also widely known as the husband of Celine Dion.
The multi-million dollar worth record producer was a father of 6 having married 3 times throughout his lifetime. More so, Angélil and Dion began a romantic relationship in 1988 when she was twenty years old. Their relationship began the night Celine won the Eurovision Song Contest on April 30, 1988, and they remained as a couple until they were parted by death.
Early Life and Career History of René Angélil
Angélil was born to a mother of Lebanese ethnicity and a father of Syrian ancestry in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His mother, Alice Sara, was born in Montreal to Lebanese parents, while his father, Joseph Angélil, was born there to Syrian parents from Damascus.
René attended Collège Saint-Viateur in Outremont for his high school education and Collège André-Grasset in Montreal for his post-secondary studies. He has a younger sibling named André.
Angélil made his debut in Montreal as a pop vocalist in 1961. With his childhood friends Pierre Labelle and Jean Beaulne, he started the pop-rock band Les Baronets. The band, however, disbanded in 1972. He later went on to become a solo manager, and in 1981, while being contemplated as a possible producer for Celine Dion’s album, he heard her demo tape. Soon after, he took over as her agent, serving in that capacity until June 2014, when he resigned due to his battle with cancer.
Meet René Angélil’s Wives
In 1966, René married his first wife, Denyse Duquette and the couple gave birth their first and only child together in 1968. His first son’s name is Patrick. 4 years after their son was born, the couple decided to call it quits in 1972.
He later married singer Anne Renée in 1974; they had two children; Jean-Pierre (born 1974) and Anne-Marie Angélil (born 1977), then divorced in 1986. His daughter Anne-Marie is known to have married singer Marc Dupré in 2000.
Now to his last marriage, René Angéli first met Celine Dion in 1980, when she was 12 and he was 38. Their meeting was scheduled after her brother, Michel Dondalinger Dion, had sent him a demonstration recording of Ce n’était qu’un rêve a song she, her mother Thérèse, and her brother Jacques Dion had jointly written. Over subsequent years, Angélil guided her to stardom in several francophone territories.
Following the dissolution of his second marriage, Angélil and Dion took a vacation from their careers. He spent the majority of the year in Las Vegas, while Dion studied English and took voice and dance training in Montreal. He avoided being around Dion for too long after his return, according to Dion’s account in her memoir My Life, My Dream from 2000.
Yet, when she was twenty years old in 1988, the couple’s professional relationship gradually evolved into a romantic one. On the evening Celine won the Eurovision Song Contest, they started dating.
On March 30, 1993, Dion’s 25th birthday, she and Angélil got engaged. They made their relationship known in the liner notes of her album The Colour of My Love. On December 17, 1994, they finally tied the knot in a spectacular wedding ceremony at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica that was live-broadcast on Canadian television.
René Angélil and Dion have 3 kids together namely René-Charles Angélil, and twin boys Eddy and Nelson.
SEE ALSO: Celine Dion’s Siblings: See All Her Brothers, Sisters, Other Family Members
All We Know About His Kids
As stated earlier, René Angélil has 6 children from 3 marriages. His first child was birthed during his first marriage to Denyse Duquette. He is Patrick Angelil (56 years old).
Jean-Pierre Angelil (born in 1974) and Anne-Marie Angélil were born from René’s second marriage to Anne Renée (born in 1977).
Moving on, René Angélil’s last 3 kids are all products of his marriage with Dion. Their first child is René-Charles Angélil, who was born on 25 January 2001 in West Palm Beach, Florida. His birth was announced on television moments after. His birth came to be after his parents settled for in-vitro fertilization because they were having it difficult conceiving.
By the way, René-Charles is also an entertainer in his own right, beginning his career in 2018. Something else he shares with his dad asides from the name and career is his love for sports such as golf, hockey, and poker.
Angélil’s last 2 kids are twins born on October 23, 2010. They were born in St. Mary’s Medical Center, West Palm Beach, Florida through a Caesarean section.
The boys were named after French songwriter, Eddy Marnay, and former South African President, Nelson Mandela whom she met in 2008 during her World tour. Eddy and Nelson are currently 14 years old.
René Angélil was Worth $400 Million at Death
At the time of his death, René Angélil was estimated to be worth a whooping sum of $400 million. He made his money from his rewarding entertainment career which spanned 55 years. He is also known to have a chain of other businesses such as the fast-food restaurant called Nickels. He was also a co-owner of Schwartzs restaurant alongside his wife.
Not much has been said about how he spends his fortunes but it is known that in 2010, René and Celine built a home in Palm Beach County, Florida. Although they subsequently constructed a brand-new mansion on the five acres of land, the property was initially bought in 2008 for $7 million. The seaside residence has 13 bedrooms, a guest house, a golf simulator, a treehouse, 20,000 square feet of living space, its own water park, and much more. The estate has more than 400 feet of ocean frontage and is located in the wealthy Jupiter Island neighborhood.
Regrettably, the talent manager, record producer, singer, and songwriter eventually passed away from cancer at the age of 74 on January 14, 2016. Dion took over as president and sole owner of the many management and production firms that the couple had shared, notably CDA Productions and Les Productions Feeling, after Angélil’s passing.
5 Other Facts About the Talent Manager
1. He joined his school choir at the age of 9 and this later led him to a rewarding career and finding the love of his life.
2. Angélil loved to play poker. He allegedly spent more than $1 million a week at Caesars Palace and had a line of credit at Bellagio for the same sum.
3. He was 26 years older than Celine Dion.
4. He mortgaged his house to finance Celine Dion’s first album in 1981.
5. Angélil planned his own funeral while he was still alive so that his wife will not have to bother herself with it.
